They get out of the car faster than you can count them and run cheerfully around to find the perfect spot to do what any dog has to do before hitting the road. They don’t mind one bit that it’s raining cats and – well, dogs. Except Frank the Mops who’s not feeling great and […]
Bilingualism sharpens your brain
12/03/2013 by 1 Comment
Tiny Luxembourg can hardly be seen on a world map, yet illustrates perfectly the world today with more people speaking two or more languages than one. Expats arriving in Luxembourg quickly discover how well they can get by in English, French or German, and they marvel at how easily Luxembourgers switch between three or four languages […]
Friendship divorce
09/03/2013 by Leave a Comment
Expat dictionary: Friendship divorce. Either a two-way split-up, when friends mutually, often tacitly, agree on a divorce, or one-way, when a friend divorces you and you want her to stay, or vice versa. Separation by geography can be a contributing factor to a friendship divorce. If we stay friends with our childhood friends – the […]
Simone Veil
08/03/2013 by Leave a Comment
This is a day to talk about strong women. CLEW has picked Simone Veil. When we came to Birkenau, my mother, my sister Milou and I, we were like cattle. They touched us, stared at us and talked about us, and ever since I can’t stand random touching, we were hungry, thirsty, and ever since […]
Babel Bubbles
21/02/2013 by 2 Comments
When you move to a new country, learning the local language should be a must – at least it’s a very good idea – as a sign of respect, humility and willingness to adapt, but also to make it easier for yourself to get to know people and how things work. I know all this, […]
Lady Sings the Jazz
19/02/2013 by 3 Comments
Brasserie Neumünster is filling up with jazz lovers. Some read the paper and have a coffee or an early beer while they wait. Before long, people are standing in the back and by the door, or sitting down wherever they can fit. They’re a mixed crowd. The youngest listener is lying on a table waving […]
Bilingual babies
16/02/2013 by 4 Comments
Are you worried that your little one has too many languages to cope with? A recent study on bilingualism in babies might reassure you. Many of us have been asked questions about grammatical rules in our own language to which our immediate answer has been: “I don’t really know, it’s just the way it is…”
Young girl in a cyber world
05/02/2013 by 1 Comment
Sexting. Slut shaming. Familiar words? To many young girls they are, and the Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio 4 recently had a look at these words and their broader context. “Girls are in trouble” psychologist Steve Biddulph says on the show. Sexting: Send sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phone (source: Oxford Dictionaries). Slut […]
The Monty Python Approach to Expat Life
28/01/2013 by Leave a Comment
New to expat life (as an expat wife?) or simply still dealing with it? In the true spirit of Monty Python – here’s the bright side: 1. The Melting Pot Thingy If you knock on your neighbour’s doors, you’d easily count to at least 10 nationalities. In a crowded restaurant, you’d quickly lose count. In […]
Pernilla’s perspective
25/01/2013 by 4 Comments
Sometimes expat life can be your chance to do what you’ve always wanted to do. After she moved to – and fell in love with – Luxembourg, Swedish Pernilla Linder found time and space to write. Today, she is a published author. “High hills and deep valleys, vines, beech forests and rivers, steel industry, banks […]
CLEW 