Expat Mums Blog

Ex-pat re-education

If there’s one place that still makes me feel like an ex-pat it’s my kids’ school.  First there’s the grade system. My oldest is now in tenth grade thank goodness, so there’s less of the counting on fingers to figure out a kid’s age. In the UK, it’s “years” which are one ahead of grades - Year 1 is Kindergarten, Year 2 is First Grade, and so on.
 
Then there’s the annual school supplies list which asks for things like trapper-keepers. I thought it was zoology equipment at first! (For those not in the know, it’s a school binder with lots of things inside and a zip all the way round.)  I used to phone friends for translations, but I now give my kids the lists and let them run around the store. 

Driving in England -- roundabouts and giveways

I should really preface this entire story by saying, my husband does not deal with change well. He is very set in his ways, gets frustrated easily, and has high expectations of himself. In other words, God forbid something not go according to plan. I am very go with the flow, I like a challenge, and I see most everything as a learning experience and it takes a lot for me to lose my temper. I am not saying that my way is better than his way of learning, but at least I don't punch inanimate objects when I get frustrated. Just sayin'.

Best of the expat mums blogging carnival

Being a parent is hard. Then, in the spirit of adventure, job hunting or reasons that you can't quite remember you decide to uproot, leave behind all that you know and go to another country, adding a whole new dimension to your parenting. Being a parent away from home brings a whole host of different issues, joys and amusements, many of which are probably best chalked up to experience but some are thrillingly exciting, doubly so when experienced with your kids.

We thought it was time to highlight some of the best posts from expat parents, collecting together a good group of posts about the unique experiences and challenges of being an expat mum.

The Expat Mums Blog is for expat mMums all over the world. If you have something to say or would like to contribute please let us know at expatmumsblog at gmail dot com. We'd love to hear from you.

Don't call me ...

I don’t know what is more unnerving – the fact that little L has missed her due date and that every passing day brings me closer to the whole drip-epidural-induction-nightmare; or people that keep on calling, texting and commenting on the fact that my belly is still occupied territory.

‘Where is little L?’, ‘L?’, ‘Is she still in your tummy?’ and ‘Isn’t she a bit late?’ to mention just a few considerate questions I receive. Daily. My favourites were this week’s comments on how high up my belly still was (‘too high to go into labour anytime soon’), and that Braxton-Hicks contractions would indicate another 4 weeks of pregnancy to come. I would be 45 weeks pregnant by then, how sensational!