Dusty & Marlina

Flipping Days, Working US Hours in France

Marlina — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:27:52 +0000

Recently Dusty sent me a link to a post on 37signlas about working US hours from Europe. I thought it was a great article describing how someone works 9-5pm from another country. It made me start thinking about how easy it was for us to adjust to the time change and how our move to France for 5-weeks didn’t seem to change our work schedule.

We plan on going back to France this summer and people are often surprised to hear that we keep US work hours while we’re there. The US is behind France by 6 hours so when it’s 9am in Omaha it’s 3pm in Paris. Dusty and I would usually wake up by 9 or 10am, check email from previous day, spend a little time together, relax, get some breakfast, and start working. Dusty would be continue to work while I went to the market and/or grocery store to get our groceries for the day. We’d usually make a grocery list in the morning that included what I needed to get (and google any items I didn’t know how to pronounce so I could ask for them at the market).

I taught a hybrid communication course while were were there and met with my students before we left for Europe and then met with them again when I returned. While we were in France my students had to listen to online lectures and turn in assignments via the internet. I answered student questions each morning and then spent the afternoons grading assignments, emailing grades and feedback to each student individually.

Dusty would schedule meetings between 3pm and 9pm each day which most people might think would ruin their day but since Dusty and I spent most of the day together it wasn’t a problem at all. Over the years I’ve grown accustomed to Dusty working long hours, often working until 1 or 2am (out or in the home) so having a Skype meeting at 9pm is no big deal for us. We’d schedule dinner plans around when Dusty had a meeting and most of our sightseeing was done on weekends so we didn’t have any problems finding free time.

Fanta Zero – Dusty’s favorite soda while he worked.

Merry Christmas

Marlina — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:21:00 +0000

Although this post comes a little late, we hope everyone had the most wonderful holiday season. And we wish everyone has a beautiful 2012! Thank you for being a part of our lives and thank you for letting us be a part of yours!

Thanksgiving – Giving Thanks

Marlina — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 03:54:00 +0000

We’ve spent the last few Thanksgiving weekends in Minneapolis and again this year we made the drive up north. Here are a few pictures from our weekend with friends and family.

On another note of thanks. I received an email over the holiday weekend from a student who I had a few semesters ago. I thought it was nice message to pass along. It also reminds me that I should be sending out messages of my thanks to others as well.

Thank you for each and every contribution that you’ve made to my life conciously as well as unconciously. I truly appreciate the guidance and knowledge you instill in me and other students with all that you have! I am grateful for people like you in my life and personally wish you a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. Enjoy ( :

Happy 4 Years Together

Marlina — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:39:00 +0000

We celebrated our fourth year of marriage while in France. We went on a dinner cruise up the Rhone River. It was a great night and a great five weeks together. If you can believe it, we spent every day together. Dusty was would work all day, I’d teach my online course in the morning and then go shopping at the market for lunch and dinner. We spent a lot of time together. A lot of people told us that they could never spend that much time with their significant other. This month away from distractions made me realize how much I enjoy spending time with Dusty and how much we have in common. Every year we get our pictures taken and although it took us six months to get them taken this year, they turned out great.

Camping Adventures

Marlina — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 03:16:00 +0000

I don’t know what came over my husband but he decided that he wanted to take me camping. He said something about wanting to build a fire. I wouldn’t consider myself or Dusty big outdoorsy people but the weekend was a success. We drove a couple of hours away to Indian Cave State Park. Even though we had never been to the campgrounds and arrived after dark we got the tent set up and the fire started. It was a nice weekend away from our cell phones. We played yatzee, went hiking, watched the fire, and drank some wine.

Omaha Fashion Week

Marlina — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 01:46:00 +0000

One of our favorite events in Omaha is the Annual Fall Omaha Fashion Week. This is our third year attending. I love seeing what all of the local designers are able to create. It’s amazing what great talent we have in Omaha. Omaha Fashion Week is not only a collection of talented designers, stylists, photographers, artists and models but it’s also the highlight of Omaha’s social calendar. Dusty and I aren’t very fashion forward but I love seeing what beautiful things people are wearing. We hosted a pre-soiree at our place before the big event.

