Like many serial expats, especially the “trailing spouse”, it can be hard to keep a professional career going. This month I’m talking to Veronique Martin-Place who has re-invented herself, professionally speaking. Veronique, can you tell us what your expat background is? I am a French citizen and I started my journey as an accompanying spouse … Read more
As an expectant expat, there’s a lot of thought required when choosing baby names. If you speak the language, but with a “foreign” sounding accent, chances are, the way you pronounce your kids’ names will be a little foreign too. When thinking of names for my three offspring, a handful of possibilities were immediately off … Read more
I wrote in in my last piece that no matter how long you’re an expat, there are things you’ll never quite get used to in your host country. The other side of the coin is that on going “home”, you often see things through a different lens. Take pizza. Although I ranted last month about … Read more
No matter how long you’re an expat, there are certain things that you’ll just never get used to. Having lived in the States for twenty-two years now, you’d think that most things would be second nature to me. I have embraced baseball, I understand the school system, I can even say “bay-zil” without cringing, (although … Read more
If there’s one aspect of living abroad that reminds you you’re an expat, it’s the kids’ school. At this time of year many British parents in the USA are in shock at the three months of summer thing, – and then you get the school supply list. After a 15-year career as a school parent, … Read more
Like something out of Louis XIV’s French court in the 1600’s, where only persons of the highest rank could even sit on a stool in the king’s presence, Queen Elizabeth II recently updated the curtseying protocols for the Royal family. Officially called the “Order of Precedence of the Royal Family to be Observed at Court”, … Read more
Like many expats, when I visit my “homeland” I’m traveling a long way, and staying there for more than the usual week or two. Although we usually have access to laundry facilities, these days we all have severe restrictions on checked luggage, which calls for some very strategic packing. Here are some tips from a … Read more
This month will mark twenty-two years of living in the States! I can’t really believe it, and yet somehow I still don’t feel like a native. While I don’t mind using American vocabulary, there are still some things I don’t think I’ll ever get used to: Like men being called “Dana” (pronounced Day-na). It wasn’t … Read more
Toni Hargis interviews Apple Gidley author of "Expat Life Slice By Slice" I have written before about static and serial expats , and debut author Apple Gidley is the epitome of a serial expat. As a child, wife and mother, she has moved twenty six times and lived in twelve different countries. I first met … Read more
For Brits in the States, it’s pretty much accepted that although we all speak English, it’s “not quite the same”. I (and others) have written extensively on the differences between British and American English, – differences which can result in embarrassment, confusion and/or hilarity. What we often overlook however, are the many differences in non-verbal … Read more