Expat Life

Before living in EG, I never had any particular desire to visit Africa, not even to satisfy the popular bucket list item of going on Safari.  It was a place in the world that never had any real appeal for me.  Coupled with the assumption that Africa was difficult for solo/unguided travel; attracting intrepid, hardcore […]

Celebrating Christmas in Australia can be tricky to navigate when you’re from a European family.  For me, for instance, the lead up to Christmas would traditionally include baking cookies in a wood-fired stove, in 40 degree heat in a house with no air-conditioning, while Bing Crosby dreamed of how fantastic a white Christmas would be.  […]

Australia is a country of immigrants.  It’s therefore not uncommon for Australians to describe themselves as “part-Italian” or “part-Malaysian” or “part-Croatian.”  Me, I’m “part-Lithuanian.”  Only a very little part mind you – my grandfather was half-Lithuanian, half-Polish (and perhaps even a little Russian).  My grandmother was German.  In truth, my blood has been so watered […]

When I was a child, I remember gazing up at a huge map of the world displayed on the wall in my parents’ study, and being drawn to Mexico.  I didn’t really know anything about it.  I think it was probably the name that attracted me initially – a 3 syllable country with an X […]

Over the past 4 years, I have lost count of the number of countries the husband and I have been privileged to visit.  What started out as a temporary assignment (1 year, maybe 2) has morphed into something almost semi-permanent.  This – working 10 weeks, travelling for 3, community living on a gated compound, no […]