-
AAFSW
INTERNATIONS
-
Tag Archives: expatriate
NEW STORY: Saying Goodbye
Check out my story about saying goodbye in this new anthology. Particularly appropriate now as we gear up to soon say farewell to Iceland. But more on that later. . . The Foreign Service Companion: Moving Your Household Without Losing Your … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Anthology, expat, expatriate, foreign service, Goodbye, moving, travel, writing
1 Comment
SCHIZOPHRENIC SPRING
Our house is whistling. It sounds like the wind will yank it up from the foundation and pitch it across the fjord. Someone told me that today the winds reached sixty miles an hour. After our very long winter, I … Continue reading
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
PANTIES IN A PERIHOD
Moscow is melting. Slush and puddles fill our yard. Everywhere I hear the glorious drip, drip, drip of SPRING! But that also means our time is running out. After two years of exploring, we only have three more months before … Continue reading
Posted in Bucket List, creative writing, expat, expatriate, Foreign Service, ice, literary, Moscow, Russia, snow, Spring, trailing spouse, Travel, Winter
Tagged Bucket List, bulgokov, Cafe Margarita, CDL, Central House of Writers, expat, expatriate, foreign service, ice, Izmaylovo, Kremlin, Lomonosov, master and margarita, Matryoshka, Moscow, moscow conservatory, moscow river, Perihod, Ragout Restaurant, Russia, snow, Spring, trailing spouse, travel, Tsum, Winter, writing
3 Comments
THIS ISN’T SEX IN THE BIG CITY, THIS IS LOVE IN A SMALL ROOM (ALMOST)
The ballroom of the United States ambassador’s grand residence in Moscow was dark. On the ceiling, above the ornate crown molding and the arched windows, yellow and blue geometric patterns swirled and then faded in their weak attempt at a … Continue reading
Posted in expat, expatriate, Foreign Service, Moscow, Motherhood, Parenting, Russia, snow, Spaso House, Teeth, trailing spouse, Travel, Vice President of the United States, VIP Visits, Winter
Tagged Antalya, career, dentistry, Dr. Jill Biden, expat, expatriate, foreign service, hip hop, Joe Biden, John Forte, kids, morning routine, Moscow, Motherhood, Parenting, Russia, snow, Spaso House, teeth, The Fugees, trailing spouse, travel, Turkey, Vice President, Winter, writing
2 Comments
DENTAL-EVAC
I know my overseas life is crazy. But needing to travel to another country simply to visit the dentist confirms that my situation has entered the realm of the absurd. The back of my mouth is killing me. Pain shoots … Continue reading
Posted in Airport, creative writing, dentistry, expat, expatriate, Foreign Service, Moscow, Motherhood, Parenting, Russia, snow, Teeth, Terrorism, trailing spouse, Winter
Tagged bomb, dentistry, domodedevo, expat, expatriate, foreign service, kids, Russia, snow, teeth, terrorism, travel, Winter
1 Comment
