Moving is a daunting process under ideal circumstances. For children, who usually have no choice about whether and where they’re going, it can be especially difficult. Enter Valérie Besanceney’s My Moving Booklet. This interactive workbook, the result of years of experience with children of expats and other mobile families, is filled with exercises and prompts for […]
Time for a change: Look Therapy
30/06/2015 by Leave a Comment
Change is a permanent feature throughout our lives, an element with many facets that are often interlaced, some positive, some less positive. There are sought changes, unavoidable changes, unexpected changes. Endless combinations of changes, sometimes scary, because it is more comfortable to settle for what we already know, just “to be sure” and “avoid mistakes”.
Moving – a burden or a blessing?
16/06/2015 by Leave a Comment
There is this quote that I love: “You don’t realize how much you own, until you try to put it all in a box” Can’t seem to find who said it – but I think this quote is very fitting, and real to most of us expats. Anyone who has ever packed up a home […]
Getting home in time
02/06/2015 by 2 Comments
Most topics can be seen from an expat angle. Using the geometrical angle, one side will be the sheer physical distance and the other socio-cultural changes. The endpoint is personal change and a new take on things ranging from small to big and from fun to serious. Even death is within this angle. It was […]
Cateura Recycled Orchestra
02/06/2015 by Leave a Comment
Have you heard the story of the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura? If not it will make your day. Maybe even your week. Back in 2006, Favio Chávez, an environmental engineer, started working on a waste recycling project at the landfill of Cateura in Paraguay, in one of the poorest slum areas in South America. Around 500 people […]
I’m so proud of you!
12/05/2015 by Leave a Comment
“I’m so proud of you.” Most likely all parents have said that to their child with sincerity and good intentions. Unfortunately, it mainly tends to be said when a child has done well at something. The implication is that parents are proud of the accomplishment, thus it is a form of praise rather than encouragement. […]
A simpler life: The basic kitchen
12/05/2015 by Leave a Comment
The kitchen is one area where many seem to go over the top when buying stuff. Even people who hardly cook still have a full set of pans and pots, oven forms and cake forms in every shape and size. We complain about our kitchens being too small, and there just isn’t enough cupboard space. We […]
Expat issues: Aging parents
05/05/2015 by 2 Comments
Ana McGinley with advice on how to deal with your aging parents when you live abroad: Every year the number of people embarking on exciting expat assignments increases. For many expats this excitement is dampened by the loss of family we leave behind. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but it is […]
A simpler life: Enjoying without owning
07/04/2015 by Leave a Comment
It may sound so simple, but it was really one of the biggest eye openers for me when I realized – I don’t have to own to enjoy. I used to love shopping. Browsing through shops and planning all the things I wanted to buy – because that was the goal: To buy. I wanted […]
The true beauty and power of the women’s movement
10/03/2015 by Leave a Comment
Unless you have been wearing blinders and earplugs, you cannot have helped but notice that Sunday was International Women’s Day. It is easy to be cynical about this sort of day, considering it pointless or patronizing. However, it is difficult to argue that a day such as International Women’s Day raises awareness, making all of […]
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