Linda A. Janssen

Let me be frank: repatriation is harder than you think. I’m learning firsthand that when it comes to repatriating, there are many hurdles to be faced: some are expected, others not. We’re busy building a new life in what is

The decision to repatriate was not a simple one, but after months of monitoring and evaluating and considering, it became the default choice. All arrows pointed toward it, bright lights illuminated it, sirens blared around it. You couldn’t miss it

We’ve experienced quite a bit of dust in our lives lately. It’s not a symptom of the season or the result of an extreme weather pattern. No dust outside, certainly not in these frigid temperatures, snow and ice of a

I suppose I should have seen it coming, and perhaps in subconscious ways I did. Still, every time we took stock of the situation, we continued to come down on the side of ‘we’re staying’. That is, until late spring.

At first glance you wouldn’t notice anything odd about the title of this month’s column, until you realize that it’s June. Not March. Not April. Not May. It’s June, and Spring has only recently arrived here in the Netherlands. Now

‘Oh how wonderful, think of all the traveling you can do!” It’s one of the first responses expats get when we tell our friends and family we’re packing up and heading overseas. It’s certainly the chorus we heard over and

In the family room, gathering up old newspapers for the recycling bin. We tend to remember precisely where we were and what we were doing when we first hear momentous news. I was working my way through the half-read newspaper

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about friendship lately. No one reason in particular. Or rather, there are several. It could be that I’m glad to be back in the Netherlands after being away for a couple of months.

Early December rolls around and the enormity of both holiday expectations and the accompanying to-do list descends like the darkness shortening our winter days. Christmas is right around the corner: presents must be purchased in person and online, even made

I must confess upfront that autumn has always been my favourite season. I used to think that it was because of the softer sunlight, fields of green and gold, forests ablaze in vibrantly coloured leaves It might have been the