Amy Conroy
Expanding the Expat Experience

“…This past February, my parents came for their annual trip over Chinese New Year, a propitious time to be with family. My growing spirit of adventure called and the warm beaches and clear skies of Vietnam seemed to be the answer. I was eager to spend this time of renewal and reflection with my parents. However, for me to look forward would require my father to revisit his past…something he had never wanted to do….”

Expanding the Expat Experience
Amy Conroy
Why Use Music to Start Your Bilingual Journey ~

“Voulez Vous Coucher Avec Moi?” on loop… that was my 90’s song from Patti LaBelle’s 1974 hit. Why that had to become my earworm to haunt my young adulthood says more about my aspirations than my reality, but it did pique my interest in foreign languages.

Flash forward a million years and I am a mother raising 3 humans in the 2000’s. I clearly went to the coucher 3 times, and it occurs to me that I’d really like my 3 citizens to understand that phrase above. Not exactly that phrase, but to understand French or Mandarin or any foreign language.

Why Use Music to Start Your Bilingual Journey ~
Redwood Forest, National Parks
Amy Conroy
Call To The Wild

Cheap & Cheerful road trip never to be forgotten! We chose our destination, the Redwood National Forest, and mixed accommodations, travel, and food, high with low. Nature emerged the winner - stunning, truly breathtaking. Hide and seek amongst five foot ferns with trees towering above, it felt like the land of the dinosaurs. Our imaginations went wild as will every Star Wars fan who finds themself in the middle of Episode 6, better known as the Tall Trees Redwood Grove. This land was made for you and me...

Call To The Wild
Italy, family travel
Amy Conroy
Family Vacation, Italy

Who says that travel is wasted on the young? I have never met a family that travelled whose children did not note the difference. Meet the Fitzgeralds... raising global citizens every opportunity they get. You can hear the experiences and empathy earned through their words and everyday actions. #TravelOn

Family Vacation, Italy
family travel, culture for kids, california culture
Amy Conroy
Surf 2 Snow, I ❤️ L.A.

Epic Day 2017: Malibu Beach, CA, to Snow Summit, Big Bear. Celebrating California culture and the people who rally. Who's in for next year? 

Surf 2 Snow, I ❤️ L.A.

learn Spanish

It’s Colombia, not Columbia* (Bogotá for Beginners W/ Kids in 2 Weeks)

It’s Colombia, not Columbia* (Bogotá for Beginners W/ Kids in 2 Weeks)

I ate a big but ant (salty!).

I nearly drowned myself in a mud volcano.

I dipped my cheese in hot chocolate and loved the savory-sweet juxtaposition.

I felt the graciousness of so many Colombians that it makes me take pause.

There are not a lot of tourists in Bogotá, and I suppose that is due to the prevailing reputation of narco-guerrilla violence leftover. But I tell you, it couldn’t be a nicer surprise. Arriving to Bogotá, we were greeted by the vast and sprawling city surrounded like a jeweled necklace of lush green voluptuous mountains. My girlfriend told me “me llenan”, they fill her, and I get it. They would be overwhelming if they weren’t so nurturing. The only thing that rivals these Andes are the constituents it protects.

Language Learning: 10 Easy Ways To Teach a Foreign Language to Your Kids

Language Learning: 10 Easy Ways To Teach a Foreign Language to Your Kids

I have a middle schooler who used to be my toddler and my guinea pig for all things parenting. Lucky for him, I was obsessed with bilingualism when he was young and we lived in San Pedro, CA, having just said my goodbyes to adventure travel in Central America. Luckily for me, he was a quick study, which made it all the more rewarding and, unwittingly, spurred me on to learn more.

Here are 10 easy ways that anyone can teach their child a second language: