When you grown up with a dad who’s a expat for an international oil company and a mom who takes up travel blogging for HuffPost, chances are you’ve been around the world a bit, and stayed in some pretty swanky…
Third Culture Kid. What’s That?
You may have heard me talk about third culture kids, or maybe you’ve wondered why I sometimes add #tck to my Instagram posts. Before I was in the expat circle, and became a parent abroad, I’d never even heard the…
It Takes a Compound to Raise a Child. How Ironic.
If you look at it the right way, irony has a great sense of humour. Before we left on vacation in December, I had been in Congo since August. It was easily a record for me, who usually leaves for…
Raising My Third Culture Kids
I was raised on the Canadian Shield, in Northernwestern Ontario(or as we affectionately refer to it-NWO). For anyone who has ever driven across Canada, during the Ontario stretch of your journey, you would have gotten a sense of just how…
Reverse Culture Shock, 3rd Culture Kids, and Other Weird Feelings Expats Have
Have you ever gone on vacation and longed for some of the comforts of home? Your favourite snack? A neighbourhood restaurant? The familiarity of a city? Now imagine if that ‘vacation’ was 5 years long?! When we first left Canada…
Raising Kids in Europe: It Really Does Take a Village
Raising my kids in France means that I’m not exposed to many parenting styles from back home. I know what my extended family does with their kids, and I remember what it was like when I was growing up; but…
A Glimpse Into a School Lunchroom in France
When my husband and I first moved to Paris I spent some time substitute teaching while I figured out what I was going to do with the new life I found myself in. I’ll never forget dreading the fact that…
Celebrating Halloween in a Country That Doesn’t
I grew up in Canada where, as a kid, Halloween was a very big deal. As soon as the school supplies were cleared out, Halloween items were quickly appearing on the shelves. The entire month of October was abuzz…