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.

Continue reading “What’s in it for me? 5 reasons to volunteer as an expat”

Who are you? Identity and the expat

AnnaER / Pixabay

Living the expat life should be all about seizing opportunities during whatever length of time you happen to have in a location.

At least that’s been my philosophy and its served me pretty well so far – it explains the two weeks in Spain with one of my oldest and best friends; my agreement to go paddle boarding this weekend and more than a few days of spectacular hiking in Norway. Try it now; you may not have the chance again!

Continue reading “Who are you? Identity and the expat”

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? 

Beating the location blues

houston-at-night-final

It would be fair to say that Texas and I have a slightly fraught relationship. It hasn’t been an easy location for me in many ways but we’ve made it work. On the whole, I think that Houston and I have a healthy respect for each other these days.

Yet last week I found myself falling into one of expat life’s psychological traps. I like to call it ‘comparison roulette’. It’s a dangerous game and it’s highly likely that someone will get hurt. Continue reading “Beating the location blues”