A person on a foggy road. Expat life, wanderers.

Are Expats Wanderers?

The second prompt of the Expat Blog Challenge is to respond to the line, “Not all those who wander are lost.” Are expats wanderers? Are we lost? This is the second line to a poem by J.R.R. Tolkien titled “All That is Gold Does Not Glitter”. It appears in The Lord of the Rings. All that …

Read more

Two hands holding a smartphone photographing their food.

Tips for eating out in Melbourne

Earlier this week I wrote a guide on how to speak Australian because although Americans and Australians both speak English, we speak different versions of it. Similarly, Americans and Australians equally enjoy meeting our family and friends for coffee or a meal, but eating out in Miami is very different from eating out in Melbourne. Here are some tips …

Read more

Two kangaroos.

How to speak Australian

Americans speak English. Australians speak English. You’d think we’d understand each other perfectly. Here’s a guide on how to speak Australian. In 1892, German linguist Karl Lentzner wrote: The English language has of late years incorporated a vast store of words and phrases generally known as ‘Slang,’ which, with marvellous rapidity, have taken root in all …

Read more

Resident of where?

Expat, immigrant, resident, here, there. I’m a resident of where? It’s hard to know sometimes. There are six reasons a person may be excused from jury duty. Being in another country is not one of them. I have been summoned to appear for jury duty in Miami-Dade County. One can only postpone for up to …

Read more

Heatwave map from BOM.

Surviving a heatwave

Earlier this week, I blogged about the heatwave. Despite the fact that it gets really hot in Melbourne every year, hundreds of Aussies still suffer from heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and death due to exposure to extreme heat. Below are some tips collected from across the web as well as personal experience to help you …

Read more

Heatwave map from BOM.

Heatwave

After a chilly start to the summer season, a heatwave hit Australia last week. Narrabi in New South Wales saw temperatures rise to 47.8°C (118.04°F). Here in Melbourne, we saw four consecutive days over 40°C (104°F). According to Carl Braganza, Manager of Climate Monitoring at the Bureau of Meteorology, it was the longest heatwave in 100 …

Read more