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The other side of fear

ceili-joy

One of the first signs that Ceili had more serious fear and anxiety issues than the usual ‘settling in’ to a new home nervousness came on one of our early morning walks. As we walked along a quiet path towards some woodland, we spotted a neighbor and his two dogs, maybe 20 or 30 feet ahead of us.

Ceili froze. She couldn’t go forward and she couldn’t go back. She was stuck – totally paralyzed by her fear of these dogs.  While our neighbor’s dogs are big, they are also the epitome of laidback calm. They had absolutely zero interest in Ceili.

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What’s in it for me? 5 reasons to volunteer as an expat

volunteer-shirtsIts fair to say that I was passionate about the value and benefits of volunteering long before I became an expat. In my old life, I actually worked on a couple of campaigns that promoted its benefits to both individuals and society as whole.

Perhaps it was inevitable that in my new expat life with a bit more available time I would become an active volunteer. And while I knew about some of the benefits, the impact on my new expat life was greater than I anticipated – even when the work was scrubbing down dirty dog kennels!

Here’s my top 5 reasons to become a volunteer while you’re an expat, helping yourself while also helping others.

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How’s your morning going?

So far there’s been digging, sock stealing, squirrel chasing, toy destruction, mud spread all over the house and I’ve been presented with a dead lizard. All that after a 2 mile walk and while I was trying to eat breakfast. 

How’s your morning going? 

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Of dogs and expats

Freya dog - from shelter dog to world traveler
Freya dog – from shelter dog to world traveler

Our expat adventures have been dominated by discussions about dogs.

When we made the decision to begin this craziness, one of the hardest decisions was whether to take our dog, Mackinaw. At the time, she was a lady of a certain age, with a heart condition and dodgy hips. We had just begun to think about what life might be like after she’d gone. Moving to a country where the winter temperature was far below what any of us was used to and a shortage of dog friendly housing and landlords posed a real dilemma for us.

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