I was trying to speak Spanish to someone the other day and as my brain reached for the Spanish word for garbage can, out tumbled German like a pair of dirty underwear at an airport security screening. “Oh, I mean…uh…” I fumbled, embarrassed My German hung awkwardly between me and the confused Mexican woman… Read More Do you ever mix up your second and third languages?
I once made the mistake of traveling with my what amounted to my travel opposite, a boyfriend* who insisted our trip revolve around organized tours, timetables, and three meals a day spent with a group of loud, boisterous British backpackers. For someone who loves flexible, unstructured vacations where entire days are spent people watching, meandering through… Read More What’s Your Travel Personality Type?
This year I’ll be going to two weddings (one in Europe and the other in New York). I’m hoping that while in Europe (the wedding is in Helsinki, Finland) I’ll be able to visit friends in Switzerland, France and Belgium, but but how much I see/do depends entirely on my financial situation and how much time I… Read More What’s on your 2013 Travel Bucketlist?
I’ve been looking through my photos of my time spent living in Central America lately and have been missing my expat life something fierce. And since my last collection of expat quotes was so popular (Google search results love it, apparently), I’ve decided to put together another list of some of my fave quotes about… Read More 12 More Quotes about Being an Expat and Living Abroad
Photo by Francesca Palazzi. Today Tripbase published a piece I wrote about famous expats in Paris, What Do Van Gogh, Johnny Depp and Josephine Baker Have in Common? In the course of my research for that post, I unearthed some quotes from famous writers about their expat experiences, which I thought I’d share. David Sadaris “Life… Read More 7 Quotes about Expats and Living Abroad
Once a blog, book and art exhibit, artist Vahram Muratyan’s Paris vs New York pictures are now a set of 100 postcards. When I first heard about this from @brainpicker on twitter, I thought: “Cute, but what are you supposed to do with 100 flashcards?” Then I had the idea to create a wall collage. You can… Read More Decorating Ideas for Travel Addicts: Paris vs New York Postcard Collage
There’s a lot not to like about America (I’d say superficiality and ignorance probably top my list). But after reading this very well-written post, 17 cultural reasons why this European never wants to live in America, I felt that America and its people could use a little defending. Don’t get me wrong, I agreed with everything… Read More 20 Things I love About America
I just finished reading Elna Baker‘s memoir, The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance. In it she recounts the struggles she faced as a 26-year-old Mormon virgin looking for true love in New York City. She’s a funny writer and her insight into the Mormon faith was interesting and informative. Now 30, Elna is no longer… Read More Travel, Soul Mates and a Book about Mormons
I was researching cultural stereotypes for one of the ESL classes I teach when I came across a video clip from the 80’s film Sixteen Candles. The clip shows a Chinese exchange student, Long Duck Dong, drunk and making a fool of himself in heavily-accented, incoherent English. Ironically enough, the actor who played Dong isn’t… Read More The World According to Hollywood
Since the beginning of mankind, people have packed up and moved to avoid famine, warfare, religious persecution or (these days anyway) tanking housing markets. But when considering places to relocate, most people don’t think beyond the borders of their own country. When looking for a retirement destination, for instance, most people think “Florida” and rarely do they ever consider “Lithuainia”. But perhaps they’d… Read More Which Country Best Matches Your Personality?