Tag Archives: French

Younger Daughter’s Expat Story

Posted on March 29, 2012 by

Today’s guest post was provided by Younger Daughter. I’m cheating with this one, because she wrote it for a school assignment shortly after we moved back to Canada. I like seeing our family’s expat story from an 11-year-old’s perspective, even … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Post, Third Culture Kids | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The lazy expat mom’s guide to language learning

Posted on February 9, 2012 by

Aaron Myers of The Everyday Language Learner is the idea guy behind today’s post. I discovered his website quite by accident, and I love his approach to learning languages. I’ll let him fill you in on the rest: “Today’s post … Continue reading →

Posted in France, Language, Singapore | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Le pick-up artiste

Posted on February 2, 2012 by

I was wading through my very clogged inbox yesterday and found an email I’d sent to a friend on May 11, 2006. I’d all but forgotten about this interesting encounter in the aisles of my local Auchan supermarket, but I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture Shock, France | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

An Unhappy Truth

Posted on October 13, 2011 by

NorthSouthEastWest: Expat Dispatches   We’re back — four intrepid souls who swap guests posts each month from the far corners of the globe. We are: North: Linda in the Netherlands (Adventures in Expatland) South: Russell in Australia (In Search of a Life … Continue reading →

Posted in NSEW Guest Post | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

An expat in France: café culture shock

Posted on May 16, 2011 by

The French take their coffee seriously. (Frappuccino? Qu’est-ce que c’est?) From the bowl of café au lait that begins the day, to the post-prandial espresso that ends it, coffee is as much a part of French life as the wine … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture Shock, Food, France | Tagged , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Canadian English spoken here

Posted on March 31, 2011 by

Writing Monday’s post about Singlish reminded me of all the times I’ve put my foot in my mouth trying to make myself understood in a foreign country. (In my defence, the French words for highlights and ugly people differ by … Continue reading →

Posted in Identity, Language | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

French kissing

Posted on February 14, 2011 by

Note: This post was voted Expatica France’s best blog for 2010/2011. I wonder what fool it was that first invented kissing. ~ Jonathan Swift It’s always seemed strange to me that the two acceptable greeting gestures in French society are the … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture Shock, France, Publications | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Do I need a foreign language intervention?

Posted on January 10, 2011 by

Monolingualism, as a bumper sticker recently assured me, can be cured. That’s the good news. The bad news is that I’ve been neglecting my linguistic health for so long, I’m afraid the prognosis for a complete recovery is hopeless. As … Continue reading →

Posted in France, Language, Repatriation, Singapore | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

What my unknown soldier taught me about remembrance

Posted on November 10, 2010 by

I’ve dutifully observed Remembrance Day my entire life. When I was young, I understood perfectly well its origins and its purpose, but I didn’t feel, in my guts, any real connection to the people I was supposed to be memorializing. … Continue reading →

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My new hero: Benny the Irish Polyglot

Posted on November 2, 2010 by

I’m in love. I wasn’t expecting it to happen. I’ve been married to Chef Boyardee for nearly 20 years, so I certainly wasn’t looking for anyone new. But one day I was flicking idly through my twitter feed when I … Continue reading →

Posted in Language | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments