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The Real Expat Life

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Where are you from?

Most of the time when you meet someone new, they ask, “Where are you from?” It seems like a fair question. We’re all from somewhere, right? The place someone is from acts as an identifier, a stereotype, a way to figure who’s who and what they’re like.  Live outside your own culture for a few… Continue reading →

March 17, 2020

Meredith

A Yankee’s Guide to Decoding Celsius

For an American, moving abroad means math. Constant math. For some reason, the U.S. clings to an overly-complicated system of measurements. Meanwhile, almost everyone else has moved on to the logical, easy world of the metric system for weights and measures and the Celsius scale for temperature. While adopting the metric system took some getting… Continue reading →

October 15, 2018October 15, 2018

Emily

Oh POUX!—You’ve Got Cooties

I hope you’re in the mood to scratch your head because what I’m about to say will make you itch. That’s right people…I’m talking about lice. Cooties. The minuscule pests that feast on your scalp and reproduce in your hair. Too much information? Funnily enough, the French word for lice is “les poux,” which is… Continue reading →

October 8, 2018

Meredith

Happy Anniversary

Already? It’s been one year of chronicling our expat experiences–time to celebrate! Here are our most popular posts…… Continue reading →

October 2, 2018

The Team

Driving in France: The Struggle Is Real

When you move to a new country, one of your first tests is learning how to drive in a completely different environment, with an entirely new set of rules—both official and unofficial. The learning curve can be steep and high speed—figuratively and literally! After years of driving in France, here are the things that the… Continue reading →

September 17, 2018September 17, 2018

The Team

Les Fleurs de Provence

One of my favorite things about living in Provence is seeing the landscape come alive in the spring and summer with fields and fields of flowers. Les Tulipes In early spring—before the chill of winter has fully left the air—it’s time to start anticipating the tulips. But you have to move quickly because they are… Continue reading →

August 5, 2018September 1, 2018

Emily

big food

Welcome Home; or, Back in the USSA

When you’re an expat, one of the great pleasures is going “home” and seeing it with fresh eyes. … Continue reading →

July 20, 2018July 20, 2018

melissamorrison13

My French Kitchen

The French are world-renowned for their culinary skills. So, it’s no wonder that most French families eat the majority of their meals at home. Considering all that delicious home-cooking, one would think that French kitchens would be optimized for both efficiency and organization. However, I have not found that to be true. I have been in… Continue reading →

June 1, 2018October 2, 2018

Dana

15 Signs You’re an Expat

#1  Your social media feeds are filled with posts in multiple languages. You are able to figure out most of what’s happening via context; you rely on Google Translate for the rest. #2  It takes you a good five minutes to answer the question: “Where are you from?” Do you mean where I was born, where… Continue reading →

May 24, 2018October 2, 2018

Emily

The Delivery Man…You’ve Got a Package

The weather had turned cold and so had my feet. Our things had arrived at the port in Marseille, but as we didn’t have a permanent home yet, there was nowhere for things to be delivered. As a result, we were making do with the things we brought with us on the plane. We arrived… Continue reading →

May 18, 2018October 2, 2018

Meredith

O Tile Floors! A Lament for Broken Things

In southern France, tile floors rule the day. Relegated to kitchens and bathrooms in the U.S., tile is the flooring of choice in my adopted homeland. And they certainly are practical. They are easy to clean, remain cool on hot summer days, and are able to withstand an incredible level of abuse—all very important qualities… Continue reading →

April 13, 2018October 2, 2018

Emily

Gone with the Wind

Provence is known for its strong winds, which have been dubbed by the locals or perhaps meteorologists as “le mistral.” For this Florida girl, gale force winds = hurricanes. The first night in our new home in France, I was jolted from a restless slumber by powerful gusts of winds rattling the shutters. In my foggy,… Continue reading →

April 6, 2018October 2, 2018

Dana

Bad Form!

By David Ricketts The French are a passionate people. They’re passionate about their food. They’re passionate about their wine. They’re passionate about their sport, their fashion, their politics. They’re even passionate about passion. But there is one French passion which stands above them all—paperwork. To a Frenchman, if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth filling… Continue reading →

March 30, 2018October 2, 2018

The Team

An Expat’s Guide to Serving the British Cuppa

EMILY: As an American living in France, I’ve been introduced to the thriving expat community that resides here in Provence. I am lucky to have developed friendships with people from all over the world, including several lovely and wonderful folks from the UK. Recently, a friend from Scotland came over. It was a crisp day and… Continue reading →

March 27, 2018October 2, 2018

Emily

Worms in the Apple in the Garden of Eden

It’s Not All Lavender Fields Really, life in Provence is generally fabulous. Mild winters (unless you ask Dana who is from Florida and freezing here), rather amazing food and wine, lots of fresh air and sunshine. But it’s not all lavender fields, rosé, and olive trees. There is a creepy-crawly side to Provence that you may… Continue reading →

March 20, 2018March 19, 2018

melissamorrison13

Playing With Fire

“For heating, there’s a proper English stove,” our new landlord proclaimed proudly. “We had to order it special from the UK.” This ought to be interesting. “It takes a little bit of planning, but if you figure things out right you can close the flue when you go bed and still have hot coals in… Continue reading →

March 16, 2018October 2, 2018

Meredith

Check Please

Having lived in the U.S. my entire life before relocating to France, I am often struck by how much Americans prize efficiency and how quick we are to embrace new technologies to speed up and smooth out everyday activities. Uber, Apple Pay, Grubhub, Task Rabbit…the list goes on. In France–especially in the more rural areas–change… Continue reading →

March 2, 2018October 2, 2018

Dana

How to Humiliate Yourself in Everyday Conversation: An Expert’s Guide

Learning a new language is hard. When you add in accidental mispronunciations and phrases that don’t quite translate between languages, you discover whole new ways to embarrass yourself in front of strangers and new acquaintances. Once while I was on a business trip in Brazil, a colleague (whose command of the English language was excellent)… Continue reading →

February 22, 2018October 2, 2018

Emily

Living the Pipe Dream

By Fiona Well, hello there! I am not a newbie to the expat life but am certainly a newbie to living in France. And what a wonderful time we’re having here! Highly recommend it. But…you may want to brush up on your conversational skills after reading this little ditty. Where do I start? Well, I… Continue reading →

February 20, 2018March 30, 2018

The Team

I Miss You in French

Do I Miss You or Do You Miss Me in French?

Language and Philosophy are Tight It’s a much-discussed field of study, the relationship between language and philosophy. Have you seen this research on language spoken and your perception of time? The same people, speaking a different language, perceive time in a different way. Fascinating stuff! Given long enough to pursue this interest, I fall into… Continue reading →

February 16, 2018February 15, 2018

melissamorrison13

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