Ok, we’re going to go around the circle, and I want everyone to tell the group your name, where you’re from, one personal fun fact, and what you’re most excited about moving to Madagascar! Oh wait, it’s just me. Ok, I’ll go first!
I grew up in a suburb of Rochester, New York (western New York, a 6hr drive from NYC, and the real upstate NY), went to college in Ithaca, New York, studied food marketing, and have had an impassioned career in food for the past 8 years (1 year at Giant Foods, 6 years at FreshDirect, and 1.5 years at Blue Apron). I spent the past 7.5-years in the BEST metropolis in the world, New York City. I lived in 4 of 5 boroughs, went to as many live music shows as I could jam into my schedule, ate at as many restaurants as my pockets and waistline could support, ran the New York City Marathon 6 times (the best race on the planet), and cultivated a fantastic community of friends, colleagues, and mentors. “I love New York” is a severe understatement for the likes of me.
While dwelling in the city that never sleeps, I met the man-beyond-my-dreams through a friend/co-worker [turned brother-in-law] at a birthday party. Owen and I started dating two months after we met, we were engaged two years later, and married only nine months after that. Owen is the best human I know.
A few facts from Owen’s resume: he is from central New Jersey (a fact that was hard for many of my hardcore-loving-New York family and friends to swallow). He studied engineering in college and went on to serve his fellow humans in Haiti with Engineers Without Borders and Mali as a Peace Corps volunteer. After two years in Mali, Owen worked for a U.S.-based engineer firm in Ghana for two years (clearly he couldn’t get enough of West Africa). He then returned to the states and enrolled in philosophy and theology classes at Seton Hall, and went on to earn his master’s degree in International Political Economy and Development at Fordham University. He is a king among men, I learn from him daily, and I count my lucky stars er’day that our paths crossed in nothing-less-than serendipitous circumstances while we were both visiting Atlantic City, NJ for the first time. It is Owen’s work with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) that brought us to the 4th largest island in the world, Madagascar. We were married on August 11, 2018, and we moved to Antananarivo (Tana) on August 31. We will live in Tana for 8-10 months and then who knows what!
While we are here, I am working as a freelancer in food branding, social media, and partnerships. This time is also an opportunity for me to learn some new languages (Malagasy and French) and acculturate to a land that I knew nothing about other than what I saw in a DreamWorks film (which actually tells you very a little about this mind-blowing country and people). I am doing my very best to open my eyes, mind, and heart to all that is unfamiliar and my perspective is already being slapped upside down and inside out.
WHAT I AM MOST EXCITED ABOUT MOVING TO MADAGASCAR
Two things:
1) Owen and I have been going about 100 miles per second since we met three years ago. Since living in Tana, we have spent more quality time together in eight weeks than we did in three years. We are loving the newlywed life, exploring this new world together, and just having time together.
2) I have always lusted after a life path that is different, winding, full of adventure and the unknown, and what I imagine is something like enlightenment. I long for the earth in South America (P A T A G O N I A), I am [literally] ravenous for France and Italy (because food), I can’t wait to get my feet back on the green hills of Ireland (sheep and Guinness, enough said), and I basically just want to eat my way through this entire planet. And yet, in all of my wildest dreams, I never came across Madagascar. I have visited Cambodia, Thailand, Uganda, and Burkina Faso, but this is my first time living in a developing country. I am not used to experiencing and witnessing severe poverty on the daily. I loved the comforts of New York–high-quality (despite being insanely overpriced) ingredients, mindless strolls for hours through the bustling streets, museums and shopping, concerts and plays, easy access to home, a full-time career, friends that make my heart ooze into a puddle of love, etc. Living in Madagascar puts me outside my comfort zone, and it has been a steep learning curve. BUT WE ARE HERE. AND IT IS GOOD THAT WE ARE HERE. I am learning and growing, I am more thankful than I have ever been, and who KNOWS what wonder will come from a leap of faith like this. I am grateful to my core for this opportunity and for a husband whose passion for serving humans introduces us to new places and people around the world. It is different, winding, seeping with adventure and the unknown, chock-full of enlightenment, and it is kicking me square in the britches.
Follow along with us as we navigate through this life. It’s going to be a trip.
Tenley Abroad 