archives: Living Abroad
Expat Life in Japan: Baby Shower Lost in Translation
3 Comments
I wondered if the guests approached it as a novel, if not slightly wacky event, in the same way that many Japanese are attracted to prison and church More »
Tales From the Frontier of Expat Life: A White Western Woman in Peru
8 Comments
Brichero and gringa, hand in hand in the Plaza de Armas, her smiling from ear to ear, blissfully adrift in Latino love, him cheerfully enjoying the sm More »
On My Way to Work: Mumbai
Popular 14 Comments
Because it’s morning rush hour, there are no vendors peddling knick knacks or fruit. They will come later, with their big baskets, and stay on till More »
Two Villas In Iraq
8 Comments
Those things were always cloudy here. With the war, these were places to take cover. Now it was just rubble baking in the sun. Now there were as many More »
7 Practical Tips for Moving Overseas with a Pet
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It can take months of preparation and careful planning to move abroad with a pet. More »
Love and Expat Marriage: Finding Identity as a Trailing Spouse
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I hadn’t considered the difficulty of adjusting to a new country as an “accessory” without my own purpose for living there. More »
Weird Habits Developed After Living Abroad
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The habits and instincts that linger long after you've returned from abroad. More »
Giving Birth Abroad: Setting up Your Child with a Second Citizenship
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A number of countries, mostly in North, South and Central America, offer birthright citizenship, meaning that any baby born on that country’s soil a More »
Tales From The Frontier Of Expat Life: Learning Hip-Hop In South Korea
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It sounds a bit obsessive, slaving over the dance moves to saccharine pop songs that I didn't even like. But to me, it became a mission. Bouncy hip-ho More »
What Ikebana Taught Me About Japanese Culture
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Mary Richardson finds integrating into Japanese culture surprisingly easy - until her Ikebana show. More »
Life in a Failed State: A Response to Foreign Policy’s “Postcards from Hell”
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I had no idea I spent three years living in hell. More »
Learning Experiences: How To Become A Successful Career Woman In Saudi Arabia
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Relocating to Saudi Arabia was not a choice that my husband and I had entered into lightly. After spending seventeen years in the urban grind of the More »
Tales From The Frontier Of Expat Life: Tension In South Korea
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An expat in South Korea feels the threat of North Korean aggression. More »
What Makes a Place Dangerous for Expats?
Popular 12 Comments
Everywhere I went, I saw uniformed, stone faced men holding large guns, and during the Danish cartoonist riots I saw Army Rangers and riot squads patr More »
On My Way to Work: Lahore, Pakistan
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I am leaving Defence, one of Lahore’s swankiest residential areas, and entering the “other” part of Ghazi Road. Although I’ve driven less than More »
A Day in the Life Of An Expat In London
Popular 16 Comments
Once I asked my client if I could wear my thongs around the house, forgetting that they’re called flip-flops in the UK, and my request meant somethi More »
Graduate School vs. Living Abroad: Which is More Worth the Time?
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When it came to pursuing a Ph.D., I decided not only to learn about the individual programs and funding options, but also if investing five to seven y More »
The Dollar Value Of A Human Life
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When we, as a voting public, think about immigration reform and the lawmakers that lobby for and against it, we need to answer one question: When do w More »
How to Balance Long-Term Travel and Distance Education
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Whether you choose to take one semester by distance or an entire degree, this both frees you to embrace your inner travel addict and ties you down to More »
A Day In The Life Of An Expat In Lengshuijiang, China
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A blast of trumpets pulls me out of sleep. The military music blares from the loudspeakers throughout the school campus where I work and live. More »
5 Things I Learned About Living in Xinjiang, China
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The most important lesson I learned over the past four years of traveling in Xinjiang is that news has a way of creating unnecessary fear. More »
Classroom Experiences: Dealing with Plagiarism
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She had cut and pasted different passages from different websites, compiled them into one document and included the links. That was how she had always More »
Body Image and Culture: My Watermelon Butt
Popular 15 Comments
Different cultures have different ideas of what constitutes feminine beauty. I’m trying to learn how to appreciate the cultural norm while still man More »
The 10 Cheapest Cities in the World
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A breakdown of the positives and negatives of expat life in the 10 least expensive international cities. More »
10 Things To Know About Turkey
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Turkey doesn’t have a desert, and it doesn’t have any (native) camels either. More »
Coping with Expat Withdrawal
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My identity was wrapped up in my otherness, in being different. More »
