Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Transitions & Change, Family & Friends, Identity, Re-entry Reality, Repatriation, United States, tagged arts, Chapel Hill, concerts, creativity, cross-culturals, culture, Durham, expat, expatriate life, expats, forests, global wayfarers, haven, high-tech corridor, home, identity, international business, NC, Netherlands, oasis, Raleigh, re-entry stage, Repatriation, repats, research, the Triangle, theater, transition, United States, university, writing on October 11, 2013 | 4 Comments »
As mentioned recently in Under Construction, I hope you’ll join me as I navigate the re-entry stage in our repatriation journey. Every three months I’ll share a series of ‘snapshot’ blog posts about the particulars of building a new life from scratch, filed under the post category Re-entry Reality. I’ll look at everything from making a home, engaging […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Authors & Others, United States, Writers on Writing, Writing, tagged @Home in Dubai, Anne O'Connell, Anne The Writer, author, blogging, book launch, Canada, courtroom drama, crime thriller, debut novel, Dubai, expat novel, first novel, hot flashes, humor, Jo Parfitt, menopause, Mental Pause, murder mystery, nonfiction, novel, PR experience, public relations expert, Summertime Publishing, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States, writer, writing, Writing Just Because! on March 7, 2013 | 7 Comments »
Today’s a special day for Anne O’Connell, one I’m excited to share with her and with you. Fourteen months ago I reviewed her nonfiction book Riveting Expat Reads: Celebrating @ Home in Dubai. Anne’s been busy since then, relocating from the United Arab Emirates to Thailand and writing up a storm. Not only is today […]
Posted in Blogging, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Global Issues, United States, Writing, tagged 2012 elections, badmouth, Barack Obama, blogging, cast your ballot, conservative, cross-cultural, culture, decency, democracy, Democrat, demonize, economy, election coverage, Electoral College, electoral process, global, international, liberal, media, Mitt Romney, national security, politics, Republican, respect, social media, trashtalk, United States, US Presidential election, us vs. them, violence, vote, voting, war, We the People, writing on November 7, 2012 | 16 Comments »
Husband woke up at 4:45 this morning and got up to follow reporting on the US Presidential election returns. I went back to sleep and didn’t join him until a more civilized 5:45 am, but regardless, there we were, foregoing much-needed sleep to studiously eye the electoral college estimates and state-by-state tallies. Why? Because we care. […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Catarina Chronicles, Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Holidays, Netherlands, United States, Writing, tagged Americans, autumn, Autumn Equals Change, blogging, Catarina, change, costumes, creativity, culture, decisions, different, dressed up, Dutchies, Expat Focus, expat life, faces painted, fairies, favorite season, fresh, ghost, ghouls, goblins, Halloween, holidays, internationals, Little Red Riding Hood, magical, makeup, Nederland, Netherlands, new, seasons, The Hague, trick-or-treaters, United States, witches, writing, zombies on November 1, 2012 | 4 Comments »
Yesterday was Halloween, and it was a smashing one indeed. It began dry and sunny (two big pluses during autumn here) and remained so throughout the day; Halloween night was, well, amazing. Halloween is HUGE in the United States, and every year, more and more Dutchies and other internationals join Americans in celebrating this fun-filled holiday. Cross-culturalism at its […]
Posted in Blogging, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Food and Drink, Holidays, Life Balance, Netherlands, United States, Work, Writing, tagged Americans, article, barbeque, blogging, book, business, businesses, commerce, corporations, creativity, culture, deadlines, don't wear white after Labor Day, economy, employees, employment, fashion, government, holiday, industry, jobs, labor, Labor Day, meetings, Netherlands, picnic, sales, The Hague, United States, work, work projects, workers, working, writing on September 3, 2012 | 8 Comments »
Today is the first Monday in September. For many, it’s merely the start of yet another work week. Whatever ‘work’ means for you. Getting the children off to school before running a long list of errands and volunteering in the classroom. Pulling into the factory parking lot with a double shift ahead. Trading stories at […]
Posted in Blogging, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Doing What I Can to Help, Global Issues, United States, Work, Writing, tagged Beyonce Knowles, Department of Defense, drought, Ethiopia, famine, global issues, human trafficking, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian organizations, I Was Here, Iraq, peacekeeping, refugees, Sergio Vieira De Mello, Susan Rice, terrorism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Mission to the UN, United Nations, United States, violence, war, World Humanitarian Day 2012 on August 18, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Okay, today’s post is both global and deeply personal in nature. August 19th is officially designated World Humanitarian Day 2012, marking the 9th anniversary of the bombing in Baghdad that took the life of Sergio Vieira De Mello, then serving as both the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Secretary General’s Special […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Authors & Others, Expat Life, Riveting Expat Reads, Third Culture Kids (TCKs), Expat Teens, Travel, Writing, tagged adult TCK, ATCK, blogging, Burma, Colombia, crosscultural, cultures, David C. Pollock, expat, Expat Alien, expatriate, Families in Global Transition, Ford Foundation, global nomad, Global Nomads International, intercultural, international organization, Kathleen Gamble, Mexico, multicultural, Norma McCaig, Russia, Ruth Van Reken, Switzerland, TCK, Third Culture Kid, Third Culture Kids:Growing Up Among Worlds, United States, writing on August 17, 2012 | 20 Comments »