Cinque Terre, Italy

Marlina — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:28:00 +0000

The last week of our trip to Europe this summer was spent vacationing in Italy. The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. “The Five Lands” is composed of five villages: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. We stayed in Vernazza and hiked to the other towns on both sides. It was so peaceful and relaxing. It was a wonderful ending to our trip.

Milane, Italy

Marlina — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 23:08:00 +0000

We spent our last two days in Milane before returning back to the States. We did a lot of sightseeing and eating wonderful Italian food. Milane was beautiful and had a great sense of history (just as ever other city does in Europe) but after leaving Cinque Terre and it’s sense of cozyness and feeling like “home” it was hard to adjust to such a large city with so many shoppers.

Weekend Trip to Beaune, France

Marlina — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:52:00 +0000

During our adventures this summer we spent a weekend in Beaune.Beaune is the wine capital of Burgundy in eastern France and one of the reasons we went to visit (Burgundy wine is one of our favorites). If you can believe it Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France. The town is surrounded by some of the world’s most famous wine villages. Beaune is a walled city, with about half of the battlements, ramparts, and the moat, having survived and in good condition, and the central “old town” is extensive. Beaune has a major food market on Saturdays which we were able to visit while we were there. There are a large number of stall holders supplying a broad selection of products and specialties from Burgundy and the surrounding regions. We had a great weekend of sightseeing, tasting wines, and eating delicious food.

Living in France (not just vacationing in France)

Marlina — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:58:00 +0000

As we were planning our trip we kept telling others (and ourselves) that we were working in France, not just vacationing. No big deal, right? There’s just a couple of things that make working different than vacationing.

First thing, language is different when you’re living and not just vacationing. Dusty and I have both traveled to other countries, Dusty backpacked through Europe for six months after graduating college, I backpacked with some girlfriends for 2 weeks, and then we backpacked together for 2 weeks during the World Cup. So, we both know what it’s like to vacation in other countries where you don’t speak the same language as the masses. It’s so different living somewhere, where you don’t exactly speak the language though. When you’re a tourist you have a different frame of mind, I think. Dusty and I have learned so much French while we’ve been here but I still wish I knew more. I’m sure no matter how much French we knew I’d still wish I knew more.

The living part of things. I’ve really enjoyed the living part. It’s so much fun to not only learn how another culture lives but to live it yourself as well. Even though I told myself we were working and living, not just vacationing, it did take a little bit to really transition. Now that Dusty and I seem to be in the groove of things, it’s almost time to leave. It took us a while to work out when we both were going to work since there’s a seven-hour time difference. It also took about a week to get settled, find the necessities, and get acquainted with the neighborhood. Then on top of that, we had to negotiate when we could do the touristy stuff, because the touristy stuff is still important too.

The work part of things. Sometimes I forget that we aren’t just vacationing and that I actually need to do work, and then Dusty nicely reminds me. Dusty’s been great at working remotely, I think partly because he does it even when we’re in Omaha. I, on the other hand, am use to teaching in a classroom and having office hours. I’m currently teaching an online course and although it’s been a great experience (my students have been great), it took me at least a week to realize I couldn’t procrastinate anymore. Once I got into the rhythm of things, it’s been easy to keep up with grading and answering student questions.

Things that are different now that we’re here. We enjoy cooking together in our apartment more than I thought we would. What I need for a “home away from home” is different than what I originally had anticipated, more on that later though. I thought we’d be overwhelmed with “touristy” stuff and we haven’t been. Even though we are doing quite a bit of sightseeing, it doesn’t feel overwhelming because we’re here for 5 weeks. I like that we can do a few things here and a few things there and not have to do everything in a 48 hour time period.