Coming To Grips (Or Not?) With Violence As Communication In Bangladesh
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Alarmingly, what I found myself doing was adapting to another way that Bangladeshis communicate: through force. More »
The Symbol Factory
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Moving around so often, I’ve found that what I take with me are symbols that have formed semi-consciously in my mind. More »
The Tricky Process Of Being and Becoming Mexican
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The tricky part of moving to a country where you have 'roots' but no family and very little knowledge of the culture is that you just come across as w More »
One Frenzied Weekend In Fes
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Stunned silence, and some obvious disbelief, hung in the air. As if it proved anything, Denny reassured us, “It’s true. Just heard it.” More »
Looking Back On The First Year In Paris
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My decision to leave Los Angeles for Paris came from a desire to try on a different personality in a place where no one would be able to pick out, lik More »
My Day Of African Justice
Popular 27 Comments
My housemate Nicole and I were Peace Corps teachers living in an isolated desert region of Namibia. On that day, we experienced an eye-opening brush w More »
Cooking in Lahore: An American Woman In A Pakistani Kitchen
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An American expat in Lahore gets a glimpse into the lives of Pakistani women. More »
Life As An Expat In Havana, Cuba
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As those determined or loca enough to try and live here know, it becomes all too clear, all too fast, that taking up residence in Cuba is anything but More »
The Origin of The Ugly American
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Exploring the history of the ugly American abroad. More »
Group and Ceremony: One Expat’s Experience With Japanese Culture
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Group and ceremony. They have been the hardest part of adjusting to life in Japan. More »
Burakku: Black Culture In Japan
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“Kokujin kakkoii!” is what I was often told whenever I asked what was behind the admiration of black people. Basically, I was cool, simply for bei More »
Tales From The Frontier Of Expat Life: A Memsahib In Pakistan
Popular 28 Comments
It is in Pakistan that I have had to come to grips with the inherent advantages and disadvantages of historical and cultural white privilege. More »
Metric Map: Which Countries Don’t Belong With The Others?
Popular 61 Comments
An outmoded system of measurement means Americans are often at a loss abroad. More »
Curses! Kikokushijo Foiled Again by Jun-Japanese Women
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Apparently, it's not easy for a Japanese woman-of-the-world to pair up with even the most progressive Japanese man. More »
15 Signs You Might Have Been In Oman Too Long
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You accept one word answers like ‘haram,’ ‘Muscat’ or ‘change’ as legitimate responses to the question of ‘why?’ More »
Call for Submissions: Tales From The Frontier of Expat Life
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I'm looking for stories about expats exploring the complicated terrain of cultural differences, attempting to come into some sort of a mutual understa More »
Expat Artists: How Living Abroad Facilitates The Creative Life
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There's the sense of creative abandon abroad, the liberation from whatever aesthetic, social, cultural norms might reign in the artist in at home. To More »
A Day In The Life of An Expat In Thailand
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A day in the life of an English teacher in Thailand. More »
Gringos In Mexico And That Elusive Quest for Authenticity
Popular 12 Comments
We got out of the bus in Mitla, blinking, stumbling, little swirls of dust rising around our feet, plunk, plunk, plunk, one gringo after another plunk More »
A Day in the Life of an Expat in Osaka, Japan
9 Comments
A day in the life of an English teacher in Osaka, Japan. More »
The Foreigner Nod
Popular 23 Comments
Every day I get called out as a foreigner, and as a result, I'm no stranger to The Nod. More »
How To Be A Vegetarian In Korea
Popular 18 Comments
There is no word in Korean for vegetarian and the concept is often quite foreign to Koreans. There is also no such thing as "hold the shrimp" or "ca More »
Being Foreign
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For the real exile, foreignness is not an adventure but a test of endurance. More »
A Day In The Life Of An Expat In Santiago, Chile
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A day in the life of a writer, translator, teacher, editor, blogger, photographer and community outreach ninja in Santiago, Chile. More »
Culture Shock: When, Where, And How Has It Hit You?
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The inevitable and varied experience of culture shock. More »
A Day in the Life of an Expat in Gunpo City, South Korea
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A day in the life of a teacher, writer and musician living in South Korea. More »
Hiking In Korea Is Like Raving, Only Better
Popular 12 Comments
Hiking creates surrogate families, postmodern mountain tribes, linked not by biology, but by the mountain spirits, or San-shin. More »
Do You Represent Your Country When You Travel?
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The most seemingly insignificant interactions count. More »
A Day In The Life of An Expat in Istanbul, Turkey
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A day in the life of an English teacher in Istanbul. More »
What Do You Miss Most Overseas?
