About US
Betre & I first met at Columbia University some 15 years ago & let’s just say we did not hit it off the first time. You can read our love story here if you’re nosy. ;)
Life has a funny way of working out: nearly a decade later, we had a big, fat Ethiopian-American wedding, began living in Washington, D.C., & found ourselves worn-out from working 60+ hour-a-week jobs. We knew there had to be more to life than the never-ending treadmill we were on. As we were originally planning and talking about moving abroad, we learned we were expecting our first child. Then came baby no. 2 a year later & baby no. 3 two years after that.
Blessings as each of our children were, our dreams of exploring the world were packed away in brown boxes along with the rest of our belongings. We traded in our sedan for a minivan (ohh, sexy! I know) & moved to the ‘burbs.
Five years into suburban life, a global pandemic hit. Like so many other American families, we damn near lost our sanity trying to parent three little kids, homeschool, & work demanding jobs. It was during this time that opportunity came knocking.
Betre received a job offer that was contingent upon us moving to the continent of Africa. As obvious as it seems now, the decision was not an easy one: we knew we’d be leaving our immediate family, our friends, our children’s wonderful school, my job, and the supportive community we’d built all behind.
A year later, I can say it was the most exhilarating decision we have made to-date as a family. Before we knew it, we were building spreadsheets, loitering at embassies trying to get this paper or that permit, haggling with moving companies, studying future tax implications, renting our home, & selling our minivan (I will always love you, my dark grey baby Sienna.) You can see some of our moving highlights on our Instagram page: @blackexpatfamily.
Nearly a year into expat living and upon hearing, "so what's it really like?" from folks back home for the ump-teeth time, we just knew we had to document the journey. But how could we capture the stories of the awe-inspiring, everyday people we met over the past year, or the experiences that were just batshit crazy (like the time a made-for-TV physical brawl broke out between the new and old housekeepers, all in front of the kids?) What was the appropriate medium for capturing and sharing these stories?
I decided to just write: for our family & friends, but moreover, for people who, like us, may be thinking of making the leap, but are not quite ready to part with their Costco memberships.
This blog is our collection of travel stories & expat experiences as written through the lens of Black, American, Ethiopian diaspora parents of 3 little kids. We hope these stories are relatable and inspiring. Most of all, we hope they don’t fail to entertain.