Last week I was away spending some well deserved time alone with Husband, Son and Daughter. After the hectic and emotionally draining summer we’ve had, it was nice to enjoy the sun, surf and sand on Captiva Island in southern Florida. It was good for us to reconnect as a family, relaxing individually and collectively as one day […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Doing What I Can to Help, Global Issues, Guest Posts, Travel, United States, Writing, tagged Africa, blogging, Ethiopia, geography, gingerbread man, going 'home', guest post, kindergarteners, Kosovo, Ohio, paper cut out, photographs, postal system, postcards, Pristina, refugee children, refugees, Tracey Buckenmeyer, travel, UNHCR, United States, writing on July 14, 2012 | 7 Comments »
Recently, fellow Adventurers were introduced to Tracey Buckenmeyer in her initial guest post here, Tough Neighborhood. Tracey has made a career of helping refugees and displaced persons, working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She’s worked in many different countries, and currently is posted to Ethiopia. She’s returned to tell us a little […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Albert Heijn, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Family & Friends, Learning Dutch or Other Foreign Languages, Travel, United States, tagged America, different, driving, Dutch, English, expat, familiar, family, going 'home', going back, off kilter, Repatriation, sensory overload, travel, United States, university visits, visiting family on June 30, 2012 | 16 Comments »
I’ve been back in the United States for a week now, and I’m still adjusting. Daughter and I are here for an extended period visiting family, beginning to check out universities, attending a pre-college program (her) while I hole myself up to work on some writing projects, and so on. Oh, and eventually spending some […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, United States, tagged anti-government, Apocalypse, Armageggon, blogging, cross the borders, crosscultural, end of the world, expat life, expatriates, extreme right, guns, heavily armed, intercultural, milita, militia groups, patriotism, preparedness, reasons to expatriate, renounce citizenship, Seven Reasons Not to Become an Expat, survivalists, ultra conservative, United States on June 11, 2012 | 14 Comments »
A week or so ago, a strange entry popped up in my search filter. I didn’t recognize the website URL, but its name caught my eye. I clicked on the link and found myself reading an article about whether to become an expat, and my post Seven Reasons Not to Become an Expat was included. […]
Posted in Blogging, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Global Issues, Netherlands, United States, Writing, tagged austerity measures, blogging, cultural issues, differences, Dutch politics, economic issues, elections, Euro, gay marriage, global issues, global recession, governments, human trafficking, international affairs, local politics, Netherlands, policy wonk, political issues, refugees, similarities, United States, writing on May 10, 2012 | 23 Comments »
Two confessions up front. First, credit where credit is due. A comment about my post on Bridge-Building in the city of Peace and Justice, left by fellow expat and talented writer/blogger Russell VJ Ward*, served as the impetus for this plea post. Second, I am a self-confessed policy wonk and international affairs junkie. I’ve studied it, worked […]
Posted in Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Holidays, Netherlands, September 11th, United States, tagged Americans, Arlington Cemetery, civilians, Dodenherdenking, Dutch, honor, Memorial Day, military, Netherlands, remembrance, Second World War, service members, service to their country, silence, soldiers, Tomb of the Unkown Soldier, tribute, Trilogy to the Dutch, two minutes of silence, ultimate sacrifice, United States, World War II, writing on May 6, 2012 | 10 Comments »
When this week began, little did I know that by the end I would be writing what has essentially become my own personal Trilogy to the Dutch. I’d enjoyed all the excitement and revelry of my third Queen’s Day, stuck again by how virtually everyone gets involved in what is essentially one big party. There’s something about an entire […]
Posted in Change, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Travel, United States, tagged expat life, United States, visiting home on July 28, 2011 | 6 Comments »
Okay, let’s start again. This year I’m not going back. When I typed that sentence the other day, intending to write about one thing, it spiraled off onto another tangent. That happens. Since my writing muse was not only on speaking terms with me but appeared to be hunkered down for a full-fledged chitchat, I […]
Posted in Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Life Balance, Repatriation, United States, tagged home, Repatriation, United States on July 26, 2011 | 12 Comments »
This year I’m not going back. I was going to type ‘ back home’ but stopped short. Yes, the United States is my ‘home’ country. I’m lucky in that I’m able to state that clearly, without hemming or hawing or asking several qualifying questions. I’ve come to learn that for some, it isn’t […]
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