EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: It has been a while since my last post. However, with Covid-19 happening in between it feels like far more time has passed than what the calendar really shows. In this relatively short period, an enormous amount has changed. High School Life in the Last Semester of 2019/2020 One thing that […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: Right now, it is summer, and one of the busiest times of the year for town celebrations and events in New Jersey, and elsewhere in the US. As this is being written, it is just one week after the American monster party of the year for the July 4th holiday (Independence […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: Probably lots of people around the world outside the USA, have learnt the most about American culture via TV shows and movies. American high school life is no different, with movies regularly released showing high school backdrops and teenager conversations. Some things though are not fully explained in detail through TV, […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: Cultural differences. This may be the single hardest challenge to overcome when moving to a new country as an expat. Hard to prepare for but even harder to anticipate. Sure, if you’re moving from Miami to Myanmar, you should be expecting that there’d be significant cultural differences, so you would plan […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: As much as I have tried to avoid sounding American in my own parochial way, it’s almost impossible. After seven years, there are many routine words from the local’s vocabulary that have crept into my everyday speech. Here are a few examples of common American expressions that I say frequently: Candy A very […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: After six years here, I can say that life as an expat in NJ has been pretty good overall. Once you are settled in, not feeling homesick any more, and your kids adapt to their schools, then life gets a lot easier. In fact, most of the time, it is quite enjoyable. But even living […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE: Shopping in America has always meant for me as an Australian, going to ‘the mall’. Outside these iconic centers of convenient high fashion and merchandise, I knew there were other big-store retailers like Walmart, Costco and Toys’R’Us but didn’t think much beyond these. Well it turns out that these big-box (large) retailers are so numerous in America that it […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE: The first hint that my Australian accent might not be ‘easy’ to understand for Americans, came on our second day here. We were in a CVS chain pharmacy, and I was searching for a cheap mobile phone. As there was nothing I could see instore, I asked a shop assistant where I could […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE: I got a huge surprise when she told me. “Mum, I’m going to be in the Spelling Bee final.” “Congratulations! That’s fabulous!” I exclaimed with pride. Although I was thrilled for her, when I looked in her eyes, I could see she didn’t think it was fabulous at all. My daughter had a […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE: If you haven’t had the exquisite joy of visiting a DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) in the USA yet, then you haven’t really lived. As an expat, I would definitely classify the DMV as an adventure travel experience – expat thrill seeking at its most dangerous. Just mention ‘going to the DMV’ and you […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: It has been a while since my last post. However, with Covid-19 happening in between it feels like far more time has passed than what the calendar really shows. In this relatively short period, an enormous amount has changed. High School Life in the Last Semester of 2019/2020 One thing that […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: Right now, it is summer, and one of the busiest times of the year for town celebrations and events in New Jersey, and elsewhere in the US. As this is being written, it is just one week after the American monster party of the year for the July 4th holiday (Independence […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: Probably lots of people around the world outside the USA, have learnt the most about American culture via TV shows and movies. American high school life is no different, with movies regularly released showing high school backdrops and teenager conversations. Some things though are not fully explained in detail through TV, […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: Cultural differences. This may be the single hardest challenge to overcome when moving to a new country as an expat. Hard to prepare for but even harder to anticipate. Sure, if you’re moving from Miami to Myanmar, you should be expecting that there’d be significant cultural differences, so you would plan […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: As much as I have tried to avoid sounding American in my own parochial way, it’s almost impossible. After seven years, there are many routine words from the local’s vocabulary that have crept into my everyday speech. Here are a few examples of common American expressions that I say frequently: Candy A very […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: After six years here, I can say that life as an expat in NJ has been pretty good overall. Once you are settled in, not feeling homesick any more, and your kids adapt to their schools, then life gets a lot easier. In fact, most of the time, it is quite enjoyable. But even living […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE: Shopping in America has always meant for me as an Australian, going to ‘the mall’. Outside these iconic centers of convenient high fashion and merchandise, I knew there were other big-store retailers like Walmart, Costco and Toys’R’Us but didn’t think much beyond these. Well it turns out that these big-box (large) retailers are so numerous in America that it […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE: The first hint that my Australian accent might not be ‘easy’ to understand for Americans, came on our second day here. We were in a CVS chain pharmacy, and I was searching for a cheap mobile phone. As there was nothing I could see instore, I asked a shop assistant where I could […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE: I got a huge surprise when she told me. “Mum, I’m going to be in the Spelling Bee final.” “Congratulations! That’s fabulous!” I exclaimed with pride. Although I was thrilled for her, when I looked in her eyes, I could see she didn’t think it was fabulous at all. My daughter had a […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE: If you haven’t had the exquisite joy of visiting a DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) in the USA yet, then you haven’t really lived. As an expat, I would definitely classify the DMV as an adventure travel experience – expat thrill seeking at its most dangerous. Just mention ‘going to the DMV’ and you […] Continue reading →