A bit about me
Hi, I'm Kristen. Welcome to my blog. I'm so glad we've found each other.
I currently live in Switzerland, where I have been based with my husband and two children since 2023.
I volunteer at a sort of pop-up secondhand store in the community center fighting fast fashion and promoting repairing & rewearing and the circular economy, as well as at a local food bank. But most of my time and energy currently goes into caring for my two young children, and fighting the ultraconsumerism that seems to go along with child-rearing these days on the home front.
Before we moved here, I lived in Paris for about five years, where I worked at universities and then for an international organization. We lived in the heart of the city, in the Marais, and loved taking advantage of the museums, restaurants, the vibrancy! Then I had our first child and struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety, and the busy "city of lights" and noise was a lot less fun. I was very fortunate to find excellent support, but when my husband got a job offer in Geneva, we thought a change of scenery and a slower pace might be just what was needed.
Before Paris, I spent my young adult life making my way east across the United States pursuing graduate studies, with stints interspersed in Montpellier, Perpignan and Grenoble. Every time I came, it was harder to go back, until I just didn't anymore. France really feels like home for us, both for family ties and cultural values.
I grew up in California, with regular trips to visit family in Utah. My parents are both active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons). My two brothers and I are not, but we don't talk about it. I respect my parents' values, but I don't share them.
I care about teaching my children respect, for other people, animals, and the environment, resilience and bienveillance. And I'm doing my best to teach by example.
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