When summertime beckons, many of us find ourselves pondering the annual question: home or away? Whether it’s a long-planned holiday far afield, camping in a field (aka caravaning), day trips in the general vicinity, a picnic in a bucolic setting, or simply a barbeque in the backyard, it’s the season we want to be doing something different. So […]
Archive for the ‘Expat Life’ Category
Home or Away?
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Life Balance, Travel, Work, Writing, tagged adventures, ATCK, blogging, creativity, cross-cultural, culture, expat, extended holidays, family, formative years, friendship, global, gratitude, high school reunion, international, international high school, Italy, rejuvenation, repatriate, Rome, TCK, travel, wanderlust, writing on July 17, 2014 | 1 Comment »
C is for Committed
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Expats A to Z, tagged commitment, cross-cultural life, different, Expat A to Z, expat life, expatriate, expatriation, growth, learning, living across cultures, making peace, making the effort, miserable, moving on, Repatriation, seeking, understanding, unemployment, unhappy on April 25, 2014 | 7 Comments »
Time for another entry under Expats A to Z, a series of posts about the little things that can make a difference in how we approach some of the challenges and experiences of expatriate — and repatriate — life. I’m talking about those qualities and traits we can nurture within us not only to simply survive, but thrive amid constant change. You […]
P is for Patient
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Expats A to Z, Identity, Repatriation, tagged adult Third Culture Kid, ATCK, change, cross-cultural, culture shock, expat, expatriate life, identity, identity congruence, leaving, loss, patience, repatriate, TCK, Third Culture Kid, thrive, transitions, who we are on January 20, 2014 | 6 Comments »
Time for another entry under Expats A to Z, a series of posts about the little things that can make a difference in how we approach some of the challenges and experiences of expatriate – and repatriate – life. I’m talking about those qualities and traits we can nurture within us not only to simply survive, but thrive amid […]
Big Chests
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Netherlands, tagged acquisition, antique, auction, Baby's Got Back, Dutch blanket chests, historic, online bidding, Sir Mix A Lot, thrilling on May 30, 2013 | 8 Comments »
What I find fascinating about living in another culture is discovering how things are done differently than in my home or other countries. An example is when people are required to wait in line. One culture will queue up neatly – with near military precision – while another culture’s line resembles a full-contact rugby scrum. […]
Fijne Koninginnedag
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Holidays, Netherlands, tagged abdication, boat regattas, celebration, ceremonies, concerts, coronation, Dutch, Dutch monarchy, King Willem-Alexander, Koninginnedag, music festivals, national yard sale, Netherlands, parties, Prince Willem-Alexander, Queen Beatrix, royal, services, throne on April 30, 2013 | 5 Comments »
Today was Queen’s Day, the biggest national holiday in the Netherlands. They’ve been celebrating the monarch’s birthday since the late 19th century, and this marks the fourth Koninginnedag festivities we’ve observed. I mentioned in another post that it’s a lot like a mix of New Year’s Eve, Fourth of July and Mardi Gras (with more […]
Enterprising Catarina
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Albert Heijn, Catarina Chronicles, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Our Animals, tagged Albert Heijn, capitalist, Catarina, creative, dog walking, enterprising, entrepreneur, lucrative, money-making scheme, neighborhood, Oli, one Euro, play hardball, strict instructions, trouble, walk the dog, young Dutch neighbor on March 13, 2013 | 12 Comments »
Some weeks back, I was upstairs working at my desk when the doorbell rang. I had a sense it would, given that Oli was already bounding down the stairs, barking his little fool head off. When he gets like it means he’s heard the minute squeak of the little wrought iron gate in front of […]