Expat Mums Blog

Anglophiles

When I was growing up, history, especially British history (Russian history came in a close second) fascinated me. The Kings and Queens, lines of succession, the customs, the pagentry, the castles, I wanted to know about it all. I had an old book from the 60s or 70s that listed the British Monarchs and gave details about each of their reigns. I read it cover to cover more than once. I did a research paper in 10th grade about Elenore of Aquitaine and was immediately smitten by her. Then I delved into more recent history, Churchill, Thatcher. Oh and Monty Python and Black Adder? Of course! I was a complete Anglophile.

Take me out to the ballgame

The crack of the bat. The smell of leather and popcorn.  The chanting, the songs, the umpires....God, I hate baseball. 

For years, I was forced to participate in my school's team and I count it as one of  the greatest traumas of my life.  With no co-ordination, hand-eye skills or desire, I can safely say I was the worst player that ever stepped foot onto that field. Each year, I would beg to be cut from the line-up, but being in such a small school, they needed all of the players they could get.  So I stood in right-field and seethed. A life-long loathing of America's past-time was born on that grassy expanse in Lisbon, Iowa. 

Arranged marriage anyone?

When Yash decided to marry me all those years ago, he was aware of the fact that he was going against a very strong tradition of the culture of his community. I am talking about arranged marriage. Arranged marriages were and still are very much the norm in eastern cultures. Things are slowly changing and nowadays, many of the marriages we attend are in fact ‘love marriages’ as they have come to be called. Well, as Yash sometimes says, in a lighthearted manner, ‘all marriages are love marriages in the beginning. Then they turn into hate marriages'. I just say ‘speak for yourself!’.

People in the modern world generally have a concept of marriage as having something to do with romantic love, but that is only a modern concept. Marriage is something which is practical and which needs a practical basis. As far as I can see, it is only in the last century or so that people have been having marriages which are based on the concept of romantic love. In Ireland, where I come from, the matchmaker was a very important person in society. This was the case, especially in rural areas, up to about half a century ago.

Missing My Mummy Friends

Way back when, before we moved to Bosnia, I identified the development of a Mummy Network in Bosnia as pretty vital to how we managed to settle in (and even wrote a post about it: All Hail the Mother's Union). Having friends with similarish age children is such a life saver on those days when nothing is quite going to plan. It also allows everyone the opportunity to get out, behave better and have a change of scene. Before we left I was really really worried about how I would cope without one.

Road Trip: Back to the Beginning

I packed road food (snacks that aren't usually allowed), and filled a small flask with green tea (healthy caffeine, I guess), and put the bags in the boot along with the unicycle so my daughter could show her grandparents her amazing balance. We left at 8.30 am. 

We passed several signs labelled The North. I always love the implication of those signs--a place so big and wild it can only be labelled The North. Overactive imagination, I admit. 

We arrived at Scotch Corner at 11.30 am. Scotch Corner is a services area on the A1. We were making good time, Saturday mornings are a good time to travel. While having another green tea and a toasted panini at Scotch Corner my daughter and I talked about Road Trips. I explained that at three hours into a road trip in the States you would be just down the road a ways, there would be days more of driving. This is relevant because were are considering a road trip in the States next summer, rather than going to Northern Minnesota. I would like my daughter (and step-kids!) to see more of my home country.

My childhood at Sand Lake

 

It's nearly the 4th of July...a time I think all expats have a bit of difficulty.  The 4th of July, Thanksgiving and probably Christmas, for me, are the hardest to be away from the US.  Our uniquely American holidays of the 4th and Thanksgiving are times for family, friends, parties, booze, hot dogs and brats and parades and fireworks (not so much on Thanksgiving really...the Native American's didn't share that with us!).  I have been living permanently in the UK since 2005 and have a wonderful, happy life with my hubby and amazing Little Miss.  I don't miss the US, really, but on certain occasions, like the 4th of July, I do.  Shall I wax nostalgic for the days of my youth?? 

Best of the expat mums blogging carnival

Being a parent is hard. Doing it in another country, well that's a whole new ball game. One thing that does make a difference though is knowing that other expats are experiencing the same thing. So, bought together here is a collection of some of the best expat Mummy (and Daddy) blogs out there, to share their thoughts on aspects of expat life.

Geeky Mummy over at the Hair Dog Chronicles wonders about how Americanized she has become since moving to the US in 1996 in Supersize Us.

Cafe Bebe misses the 4th July celebrations now she is living in England and remembers some of her childhood ones in My Childhood at Sand Lake.