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The top five things this Peace Corps volunteer craved during her two years in Togo. More »
A Day in the Life of An Expat in Copenhagen, Denmark
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The Danes call this hygge: the art of cozying up with your significant other (or friends and family) to ward off winter. More »
A Day in the Life of an Au Pair in Breukelen, The Netherlands
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A day in the life of an American au pair in The Netherlands. More »
A Day in the Life of an Expat in Kagoshima, Japan
Popular 11 Comments
A day in the life of an American working in Japan. More »
A Day in the Life of A Writer in Zagreb, Croatia
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Cafes, coffee, flower markets, and a slight hint of discomfort- a day in the life of an expat in Croatia. More »
A Day in the Life of An Expat in Suwon, Korea
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A day in the life of an American in Korea. More »
A Day in the Life of An Expat in Sydney, Australia
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From flat whites to kangaroo BBQ's - the average day of an American in Sydney. More »
A Day in the Life of an Expat in Salta, Argentina
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Even the smell of the cleaner in the bathroom is different. More »
A Day in the Life of An Expat in Oaxaca, Mexico
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What's a typical day in the life of an expat? A tour through a routine day of this Mex-pat in Oaxaca, and a call for submissions on the theme of "a d More »
The Expat Conundrum: The Longer You Stay, The More You Complain
Popular 32 Comments
Why all the bitching? And why does it increase the longer one is away from home, when one should supposedly be increasingly tolerant of cultural diffe More »
The Greatest Thing About Traveling: Routine
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Settling into a routine is one of the most gratifying and revealing processes that unfolds after moving to a new place.
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7 Facts of Expat Life in Bolivia
Popular 17 Comments
Whether you've arranged a volunteer gig or just plan on bummin' it up on the La Paz-Uyuni-Sucre circuit, here are some things to keep in mind about So More »
Tourists, Expats, and That Fragile Sense of Belonging
Popular 20 Comments
Expat treatment of tourists ranges from gentle condescension, as if the tourists were dense, pitiful, overweight children, to outright contempt, as if More »
The Bizarre Politics of Speaking English Overseas
Popular 80 Comments
Why, I wonder, are foreigners so often insulted when other foreigners speak to them in English? I've never understood the purpose of having a tedious More »
Foreign Spouses of Americans Forced to Immigrate to the U.S
Popular 17 Comments
“You must immigrate,” she said.
“But I don’t want to immigrate! I want to visit.” More »
10 Tips for Dealing with Pregnancy in Rural Japan
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The first few months of pregnancy can be quite daunting for any new mother. Put a hemisphere between you and your familiar homeland, and pregnancy ca More »
Should People of Color Go To Russia?
Popular 56 Comments
A graduate student who studied in Moscow addresses the risks for people of color traveling to Russia. More »
10 Ways to Keep Active while Deployed with the U.S. Military
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Helpful tips and ideas for military members who are stationed overseas. More »
The Educational Value of Long Term Travel with Kids
Popular 18 Comments
Extended travel is possible with a family in tow, and it can even be an enriching experience for everyone involved. More »
20 Interesting Expats To Follow On Twitter
Popular 27 Comments
Thinking of living abroad? Follow these twitterers! More »
How To Move To Saigon
Popular 9 Comments
Living and working in Ho Chi Minh City this past year has allowed me to pay rent, travel, and live comfortably within my own means. More »
How To Get A Job Teaching English In Korea
Popular 23 Comments
Come join the best and brightest of a generation and teach English in South Korea! More »
Why Would Anyone Ever Want To Leave America?!?
Popular 63 Comments
I’d love this country if it weren’t populated with total idiots… More »
16 Tips For Yoga Travel Bliss
Popular 8 Comments
Travel is most fun when you feel healthy, and most profound when you take time to pay attention to detail and enjoy peace of mind. More »
How To Raise Successful Kids While Living Overseas
Popular 17 Comments
Comprehensive advice on raising Third Culture kids while living abroad. More »
Mercer’s Best Places to Live in 2009: Quality of Life?
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What really determines quality of life? More »
How To Stay In Touch With Kids While Traveling
Popular 3 Comments
Staying in touch with little ones takes some extra special effort. More »
Chaos, Culture and Kim Chi: A Korean Cafeteria
Popular 12 Comments
School cafeterias offer a window into the evolving culture of Korea. More »
Abram Plaut Gives You 5 Years in Japan in 3 Minutes
3 Comments
Meet one of Matador's Japan experts, Abram Plaut. More »
Introducing: Baxter Jackson
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Meet Matador member Baxter Jackson, a skateboarder from Texas living in Oman. More »
Introducing: Okinawa Wildlife Photographer
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Matador member Ryukyu Mike is a wildlife photographer living in Okinawa, Japan. More »
6 Products That Would Never Sell in the U.S.
Popular 22 Comments
Real Products that could never enjoy success in the U.S. market. More »
Confessions of a Serial Couchsurfer
Popular 17 Comments
I have become seriously addicted to couchsurfing and have a dire need to discuss this dependency with others. More »
How Much Does it Cost to Live in China?
Popular 24 Comments
Your dollar by dollar guide to living in China. More »
Studying Medicine in the Caribbean
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There’s a reason doctors in training at the Caribbean’s numerous medical schools don’t talk about their studies. More »
Finca Bellavista: Moving to Costa Rica with a Dream
Popular 5 Comments
A portrait of Finca Bellavista, a community of people building a life close to the land in Costa Rica. More »
