Category: All Blog Posts
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Don’t Let Bitterness Win
There seems a recent trend of tv series about living overseas, about the darker side of living abroad. These are ultimately stories about tragedy and relationships and the failures of humanity, but their ‘expat’ settings suggests an air of glamour that supports the cinematography.
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The Cost That Isn’t Mentioned
When we got our first overseas posting it was to the Maldives, it was an island with all the facilities needed to survive provided by our employers. The weather was guaranteed (mostly) and all we needed was a suitcase of work appropriate wear and some swimming costumes. I think in…
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Am I Worth So Little?
Twenty one years ago I fell into a sales role, I had sailed my way through various customer service jobs from barmaid to manager of a small ice cream outlet. Each of the roles had taught me something but it wasn’t until I got to the call centre for InterContinental…
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Who Is Responsible?
Walking through a shopping centre yesterday I spotted a sign which read ‘Please do not be rude or abusive towards our staff’. This isn’t the first sign of this nature I’ve encountered since being back in the UK, I’ve overheard conversations where staff members are putting customers back in their…
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Tame That Mane
Water is just water right? If you asked 29 year old me about water, I would argue that it’s all the same. I drank tap water, occasionally used a filter, but certainly never thought anything of the quality of what was coming out of the tap or how it might…
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Does Colour Matter?
I’m writing this blog from the luxury comfort of a friends house in Scotland and as I stare out the window at the raindrops hitting the pane of glass it made me think; does colour make a difference? Across this beautiful and very green country there is a common denominator,…
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Sick, Confused & Scared
To say I had an alternative upbringing would be the understatement of the century; my dad is an acupuncturist and both my parents lean heavily into the camp of hippy ideals. When I was sick for the first seventeen years of my life my dad would pour Chinese concoctions down…
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We’re Celebrating What Today?
The UK is a country with one of the fewest public holidays in the world, I had to pause typing that as my preset is either to call them bank holidays or fiestas depending on whether my brain is leaning more English or Spanish. Because there are so few, each…
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How Often Can You Be Resurrected?
This is my first Easter back in the UK for over 10 years. I’m surrounded by chocolate eggs the size of your head, and ready made Easter Egg Hunts packs that contain all you need to create an Easter hunt for your little one (surely that’s just small chocolate eggs…
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How Do You Holiday?
Spoiler alert! I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to holiday planning. I like to make a spreadsheet and get my ideas organised, to list the places I’ve found that are recommended for food and work out a day by day idea of how I can fit in…
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Is Anyone There?
I sometimes wonder who I’m writing for, if it helps anyone else feel seen or if I’m just conducting a psych experiment pouring my heart out onto the screen. I have one friend who I know reads every post, and often she’s my motivation to keep going. This (somewhat regular)…
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Is There Nothing Alive?
The house where I am staying in the UK is over the road from a large natural park. As with so many British places such as this, it was once the hunting grounds of royalty including Henry VIII. There are man made lakes (pool/reservoir?), pathways, and even wild horses roaming…
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We Don’t Behave Like That In Britain
At the moment I’m back in the UK, after 10 years overseas. I’ve been back for visits, a few days here or there but this is the first time in many years that I’ve spent time in the UK alone. The thing that occurred to me last weekend in the…
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What Would You Do For 20 Minutes More?
I will preface the following story by saying I’m not a morning person. If you’ve seen that meme of the two chihuahuas at the car window, one bouncy, one zombie-like, I’m the latter every time. Despite this I got up at six am this morning, caked my makeup on so…
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Am I Too Irish?
The arrival of St Patrick’s Day has always filled me with feelings of giddy excitement; the need to do something special to mark the day, a strong desire to be amongst the Irish. I’m what many call a plastic Paddy (and for the American’s in the audience, it’s always Paddy…
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Why Are You Being Nice To Me?
The last seven months in Baku have been an introduction to many things, including my first experience in an ex-soviet country, but also my first time using Bolt/Uber. Those hip, trendy people out there might be shocked by this revelation, but not having lived in a city for a long…
Immigrants on the Move 