Posted on

No more secrets – talking about domestic violence

One of the things I love about my expat life is its unexpected twists and turns – the extraordinary opportunities that pop up if you’re open to grabbing them.

I had one of those amazing, ‘pinch me, how did I get here’ moments last week. I had lunch with Denise Brown, one of the warmest and most genuine women I’ve met in a long time. You might not have heard of Denise but I’m pretty sure that you will have heard of her sister, Nicole Brown whose ex-husband was O.J. Simpson. Denise was the special guest at Fort Bend Women’s Center first annual Healing and Hope lunch and I was lucky enough to spend time with her ‘backstage’ as well.

Continue reading “No more secrets – talking about domestic violence”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

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”