All Entries in the "Expat Life" Category
A day for fond farewells and the beginning of an exciting new chapter
Roxi after her voice concert on Monday. Last day of school, and a half day at that. Roxi is dreading the goodbyes, but I reminded her that it’s only goodbye-for-now. With these travel-savvy kids, you never know when paths will cross again. Still, it’s hard to say farewell to those you are used to seeing everyday. [...]
Ask an Expat: Drowning in papers and all our worldly possessions
I could use about 50 of these. Fortunately for us, there isn’t a lot of paperwork for us to fill out for our return to the UK. Our visas are current and my husband works for the same company, so at least those important bits are taken care of. The paperwork I’ve been messing with [...]
Taking a break…
I still haven’t mastered the art of cycling on slick streets while holding an umbrella. Leiden, Netherlands. Well, friends, I am going to duck out for a bit. Hope you all have a lovely week, and for those of you in the Netherlands–have a fantastic four-day weekend!
Ask an Expat: Letting go and moving forward (or I’ve moved past senioritis, thank goodness!)
Roxi and I enjoyed coffee and this view from La Place’s balcony yesterday. V&D, Den Haag Centrum. Yesterday was Liberation Day in the Netherlands. It used to be celebrated every year, but in 2000 someone decided that it only would be celebrated every five years. Hmm. Anyway, I thought that city workers would be on holiday [...]
Roxi in Turkey
A couple of weeks ago, Roxi had the most amazing experience–she flew to Ankara, Turkey to participate in the AMIS International Honour Band and Choir Festival. Roxi and 12 other students (6 choir, 7 band) plus their chaperones flew out of Amsterdam early Wednesday morning. They arrived in sunny Ankara later that afternoon. Most of these [...]
Ask an Expat: Ice in drinks
In the comments from last week’s Ask an Expat, Julia left me this question: I think it’s interesting that you want less from the U.S. I don’t know what I’d miss the most if I left. Maybe ice since I hear that you can never get ice in your drink in Europe. Is that true? [...]
The Hague: Expats TV
I found the nicest site last night. It’s called The Hague Expats TV. If you click on the tab labeled “Specials” near the top of the frame, it will take you to a collection of videos that I particularly liked. There is one called “Manners in the Netherlands” featuring Reinildis van Ditzhuyzen, the author of “Dutch [...]
Ask an Expat: To market, to market…
I thought you might get a kick out of seeing how I do our grocery shopping here in the Netherlands. And now you can see why I don’t look nearly as cute as those Dutch ladies in my post yesterday ;-) I think I’m too stiff and worried about tipping over because of the ungainly [...]
On moving…
“When you know your time in a place is running out, you try to fix such moments in your mind’s eye.” –Julia Child, My Life in France I have a friend in the UK who is originally from Japan. She once told me that Spring (and the Cherry Blossom festival) is a bittersweet time in [...]
Expat Reading: Julia Child’s My Life in France
Along our memory lane. Houston, Texas. I started Julia Child’s My Life and France on the plane ride home and have been enjoying it very much. If you’re an expat (or dream of becoming one) and if you have a great love of food, I do recommend this book. I’m only about half way through, but here [...]
