Tag Archives: expat life

Speaking English

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Commander in Chief At home

Living overseas, as a diplomat interacting with people from many different countries, has made me realize that I am truly blessed, in many ways, to have been born in the United States. Birth into a nation that speaks the most … Continue reading →

Posted in Friendship, Living abroad, military family | Tagged english as a second language, expat life, foreign language, military attache, speaking english | 2 Comments

All In A Day’s Work in the Expat World

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Commander in Chief At home

Last night, before bedtime, I realized I’d be at the school all day the next day and had to plan for dinner. In this odd life, that has a different meaning than it did when I was teaching back in … Continue reading →

Posted in Living abroad, military family | Tagged ayi help, beijing life, china life, chinese to english, diplomat life, expat life, foreign service life, living abroad, living in china, lost in translation, military family life, miltary family blog, river garden life, shunyi life, translation | 3 Comments

The Freedom To Roam

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Commander in Chief At home

When in Rome (or Beijing), do as the locals do. I saw very few motorized tuk tuks when we lived in Beijing seven years ago. Now, though, I see them everywhere around our little rural hamlet. Locals and expats alike … Continue reading →

Posted in Living abroad, military family | Tagged expat in beijing, expat in china, expat life, living abroad, living in china, military blog, military family blog, tuk tuk beijing, tuk tuk expat, tuk tuk shunyi | 1 Comment

Honeymoon Phase and Perspective

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Commander in Chief At home

When our family arrived in Beijing, 2 weeks ago, and drove to our new home, it felt mostly familiar and only a little new. That feeling continued when we walked over to the shopping center for dinner that evening. After … Continue reading →

Posted in Living abroad, military family | Tagged adjusting to a move, adjusting to living abroad, china expat, embassy china, expat life, foreign service life, living in china, market in china, military blog, military family life, wet market | Leave a comment

Making a Missing Ingredient

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Commander in Chief At home

Spinach lasagna is a family favorite dinner. I make it with cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese. I knew, from living in China, that cheese is expensive in Asia, but I was prepared to pay the price. Finding the ingredients in … Continue reading →

Posted in Living abroad | Tagged cooking overseas, dolan sisters, expat life, great podcast, lian dolan, living overseas, making ricotta cheese, military blog, military family blog, military life, military wife blog, navy spouse blog, ricotta recipe, satellite sisters, satellite Sisters podcast | Leave a comment

All In A Week of This Expat’s Life

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Commander in Chief At home

What a week. Zack graduated from high school. Upon counting, I realized that he attended 11 schools from age two to 17. He not only got through it, he got an academic scholarship to his top choice university! On Tuesday, … Continue reading →

Posted in Living abroad, military family | Tagged earthquake, end of school, expat life, final exams, living overseas, military blog, military family, military family blog, military move, moving schools, overseas move | Leave a comment

Snakes and a Language Lesson

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Commander in Chief At home

Last Thursday was a day to remember. I saw not only one snake, but two, and they were both cobras! Neither snake was long for this world. The first was lying, injured, on the road, and the second was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Living abroad, military family | Tagged adjusting to living abroad, AIT housing, cobra in taiwan, expat life, living abroad, military blog, military life, military overseas, snakes in taiwan, yangmingshan snakes | Leave a comment

Strength Finds Me

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Commander in Chief At home

Long after Horatio returned from his most recent 20+ month deployment, people still say they don’t know how we did it. Horatio gets looks of pity for having been away from his family for so long, and friends and acquaintances … Continue reading →

Posted in Friendship, Living abroad, No Nonsense Parenting | Tagged blue star family, dealing with deployment, deployed spouse, deployment, deployment blog, expat life, family, living abroad, married single mom, military blog, military family blog, military family issues, military kids, navy family, single parenting | 2 Comments

Jianguo Artists Corner

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Commander in Chief At home

On the weekend, the parking garages beneath the highway that leads downtown turn into a market of flowers and art and knickknacks. Three markets stretch beneath the highway. I don’t know the length of the markets but the flowers, crafts … Continue reading →

Posted in Living abroad | Tagged art, art in taiwan, crafts in taiwan, expat life, flower market taiwan, flowers in taiwan, living abroad, living in taiwan, Taiwan | 1 Comment

Crash and Burn (a little cash)

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Commander in Chief At home

I’ve described the treacherous driving here on several occasions. Our family vehicle could only avoid getting dinged up for so long. It was only a matter of time. That time passed several months ago, but wasn’t worth mentioning. What happened … Continue reading →