Posted in Blogging, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Emotional Resilience, Expat Authors & Others, Expat Life, Writing, tagged Adapt and Thrive Across Cultures, Amazon, Americans in Britain, blogging, book reviews, CCKs, cross-culturals, Expat Arrivals, Expat Authors & Others, expat book reviews, expat books, Expat Focus, expat genre, expat life, expat websites, Expatica, expatriate, expats, ExpatWoman, ExpatWomen, global living, global nomads, IAmExpat, Jo Parfitt, Julia Simens, living abroad, living overseas, magazines, memoirs, novels, repats, Riveting Expat Reads, short stories, Summertime Publishing, TCKs, Telegraph, The American Hour, The Emotionally Resilient Expat: Engage, writing, Xpat on October 1, 2013 | 13 Comments »
At the risk of sounding entirely self-serving, I am going to share with you a development I hope expats*, cross-culturals, current and adult TCKs/CCKs, global nomads and repatriates alike will find heartening: the rise of books chronicling all and sundry aspects of expatriate life. I know my mentor, Jo Parfitt, will find this gratifying as […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Authors (Other), Blogging, Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Authors & Others, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Global Issues, Identity, Repatriation, Third Culture Kids (TCKs), Expat Teens, Writing, tagged Ann Baker Cottrell, Anne Copeland, Apple Gidley, call to action, Colleen Reichrath-Smith, creative, cross-cultural, Cultural Integration and the Illusion of Closeness, cultural intelligence, culture, culture shock, doers, Duncan Westwood, Elizabeth Vennekens-Kelly, emotional intelligence, emotional resilience, expat life, expatriate life, expatriation, experiences, Families in Global Transitions, FIGT, FIGT 2013, ideas, innovative, insight, intercultural, international, Janet Bennett, Jo Parfitt, Judy Rickatson, Julia Simens, Kathleen Gamble, Katia Vachlos, Kilian Kroll, Laura J. Stephens, Leila Buck, living abroad, Maria Foley, networking, Norm Viss, perspective, Pico Iyer, projects, Rachel Yates, Rebecca Grappo, Repatriation, research, Ruth Van Reken, social intelligence, TCKs, topics, transition process, Trisha Carter on March 30, 2013 | 4 Comments »
Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend the annual Families in Global Transition conference (aka on Twitter as #FIGT2013). The theme this year was ‘Cultural Integration and the Illusion of Closeness.’ It was, in a word, exhilarating. Inspiring. Tremendous. Thought-provoking. Reassuring. Okay, it was many words, all those and more. Two thought-laden days dedicated to exchanging […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Expats A to Z, Repatriation, Third Culture Kids (TCKs), Expat Teens, Travel, tagged aware, caring, change, considerate, cross-cultural, culture shock, cultures, definitions, expat, expat transitions, expatriate, Expats A to Z, fits us to a T, global living, heedful, helping others along the way, intercultural, kind, living abroad, meanings, meditative, nomadic life, reasoned, reflective, Repatriation, TCKs, Third Culture Kids, thoughtful, traveling on December 4, 2012 | 12 Comments »
Earlier this year I introduced Expats A to Z, a new series of posts about the little things that can make a difference in how we approach some of the challenges and experiences of expat life. I’m talking about those qualities and traits that we can nurture within us not only to simply survive but thrive […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Authors & Others, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Identity, Repatriation, Riveting Expat Reads, Sandwich Generation, Third Culture Kids (TCKs), Expat Teens, Travel, Work, Writing, tagged Apple Gidley, blogging, continents, culture shock, cultures, expat books, expat life, Expat Life: Slice by Slice, expatriate life, expatriation, global living, globalization, languages, living abroad, living cross-culturally, living overseas, memoir, post-colonization, Repatriation, Riveting Expat Reads, TCKs, technology, Third Culture Kids, transition, travel, writing on November 29, 2012 | 8 Comments »
Time again for another Riveting Expat Read in which I shine the spotlight on a new (or new to me) book in this varied and rapidly growing niche. There has been a slow but steadily expanding upsurge in books written by and for expats/global nomads/TCKs which examine life lived cross-culturally, and we are all the richer […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Emotional Resilience, Expat Authors & Others, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Family & Friends, Forced to Fly (2nd ed.) Book, Identity, Repatriation, Riveting Expat Reads, Travel, Writing, tagged Adventures in Expat Land, Apple Gidley, Bitten by Spain, creativity, culture clash, culture shock, Deborah Fletcher, emotional resilience, empathy, Expat Apple, expat life, expat transitions, Forced to Fly, Forced to Fly: An Anthology of Writing That Will Make You See the Funny Side of Living Abroad, funny stories, going abroad, humor, I Was an Expat Wife, identity, innovation, Jack Scott, Jo Parfitt, laughter, Linda A Janssen, living abroad, living overseas, Maria Foley, Niamh Ni Bhroin, Perking the Pansies, Repatriation, Riveting Expat Reads, Robin Pascoe, Summertime Publishing, The Singing Warrior, travel, wordgeyser on October 5, 2012 | 10 Comments »
It is an exciting day here in Expat Land: we’re madly flapping our wings for take-off, determined to catch the wind currents, achieve flight and soar. ‘What’s with the flight metaphors?’ you ask. ‘They’re flying left and right.’ Heh heh. Today marks the book launch of the second edition of Forced to Fly: An Anthology of Writings That Will Make […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Expats A to Z, Writing, tagged bittersweet, blogging, characteristics, Expat A to Z, expat life, horrible, living abroad, living overseas, open, open arms, open eyes, open-hearted, open-minded, painful, the good, the just plain odd, the not so good, traits, writing on July 21, 2012 | 14 Comments »
