For those just tuning in

2010-12-31T06:55:00.000-08:00

My blog nickname is Soj because I am a sojourner. I grew up in the military, moving from place to place around the world. After college, I moved to Portugal and discovered that I loved this life of living overseas that my parents introduced me to when I was little.

Since I started blogging in 2004, I have moved to Turkey, the UAE, back to the states for a year, then to Paris, France, then to Marseille, France, took a 7 month break in the states, went to Tunisia to study Arabic, and am now back to living in France. The plan is to hopefully write some books about all these travels.

Because people always ask, here is the list of countries I have been to/lived in (in bold).

1. Germany: 1980-1982, January 2005, August 2009

2. South Korea: 1985-1987, June 2002

3. Japan: Spring break 1986

4. Canada: Summer 9th grade (maybe? 8th grade? Can't remember.)

5. The UK: (because Whitey won't let me differentiate from Scotland to England) Spring break 1990, May 2000, September 2000, Spring break 2002, January 2005.

6. Albania: January 1995

7. Austria: January 1995, August 2009

8. Portugal: 1999-2001, December 2007

9. Belgium: December 1999

10. France: December 1999, 2006-2009, August 2010, October 2010-present

11. The Czech Republic: October 2000

12. Italy: January 2001, December 2007, August 2009

13. Vatican City: January 2001

14. Spain: Multiple times in 2001

15. Sri Lanka: June 2002

16. Thailand: June 2002

17. India: June-August 2004

18. Turkey: December 2004-March 2005, December 2005

19. The UAE: March 2005-December 2005

20. Oman: Multiple times throughout 2005

21. Morocco: July 2007, December 2008

22. Monaco: July 2008, August 2009

23. Egypt: August 2008

24. The Netherlands: September 2008

25. Luxembourg: April 2009

26. Slovenia: August 2009

27. Liechtenstein: August 2009

28. Switzerland: August 2009, July 2010

29. The Bahamas: December 2009

30. Tunisia: March-July 2010

And because people also always ask how many languages do I speak.

1. I speak English mostly, but not always well.

2. I have studied Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, biblical Greek, Turkish, Farsi, French and Arabic.

3. I was fluent in Portuguese once upon a time. It is currently extremely buried, and doesn't resurface upon command. But it's in there somewhere.

4. I do speak French, but not well. I can have conversations for hours on end, but I have this "charming" accent (according to the French), and I make plenty of mistakes. But it gets the job done.

5. Oh Arabic. Sometimes I have a high comprehension level and sometimes not at all. I was exposed to it for five years before I began studying it, so when I began to finally study it, it came a little easier to me than it does to some. I tell people I speak it a lil bit. Well...I always say I speak enough Arabic to get me into trouble and not enough to get me out.

6. I understand some Spanish when they speak slowly and I already know the context of what's being talked about.

I promise--it's not as impressive as you think. I don't speak ANY languages well, and this Alabama accent comes through in all of them!!!

Hopefully that helps clear up where I've been. Read the other post on this page if you want to know more randomness about me.

