Archives for August 2012

1. Current address:
Stavanger, Norway  

2. Previous address(es):
Melbourne, Australia; Perth, Australia; Paris, France; United States (where I’m from – various cities)  

3. I landed here because…
My husband was hired by a company in their Stavanger offices. We really wanted to live somewhere in Europe for our next stint so we jumped at the chance to come to Norway.

4. The best part of living abroad is…
Every day is new and exciting, even if you’re just going down to the local shops. 

5. The most difficult part of living abroad is…
Being so far away from friends and loved ones.   

6. Before living here (abroad), I never realized…  
How much I actually prefer cooler weather to the heat. After five or six Australian summers I’ve decided I don’t want to live anywhere that hot again – at least not for awhile.  

7. An addition to my day to day vocabulary is…
‘Takk,’ which means ‘thank you’ in Norwegian.  

8. Three words to describe my host country are…
Introverted, beautiful, carefree  

9. If I could live anywhere (hometown excluded) I’d choose…
New York City – I lived there several years ago and loved it – many of my friends and relatives live there. We’ve been hatching plans to move back for the last few years.  

 

10. A traveler or expat (famous or not) I admire is…  
Friedensreich Hundertwasser – I encountered his work in two different countries last year and got to learn more about him in Vienna. He was an artist, architect and environmentalist who travelled and lived all over the world. I admire him because he never let go of his vision despite quite a bit of opposition.

Thanks, Andrea! Looking forward to hearing more about your experiences in Norway on your blog.

xo, jill

Elizabeth is an expat living in one of my favorite countries, Thailand. Although many people dream of living in such a tropical paradise, she’s actually sweating it out and doing it!Here’s Elizabeth’s 10 Questions:

1. Current address:
Nonthaburi, Bangkok – a suburb close to Bangkok

2. Previous address(es):
I lived in Seoul, South Korea for a year, went to university in Arizona and grew up in Washington State in America.

3. I landed here because…
I like to move often as I get bored easily. Thailand seemed like the ultimate adventure (but actually sometimes is just as boring as home.) I hate the cold weather and Thailand’s tropical climate seemed ideal, while I do enjoy the warm days, I am quite sick of sweating. Looking forward to traveling in a cooler country this winter!

4. The best part of living abroad is…
There is so much to see in Asia and living here has given me the opportunity to travel as much as I want (although my current job does not) and I have been able to do things and visit places I couldn’t dream about! I am able to have a home base and a steady income while being a bit of a vagabond. I also get to live with and like the locals (though I still indulge my western habits sometimes) rather than just breezing through. You learn so much more about a culture when you take a longer look. 

5. The most difficult part of living abroad is…
Everything I do, from getting dinner to paperwork for my visa is a big effort. Ever little thing is difficult because of the language barrier and there is always a run around! Being a foreigner makes me very likely to get ripped off, ignored, stared at and walked on. Traveling is much different than being an expat, and while sometimes being comfortable in the culture makes it a little easier, simple things like setting up a bank account or getting a hair cut are a draining task.

6. Before living here (abroad), I never realized…
So many things! Americans are very sheltered and can sometimes be very naive about the world. One thing that really threw me off when I moved to South Korea was the laundry. I had no idea that most of the world doesn’t use a machine to dry their clothes. It really shocked me at first but I am now used to it, even though it still does annoy me. I was raised to think it was normal, but really it is just another case of typical American over consumption. I miss having warm, soft clothes from the dryer but it is an awful waste of energy, I now realize.

7. An addition to my day to day vocabulary is…
The most common phrase in the Thai language and an attitude highly evident in the culture – mai pen rai (ไม่เป็นไร) which basically translates to no problem! I say it about 50 times a day whether in the form of “Your welcome” when someone says thank you or when I fell down an open sewage hole and the owner of the building was apologizing. Mai pen rai. 

8. Three words to describe my host country are…
sweaty, spicy, scandalous

9. If I could live anywhere (hometown excluded) I’d choose…
Any beach, Anywhere. When I am ready to settle down my dream is to live in a beach hut in Australia, Central America, or any island that will have me, living a sustainable and quiet life, with no worries or other people. Ahh, a girl can dream…

10. A treavel or expat (famous or not) I admire is…
Call me a dork, but one of my favorite things to do is observe people and their habits (I was a psych major) and when I was in school I was enthralled by my anthropology class and people who went to primitive cultures, living along side and learning about them from the inside. I might even say reading and learning about Margaret Mead and her life studying people in Samoa and other cultures inspired me to live in other cultures and learn more. I am an academic at heart and even though I can’t afford to go back to school right now, that doesn’t mean I am not learning. 

Thanks, Elizabeth! I hope you’re having fun and nothing’s too “sweaty, spicy, or scandalous” for you!

xo, jill