“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life—and travel—leaves marks on you.”
~ Anthony Bourdain
How Not To Be The Jerk Back Home
Originally published on Trailing-Spouse.com September 2021 There are obvious, predictable downsides to living overseas. You can brace for homesickness on a level that feel like a chronic stomachache. You’ll romanticize all the missing comforts of home — in my case, the smell of Downey fabric softener. You’ll count the days until your holiday visits or permanent repatriation. But,…
When a family member “fails” an overseas assignment
Redefining a “successful” expat experience There is article after article with advice on how to prepare for an overseas assignment. Headlines tout “The top 5 reasons why an assignment fails”. But, what do you do amidst a said “failure.” What if you’ve prepped and a loved one still doesn’t hit the satisfactory mark on the expat thriving…
An Anti-Foodie’s Realization Regarding Cooking Classes
I’m not a cook. In fact, I have a palette of an 8-year old. Due to my unsophisticated taste buds, I avoid the overwhelming culinary world. However, when traveling, I try in desperate hope of finding a cuisine that fits my ineptitude via a class. I’ve taken countless cooking classes. While specific skills and techniques…
Uniting The United States Through Culture Shock
Revised earlier entry for TrailingSpouse.com It goes without saying that culture shock is part of the territory when relocating abroad — perhaps even bookended by a reverse culture shock when repatriating years later! But another common challenge, far less discussed, is the culture shock you’ll experience within your own expat community. You would think that being…
The Intra-American Culture Shock of Ex-pats
“You have a speech impediment,” proudly diagnosed my college roommate. Her finger pointed at proof, an articulation disorder in her speech pathology textbook. I felt too old to have an undiagnosed speech impediment, but I begrudgingly accepted her judgment. She had evidence, after all. When I arrived in Tokyo 20 years later, the New Yorkers…
How Rice Cakes Saved Me from Depression
Finding your value in a time of transition I was a 30-something American with a left-behind career, two kids under the age of 5, trailing my spouse in Tokyo, Japan. My husband’s job afforded our first ex-pat experience in a country so vastly different from my own that repeated warnings of culture shock prepared me…
Feed Your Travel Bug Without Leaving Home
My passport is beaconing me and I must go. But, wait … it’s Spring of 2020. I’m not going anywhere. If you’re like the rest of the human race, you’ve already painfully cancelled multiple trips while slowly losing hope regarding your summer plans. These desperate times have required us wanderlusters to find new ways to…
A Letter from Mother Earth
Oh my sweet babies, how I didn’t want things to get to this point. I tried to be so strong and bare all the abuse to prevent this level of destruction. But I’m hurting, baby. I tried reasoning with you, sending you messages of my illness, showing you my wounds you inflicted, healing only to…
Skills Learned as an Expat to Managing the COVID-19 Crisis
Nobody is coming out of this pandemic without a little help from their family and friends.
A Historical Comparative Analysis: Could Melania be our Eleanor?
The COVID-19 pandemic has been compared to World War II on a variety of levels. There are important lessons we’ve learned and are implementing from history. Perhaps one has been overlooked, specifically regarding the workforce. It’s common knowledge that women filled in a labor gap during the war. They had to adjust to working full…
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Pacific Tales 