Well, it’s been five months since we repatriated back to the US. For so long all I thought about was what life would look like when we returned, both professionally and personally. I felt so ready for the change, but I think I forgot to properly prepare everyone else for the up and down emotions!... Continue Reading →
Time of my life
I’ve been trying for weeks to put into words how I feel about leaving SH. It’s been two months of goodbyes, last time at this restaurant or last date night or last friend coffee, and I have to say I am exhausted by it all. We have had some truly memorable moments over the past... Continue Reading →
The language of fun
We attended our last SH birthday party over the weekend. As I stood there listening to the Spanish being spoken all around me, it clarified something for me. SH is not just about speaking English or Mandarin. It is not a black and white experience where you interact with either people who speak your native... Continue Reading →
International Women’s Day 2019
This post originally appeared on Shanghai Mamas. You can check out the post here: http://shanghaimamas.org/international-womens-day-2019/ Happy Women’s Day, Mamas! March 8th marks the 110th International Women’s Day, and countries like China are celebrating with lectures, lunches, and sometimes even work holidays for women. In the last decade, International Women’s Day has become a lot higher... Continue Reading →
Xin Nian Kuai Le!
Happy New Year, everyone! I am sad that my “dog baby’s” year is over, but excited for whatever the year of the pig has in store. This year we didn’t know my husband’s travel schedule in time to book a getaway to a warm, tropical island. So, our CNY was spent right here in Shanghai.... Continue Reading →
Shanghai Mamas blog post: A time for reflection
Below is a piece I wrote for Shanghai Mamas. The original post can be found here. If you are a mama in Shanghai and haven't yet joined the Shanghai Mamas tribe, now is your chance! Head on over to their site and check out all the great events they put on and the advice they... Continue Reading →
My baby is three
Today our older son turns three. If you asked me on the day he was born if we'd be headed to Thailand for a quick vacation on his third birthday I'd say you were nuts. But then again, pretty much everything since that first day has been one crazy adventure after another. The stars haven't... Continue Reading →
Resolutions: the start of year three
Last week marked the two-year anniversary of our arrival in Shanghai. So much in our lives has changed since that first lonely week in our new home. We returned from a summer in the US and easily settled back into the school/ayi/work/activities life we had carved out for ourselves over the past two years. Everything... Continue Reading →
Being in the here and now
I recently wrote an article for the Shanghai Expat Association (SEA) Courier magazine on what a spouse needs to do to get her family ready to repatriate or move on to the next expat assignment. I spoke with a dozen women who live or recently lived here, which in and of itself was an awesome... Continue Reading →
The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see. — G.K. Chesterton
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. — Mark Twain
Happy birthday, son
My son is 2 today. I simultaneously feel that he has been a part of my life forever and yet I am still overwhelmed every time I realize that the little boy calling me mommy is looking squarely at me. He looks to me for everything—from the moment he wakes up and wants to start... Continue Reading →
It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. — Ernest Hemingway
Back to school
Our son started his preschool class last week. It was a week of great highs and lows as he adjusted to this new place, and more importantly, adjusted to being there without me. Every new situation he faces causes me to feel of two minds: I want him to feel safe and happy but I... Continue Reading →
Abroad for the second time: what a repeat experience means for a Shanghai ex-pat.
When you live abroad, you encounter people at all different stages of life. This type of lifestyle lends itself to a more adventurous person, and many of people I meet are on their second, third, or even fifth ex-pat assignment. For those with multiple countries under their belt, the prior experiences can really shape what... Continue Reading →
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. – Mark Twain
The world is round, and the place that may seem like the end may also be the beginning. --Ivy Baker Priest, Treasurer of the US under Dwight D. Eisenhower
An Ocean Away 