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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.

Continue reading “The other side of fear”

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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.

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

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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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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”