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Category Archives: expatriate
WRINKLE
Somewhere there is a wrinkle. A sheet flips in a breeze. A hand brushes through the air. And with that, it is as if nothing has skipped or moved. Nothing jumped or caught. As if, in a linear manner, life … Continue reading
Posted in expat, expatriate, Foreign Service, Holidays, Iceland, Pacific Palisades, Summer, trailing spouse, Uncategorized
Tagged Dream Hotel, expat, Farmers Market, holiday, Iceland, Parenting, Summer, Viceroy
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ODE TO THE WHALE
When I was a girl, I slept with the whales—above my pillow hung an oversize photographic poster of a pod of orcas and across the room swung a large paper mobile of seven whales: grey, blue, minke and so on. … Continue reading
Posted in expatriate, Iceland, Spring, Travel
Tagged budir, expat, hellnar, Iceland, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne, snaefellsnes, travel, whale
2 Comments
TROLLS, BONFIRES & PUTREFIED SKATE—Surviving the Holidays in Iceland
I spent December talking about trolls: the one with the big nose that sniffs doorways, the peeping tom troll, the one with an unusually long tongue that licks empty bowls, or the sly one that steals Skyr (yogurt). Staying in … Continue reading
BOUNCE
I bounce: between countries, between days, between states of mind. Write. Travel. Parent. Host. Play. Edit. I don’t know stasis, nor routine. My steady state is lost. There is only movement, change, bounce. If I was a techie, I’d create … Continue reading
Posted in creative writing, expat, expatriate, Foreign Service, Iceland, Motherhood, moving
Tagged Algonkian Writers Conference, Ever After Studio, expat, foreign service, Geysir, Gullfoss, Iceland, London
3 Comments
AUTUMN IN ICELAND
Snow dusts the top of the great mountain and the wind howls something fierce. Air whistles and screams through the chimney as the gusts blow sheets of rain. Waves of water move sideways in the grey world outside. Grateful to … Continue reading
Posted in expat, expatriate, Foreign Service, ice, Iceland, snow, Travel, Winter
Tagged autumn, basalt, basalt columns, black sand beach, expat, expatriate, foreign service, holiday, ice, Iceland, Mokka, Reykjavik, travel, Vik, waterfalls, Winter
4 Comments
BLUEBERRIES IN A LAVA FIELD: Early Impressions of Iceland
First I notice the earth—black boulders and small rough pebbles, volcanoes, a conical mountain, and the enormous expanse of tall, brown barren land that lays slumbering across the bay. In Iceland, the land rises and falls sharply, exposing tectonic plates, … Continue reading
Posted in expat, expatriate, Foreign Service, Iceland, Motherhood, moving, Parenting, Travel
Tagged Culture Night, expat, expatriate, foreign service, Hofsos, Iceland, Iceland with children, kids, Motherhood, Parenting, Reykjavik, Sigulfjordur, travel, travel with children, Vatnses
7 Comments
HOME LEAVE
From inside the lake house I hear small waves crash against the shore and the soft patter of a light rain. My sister-in-law’s donkey, Zack, is tucked into his stable and on the counter behind me sits an over-sized bucket … Continue reading
Posted in expat, expatriate, Foreign Service, Home Leave, ice, Motherhood, moving, Parenting, Summer, trailing spouse, Travel, Uncategorized
Tagged career, expat, expatriate, foreign service, home leave, Iceland, kids, Lair of the Bear, Los Angeles, Michael Lewis, Motherhood, New Yorker, Parenting, Summer, trailing spouse, travel, Upper Peninsula, Vanity Fair
4 Comments
MY MOSCOW FAVORITES
MY MUST-SEE PLACES & THINGS TO DO –BANYA BEATDOWN: On a wintry day, what could be better than watching women of all sizes beat each other with birch leaves, sweat and pray in the steam room, or plunge in … Continue reading
Posted in Bucket List, expat, expatriate, Moscow, moving, Russia, Summer, trailing spouse, Travel
Tagged Bucket List, expat, expatriate, foreign service, holiday, kids, Moscow, Motherhood, Russia, Summer, trailing spouse, travel
4 Comments
STALIN’S SNOW
Puffed white seedlings float through Moscow’s hot summer streets, alighting on park benches, gathering on corners, or flitting through crowds, before a gust forces them onward. Often, the millions of ever-present puffs hang, suspended in mid-air as if they are … Continue reading
Posted in expat, expatriate, Foreign Service, Moscow, moving, Russia, snow, Spring, Summer, trailing spouse, Travel
Tagged Bucket List, career, expat, expatriate, foreign service, Iceland, Motherhood, moving, Parenting, pukh, Reykjavik, Russia, snow, Stalin's Snow, Summer, trailing spouse, travel
1 Comment
TEA WITH THE LADIES
Entertaining neighbors is always a good idea. Here’s a shout out to the ladies who came to the tea today and to those not anywhere near us who thought the menu sounded tasty. So glad everyone liked the food. As … Continue reading
Posted in expat, expatriate, Foreign Service, Moscow, recipes, Russia, trailing spouse
Tagged cilantro dip, quinoa, recipes, tart, tea
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