Recently I introduced Expats A to Z, a new series of posts about the little things that can make a difference in how we approach some of the challenges and experiences of expat life. I’m talking about those qualities and traits that we can nurture within us to help not only survive, but thrive amid […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Exercise & Sports, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Food and Drink, United States, tagged American baseball, baseball Annies, batting averages, beach, beverages, celebrating holidays away from home, contests, culture, divining the meaning, expat, family, family event, fireworks, games, home run, living abroad, minor league baseball game, Norfolk Tides, patriotic songs, RBIs, snacks on July 12, 2012 | 6 Comments »
Last week Daughter and I were with my brother’s family spending a few days at the beach. My sister-in-law’s mother and stepfather were visiting as well. On the evening of July 3rd, we all piled into into two cars and headed off to that very American of all summer pastimes, a baseball game. Neither Daughter nor […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Third Culture Kids (TCKs), Expat Teens, Travel, tagged Alan Ruck, American expats, Bill Paxton, blogging, China, cinema, culture shock, Dan Hsia, Daniel Henney, Eliza Coupe, expat adventures, expat stories, expat story contest, expats, film, Geng Le, global nomads, independent film, indie film, international film festivals, living abroad, movie, relocation specialist, Shanghai, Shanghai Calling, studying abroad, TCKs, traveling abroad, West meets East, YouTube, Zhu Zhu on June 9, 2012 | 13 Comments »
Do you hear it? That siren song, mystically seeping into your conscious mind, drawing you closer with each lilting syllable. That’s Shanghai’s calling. Shanghai wants you. Yes, you. Actually, Shanghai Calling wants lots of us. They’re conducting an expat story contest, and the winner gets to travel to an upcoming international film festival. Recently I was […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Authors (Other), Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Authors & Others, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Riveting Expat Reads, Writing, tagged A Tight Wide-open Space: Finding Love in a Muslim Country, author, culture shock, expat life, living abroad, Matt Krause, writing on October 10, 2011 | 14 Comments »
Recently I had the opportunity to read the latest book by author Matt Krause, a mid-life memoir entitled A Tight Wide-open Space: Finding Love in a Muslim Land (Delridge Press, 2011). Matt was a happily single, well-traveled, successful thirty-something businessman living in Seattle when he encountered a beautiful, intriguing woman on a flight from California to Hong […]
Posted in Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Doing What I Can to Help, Emotional Resilience, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Global Issues, tagged change, depression, emotional resilience, expat life, living abroad, loss, Mayo Clinic, sadness, transitions, WebMD, writing on September 29, 2011 | 16 Comments »
During the summer I was approached by an editor at a new site, AdaptingAbroad.com, to write two companion articles on expats and emotional resilience. The first article was to focus on what expats may risk if they find themselves lacking in emotional resilience.* I agreed, and found the experience particularly stimulating because I tend to write from […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Albert Heijn, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Light Bulb Moments, Netherlands, Travel, United States, tagged expat life, living abroad, Netherlands on May 5, 2011 | 12 Comments »
Two weeks ago, my brother and his family visited from the US. All four are intrepid travelers, including overseas. My brother and sister-in-law have even been to Amsterdam before for a quick visit, as part of a larger trip. But this was the first time they’d come to visit us since we moved to The […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Light Bulb Moments, Work, tagged expat life, going 'home', living abroad, play, Suitcases and Sacrifices on February 8, 2011 | 2 Comments »
On Sunday evening, a new friend and I met up to see the two-woman play Suitcases and Sacrifices at Den Haag’s Pepijn Theater. Another fellow expat had recommended it, and it sounded intriguing. As explained in TheHagueOnline here, this play has been translated from its original Dutch. At times touching and deeply affecting, at others uproariously funny, the show tackles […]
Posted in Change, Expat Life, Holidays, Netherlands, Our Animals, United States, Writing, tagged change, expat, family, Halloween, living abroad, Netherlands, pets on November 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Since I’m going to be sharing tidbits and stories that occasionally involve our family, it only seems right that I introduce everyone upfront. You already know we’re Americans living in Den Haag. Here’s a little more to whet the appetite. Yours Truly (that would be me) is a writer, wife, mother and jack of all trades. The […]
Posted in Dutch Life, Expat Life, Learning Dutch or Other Foreign Languages, Netherlands, tagged expat, learning Dutch, living abroad, Netherlands on November 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I bet you weren’t expecting a post title that looks like that. Now you’re probably thinking, ‘oh please, don’t let this be some idiot boring me to death with their stupid foreign language skills.’ I won’t speak to the idiot part, but I can tell you that I am not flaunting my language skills. For the record, my Dutch […]
my read shelf:
