For those just tuning in

My internet moniker is bettercountry because it seems I'm always looking for a better one to travel/move to (until I finally settled down in France anyway). But more than that, Hebrews tells us that those who long for God are always looking for a bettercountry... a heavenly one.  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 someday.

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

1. United States
2. Germany: 1980-1982, January 2005, August 2009, August 2015, Jan/Feb 2016, Dec 2022

3. South Korea: 1985-1987, June 2002

4. Japan: Spring break 1986

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

6. The United Kingdom: Spring break 1990 (Scotland), May 2000 (England), September 2000 (England), Spring break 2002 (England), January 2005 (England), March 2012 (England), October 2014 (England), December 2014 (England), November 2015 (England and Whales) -December 2015,   September 2016 (Scotland, Northern Ireland), June 2017 (England), August 2018 (England), May 2019 (England)

7. Albania: January 1995

8. Austria: January 1995, August 2009, September 2015, May 2019

9. Portugal: 1999-2001, December 2007

10. Belgium: December 1999, May 2016

11. France: December 1999, 2006-2009, August 2010, October 2010-July 2015, May 2017-October 2021, November 2022
12.  The Czech Republic: October 2000, March 2020

13. Italy: January 2001, December 2007, August 2009, March 2013, January 2015, September/October 2015, Jan/Feb 2016, February 2020

14. Vatican City: January 2001

15. Spain: Multiple times in 2001, November 2012, March 2013, October 2013, August/September 2015, June/July 2017, Nov 2019

16. Sri Lanka: June 2002

17. Thailand: June 2002, July/Aug 2017, May 2018

18. India: June-August 2004

19. Turkey: December 2004-March 2005, December 2005, December 2011, July 2018

20. The UAE: March 2005-December 2005, April 2016, June 2022

21. Oman: Multiple times throughout 2005

22. Morocco: July 2007, December 2008, December 2017, March 2018

23. Monaco: July 2008, August 2009, March 2013

24. Egypt: August 2008, May 2015

25. The Netherlands: September 2008, Summer 2018

26. Luxembourg: April 2009

27. Slovenia: August 2009, June 2016

28. Liechtenstein: August 2009

29. Switzerland: August 2009, July 2010, October 2014, September 2015, Dec 2019

30. The Bahamas: December 2009, November 2012

31. Tunisia: March-July 2010, April 2013, April/May 2015, October 2022
32.  Greece: August 2013, July 2021
33.  Somewhere: December 2013, October 2018
34.  Somewhere: December 2013, October 2018
35.  Andorra: May 2014
36.  Ethiopia: May 2015, March 2016, January 2017, Sept 2017, Feb 2018, Oct 2018
37.  Jordan: July 2015-September 2016, Oct 2017, Jan 2018, April 2018, Apr 2019, Aug 2019, Jan 2020
38.  Hungary: August 2015
39.  San Marino: October 2015
40.  Poland: February 2016, July 2019
41.  Lebanon: May 2016, June 2019
42.  Sweden: September 2016, July 2019
43.  Denmark: September 2016, July 2019
44.  Norway: September 2016
45.  Ireland: September 2016, August 2018
46: Cambodia: August 2017
47. China: May 2018
48. Somewhere: Sept 2018
49. Finland: July 2019
50.  Russia: July 2019
51. Estonia: July 2019

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.

1. I have lived outside of America for approximately half 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 as a child 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 but have never had one.
8. I am obsessed with Art Nouveau.
9. I love cooking but didn't learn to cook until I was in my mid-twenties.
10. I learned to cook because I had a pretty kitchen and no heater. Near the oven was the only place I wouldn't freeze.
11. I read approximately 50 books a year and am one of those people who read multiple books at a time.
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. He encouraged me to enjoy classical music and classic rock.
15. I almost only listen to classical and instrumental music when I'm alone, so it's something people don't know that I enjoy.
16. In the third grade, I forged my dad's signature on my report card.  I got caught and very punished.
17. I like old movies.  When I say old, I mean black and white ones.  Movies from before my parents were born.  Movies my great-gran used to go see.
18. I didn't own a car, television or microwave until I was over 40 years old. I still don't own a car.
19. I love-luh-uv-to quilt.
20. I am a pretty disciplined person.
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. I have a brother who 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. Jeopardy is my favorite TV show and has been since I was about 8 years old.
32. I am slightly allergic to coconut.
33. I don't enjoy eating nuts, but try to eat almonds because they're good for me.
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 meilleur 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've taken a transatlantic cruise twice and would do it every time I crossed the ocean if possible.
46. Despite having lived in France since 2007, I've never been to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
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 for about six months.
72. I absolutely love card games, especially Spades, and when I can find a partner--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 decorate my house with old repurposed doors.
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.