Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?

Right now I live in Port Washington, New York but the clock is ticking.  Starting in August, I will be living in (and blogging from) Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.

Where I am from is a more complicated question.  I am a cultural mutt (Father Irish, Mother Peruvian) and global nomad, having been raised in the UK, Spain and Ireland and having accompanied my hubby to Japan.  But my longest stint anywhere has been Long Island, New York (where I suffered through to high school).  I think that’s enough to claim a place as home right?

What language(s) do you speak?

French and Spanish well.  Japanese and German pitifully.  Have delusions of learning Arabic.

When did you first become a mother?

February 19, 2011.  My son, Xavier is now 15 months old and is quite possibly the happiest baby on the continent.  Forget the block.

Are you a stay-at-home mom or do you work?

I had a possibly postpartum induced fit of madness and started my own business when Xavier was 6 months.  The biz (Culturebaby.com) has grown steadily since and has been a passion project for me, leading me to meet fascinating women (and a few men!) and find out new things about myself.  I never thought entrepreneurship would be for me but find I have stumbled on a life’s calling.

Why do you blog/write?

Because I find it to be the closest thing to the lost art of letter writing there is!  It forces you to string together cohesive thoughts and properly document your life.  And because it’s public, you are more likely to stick too it.  My poor diary just sank further into its dusty spot on my shelf.

How would you say that you are different from other mothers?

If anything, I find mothers have much more in common than different.  I love my baby…that’s all it takes right?

If anything, I would say that I do my best to bring as much goofiness and joy into my son’s life as I do learning and discipline.

What do you view as the challenges of raising a child in today’s world?

Connecting him meaningfully to the wider world in a way that makes him a concerned citizen – cognizant of the challenges, dangers and evils it can present but also fiercely hopeful for its future, respectful of its power and beauty and in a constant state of wonder and curiosity.  That’s not too high a bar is it!?

How did you find World Moms Blog?

Twitter!  How did I ever search the web before!?

This is an original first post to World Moms Blog by Natalia from Culture Baby Blog. She can be found blogging at Culture Baby Blog.

Photo credit to the author.

Natalia Rankine-Galloway (Morocco)

Natalia was born a stone's throw from the Queen's racetrack in Ascot, UK and has been trying to get a ticket to the races and a fabulous hat to go with it ever since. She was born to a Peruvian mother and an Irish father who kept her on her toes, moving her to Spain, Ireland and back to the UK before settling her in New York for the length of middle and high school. She is still uncertain of what she did to deserve that. She fled to Boston for college and then Washington, D.C. to marry her wonderful husband, who she met in her freshman year at college. As a military man, he was able to keep her in the migratory lifestyle to which she had become accustomed. Within 5 months of marriage, they were off to Japan where they stayed for a wonderful 2 and one half years before coming home to roost. Baby Xavier was born in New York in 2011 and has not slept since. A joy and an inspiration, it was Xavier who moved Natalia to entrepreneurship and the launch of CultureBaby. She has loved forging her own path and is excited for the next step for her family and CultureBaby. Natalia believes in the potential for peace that all children carry within them and the importance of raising them as global citizens. She loves language, history, art and culture as well as Vietnamese Pho, Argentinian Malbec, English winters, Spanish summers and Japanese department stores...and she still hopes one day to catch the number 9 race with Queen Liz. You can find her personal blog, The Culture Mum Chronicles.

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