Today’s prompt in the Expat Blog Challenge is to respond to the following quote by T. Crossley: ‘Expat Syndrome’ is a condition whereby many expatriates see mostly either the best of their own nationality & the worst of the locals, or see the opposite. I work on viewing cultural differences as just that, differences. I … Read more

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

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

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