Search Results for: expat woman

The Expat Woman

If you've seen the French and Saunders skit of the two expat women who can barely get off their chairs to pour their gin, you would have to agree that expat women have a pretty terrible reputation. It's obvious with their cushy lives that they spend their days playing golf while dripping in diamonds, surrounded by staff who fulfil their needs. "In … [Read more...]

The Expat Woman

Expat women have a terrible reputation. Gin swilling, lazy, diamond dripping, drunk by lunch time, double kissing, designer handbag owning, do I need to go on? "In my next life I'm coming back as an expat wife" scoffed a middle aged man at my partner's Christmas party. We'd just agreed to head to Jakarta - from our Australian home.  Over the … [Read more...]

The Expat Holding Pattern

Definition of a holding pattern. 1 : the usually oval course flown (as over an airport) by aircraft awaiting clearance especially to land. 2 : a state of waiting or suspended activity or progress I was flying into London to meet my husband G who'd been there working all week. As Aussies living in Canada with four young children it had taken … [Read more...]

There were 65 expat women in a room

There were 65 women in the room. Women of all different nationalities, skin colour and religion. It was an after-hours event, organized specifically for the networking purposes of international professional women. Before it was my turn to speak to the group I asked two questions of the crowd. "How many of you initially moved to Qatar because … [Read more...]

Every Expat Parent Knows It…

Born in one country, living in another - the beginning of expat life. My first baby was 11 days old when we made our way to the airport. In those 11 days we'd taken part, like many before us, in the expat version of the Amazing Baby Race. From the moment our newborn had made an appearance my husband was on a mission - a series of challenges for … [Read more...]

No Ticker Tape Parades For Expats (I mean, they don’t even live here)

I happened to be in Australia a few years ago when Australian cyclist Cadel Evans won the Tour de France. While many Australians don't give a toss about sport I think it's fair to say the majority love a national sporting event, and in particular a national sporting event in which an Aussie has a chance of winning.  On the morning of the Cadel's … [Read more...]

The Expat Cycle

At the beginning of every great expat friendship is the knowledge that it will evolve into something different. What begins as a mutual adventure will eventually end with a farewell party. It doesn't necessarily have to be forever, but no matter what, one day the moving truck will arrive in either yours or their driveway. Those who are leaving and … [Read more...]

Expat Hair

Get any group of expats together and it wont be long before you notice there's a process of information gathering and sharing taking place. Where do you find? How do you get? Who does the...?I belong to several groups of professional information sharers. The big picture is the International Groups."Has anyone ever lived in Pekanbaru? We've just … [Read more...]

The Repat Expat or How To Scare The Locals

Two years ago, days after we had bought the beach house, I went into expat mode in a repat situation.  It didn't work out very well.I was home, but I was new. I needed to do all of those familiar things that I'd done in my expat life: furnish a house, get the phone and electricity connected, and find the nearest alcohol supplier. And while all of … [Read more...]

Expats in Quarantine.

When you hail from an area that prides itself on remaining fruit fly free, you understand the concept of quarantine. Imagine your father works for an organization whose prime objective is exporting fruit - welcome to my world of neurotic quarantine. We grew up with a very heathy respect for keeping Australia free of the bugs and diseases that it … [Read more...]