Slovenia was another last-minute holiday for us and it couldn’t have worked out better if I had planned it! The kids had two weeks off over Easter (seriously it feels like they are always on holiday…) and we wanted to make the most of it. But we just didn’t get our act together and suddenly school had […]
living overseas
Moving schools mid-year?
Moving schools is always hard. Moving schools mid-year is even harder. We moved our daughter half way through a term when we moved to Bangkok. My advice based on this? Avoid it if you can. And in an ideal world, we would avoid it. Every move would be timed to coincide with the start of […]
Lake Como with Kids – Top 5 Travel Tips
We drove up to Lake Como from Florence, arriving mid-afternoon. By that evening, my husband had decided he wanted to live there. Now we have been to many beautiful places, but none have elicited quite so strong a reaction – not sure though whether the greyer he goes, the more he’s wondering, ‘What would Clooney do?’ And although […]
Someone’s Wife…
I read an article yesterday, which talked about how Frida Kahlo was described as the ‘Wife of Master Mural Painter’. The point of the article was that if someone as legendary as Kahlo was described in terms of being ‘someone’s wife’, and yet went on to leave a legacy that surpassed her husband’s, then there’s […]
So, you might be moving overseas?
One of the things I personally find hard about being an expat is that tricky stage when you think you might be moving overseas, but nothing is confirmed. I wrote about this in my post ‘We Might be Moving’ (see here). Judging by the comments and messages I received, it’s clear that I am not […]
Happy New Year and a Great Big Thank You!
Happy New Year!! And now I start at least two months of writing this: 2 0 1 6 7. Or, as I did yesterday, forget a whole decade and write ‘2007’. 2007. How can that possibly be ten years ago??!! But nope, it’s definitely 2017. And has a new year ever been more welcome? I can’t believe anyone would be sad to […]
Home for Christmas?
Are you going home for Christmas? The longer we have lived away, the more complicated the ‘home’ question has become but, at this time of year, the conversation is often about whether people are staying in their current country or returning ‘home’. Going home for Christmas can be wonderful. It’s a chance to reconnect with family […]
Dealing with Ambiguity or ‘We Might be Moving…’
‘We might be moving…’ How many times have you said that, or heard it from a friend? If you’ve been an expat for any length of time, the answer will be a LOT. And the worst bit about this sentence? Managing the ‘might’. Living with uncertainty and doubt – whether it’s about moving or any […]
On the Wrong Side of the Tracks: Driving in Germany
Driving in Germany. On the one hand, I was looking forward to it. In Thailand I didn’t drive, and after the long, hot school run I would fantasise about having my own little car and not having to wade through flood waters or flag down taxis. It somehow doesn’t seem real to me now, but […]
Making Friends When You Move Overseas: The F Bomb
Making friends. Not something you normally have to worry about too much, right? But then, when you move overseas and haven’t got any, ‘friends’ can seem like a bad word. It’s lovely when you’ve got lots of them. But when you’re in a new place, and you don’t know anyone…well it’s a word more likely to […]