2006-08-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

1. I have lived in seven countries so far in my life.
2. I graduated with two master's degrees in three years.
3. I can't whistle.
4. The only thing I remember from living in Germany is when my parents bought some Flintstone's vitamins, and I got up during the middle of the night and ate at least half the jar. I threw it all up later and was not allowed to go to a Volksmarch. I was very upset.
5. My first album ever was Air Supply: The One That You Love. I must have been in the first grade.
6. I love the entire experience of coffee brewing in the morning. The smell, the sound, the anticipation. It's probably one of my favorite things.
7. I always wanted a tree house.
8. I've never had one.
9. I love cooking.
10. I never learned to cook until I was in my mid-twenties.
11. I learned to cook because I had a pretty kitchen and no heater. Near the oven was the only place I wouldn't freeze.
12. U2's Joshua Tree has been my favorite album since I was in the sixth grade, and my dad brought it home in CD form (when CD's were brand new) with a brand new CD player.
13. I've always thought my dad was cool after that day.
14. And I continually stole that CD from him until itunes entered my life.
15. He encouraged me to enjoy classical music and classic rock.
16. In the third grade, I forged my dad's signature on my report card.
17. I got caught.
18. And very punished.
19. I love-luh-uv-to quilt.
20. I am a very undisciplined person by nature, but shock people by being disciplined when I need to be.
21. I have a habit of noticing immediately if someone is left handed.
22. I am practically learning disabled in math. I can't even add.
23. I've seen the Northern Lights in Alaska and flowing lava in Hawaii.
24. My only sibling is almost 12 years younger than me.
25. He rocks my world, and I've always said I'm so glad my parents had him second. He's such a better kid than I was.
26. My first car was a Betty Rubble blue Chevy Sprint named Betty.
27. It was a stick shift, which I didn't know how to drive when I bought it.
28. I learned quick.
29. Betty was sadly murdered ten months later in a three car pile up.
30. I haven't enjoyed driving since then.
31. I haven't owned a car since 1999.
32. I gag at the taste of coconut.
33. I detest all forms of nuts.
34. Crickets freak me and almost immobilize me in fear.
35. But I killed several tarantula-sized spiders in Sri Lanka.
36. Pigeons in mass quantity freak me out.
37. Camels and donkeys make me laugh out loud.
38. I took a (doctor-prescribed) drug for five months in college and it turned my hair curly.
39. I didn't take it so that my hair would turn curly though!
40. My favorite book and movie are the same: Gone with the Wind.
41. Falo Portugues porque vivia la (em Portugal) durante dois anos. (I speak Portuguese because I lived there--in Portugal--for two years.)
42. It drove me crazy when I lived in Portugal that people in the states asked me how my Spanish was coming along.
43. Je parle francais aussi...mais je comprends melheur que je parle. (I speak French as well, but I understand better than I speak).
44. I wished my whole life that I would go to Auburn University.
45. I still wish I'd gone.
46. Maybe I'll go there for my Doctorate.
47. I unexpectedly saw the Queen of England during my first trip to England.
48. I have a Southern accent, even though I've never lived much in the South.
49. I didn't discover Anne of Green Gables until I was thirty, but now consider her one of my best friends.
50. I memorized the books of the Bible in backwards order.
51. I've never had stitches.
52. The only bone I've ever broken was my right pinky toe, and I've broken it twice.
53. I had juvenile arthritis for almost five years.
54. It simply went away and I haven't felt pain from it in years.
55. I got scarlet fever in the 11th grade.
56. I got thrush from an antibiotic I took for pneumonia while living in Portugal and it turned my tongue yellow.
57. I love riding public transportation...most of the time.
58. I once got a $1000 tip while waiting tables (on a $45 tab).
59. My mom was a military officer.
60. It still makes me proud to say that about her when people ask which branch of the military my dad was in that made us move so much.
61. She's also brilliant with little kids--something I did not really inherit.
62. I am much better with teenagers.
63. I worked at a home for pregnant teenage girls once.
64. I got to be a Lamaz partner to a girl and help her through the labor.
65. I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid.
66. I changed my mind when I saw the Challenger blow up.
67. I then wanted to be a high school English teacher.
68. I changed my mind when I realized I hated my education classes in college.
69. I've just been following my nose since then.
70. I grew an inch and a half the summer before I turned 19.
71. I once worked the graveyard shift at Wal-Mart.
72. I absolutely love card games, especially Bridge.
73. I usually don't live on the same continent as any of my closest friends.
74. In fact, I very rarely live in the same time zone as any of my closest friends.
75. I'm a very good pen pal.
76. I take three things with me wherever I travel (beside the obvious toothbrush): my bible, my journal, and a good book.
77. My aunt once gave me a stuffed bull and told me not to let anyone ever give me any bull.
78. That bull has remained on my nightstand through all the moves since she gave it to me in 1999.
79. She also gave me a Gone with the Wind coffee mug, that has also traveled with me through all the moves.
80. It is my favorite mug to drink out of.
81. I tried twice in a two year period to give up coffee.
82. I realized both times how much I hate NOT drinking coffee.
83. I wear flip-flops so much I get blisters all over my feet whenever I wear something other than flip-flops.
84. I used to be a PC but am now a Mac.
85. I have a horrible singing voice.
86. But I love to sing anyway.
87. I am known for my unique sneeze.
88. I am an insomniac.
89. I love making lists.
90. I never learned my state capitals and don't know but a few of them.
91. I thought Omaha was a state until just a few years ago.
92. I love photography.
93. I used to only like to take pictures of people, until I moved to Paris.
94. Now I am obsessed with taking pictures of doors.
95. I've had more roommates than I can count.
96. I have a close-to OCD type obsession with cleaning my ears.
97. I once lived in a house with three married couples and a single girl.
98. I've dyed my hair a plethora of colors, including blue.
99. I am ragamuffin saved by grace (also known as a Christian in some parts...).
100. I therefore believe that all of the above doesn't matter, cause it's so not about me.
101. It's all about Jesus Christ, who died for my sins, set me free from the bondage life had tied me up in, and who will receive all the glory due His name one great day.

101 Things About ME

For those just tuning in