Moving Back to Kyiv. Again.
I know they say be careful what you wish for, but it wasn’t like I wished to be back here. I just made a joke, that’s all. It wasn’t even a particularly good one. About a year…
My Lost Year as a Moscow Expat
I think a lot about the ‘right way’ to be an expat. If I were to construct the picture of a ‘good expat,’ they would be someone who speaks the language, has relationships with local businesses, gets…
The Only Thing I’ve Learned This Year
It’s my expat anniversary! Three years ago, I boarded a plane headed for Tokyo, where I’d spend a night before going on to Singapore. I don’t remember which airline I flew, though it was definitely not United…
How to Choose Your Next Expat Home
The snow pants were presenting a problem. As was my Little Red Riding Hood pea coat, my cozy and fluffy sweater shawl, and my snow boots. Leaving Kyiv and moving to Tbilisi in the middle of winter meant…
Rethinking Solo Travel in Ureki, Georgia
I’m sitting in the reception area of a hotel in Ureki Georgia, with bedding and other random hospitality debris piled high around me, and there’s one thing for certain. I am definitely traveling alone. I know this…
What Happened in Tbilisi
You know how when you show up in a new place, with no friends, no job, no place to stay, you have the chance to reinvent yourself entirely? No one knows anything about you – this is…
On Leaving Ukraine
I knew it was time to leave Ukraine when they knocked down the cigarette stands across the street. It’s not that I smoke cigarettes, but that was my go-to place for late night chocolate. I had established…
My Weird Reverse Culture Shock After Ukraine
It’s been a long time since I’ve chilled out in the US. In the last two years, I’ve only spent about a week back home. So when I packed up my life in Ukraine and prepared for…
5 Things to Know Before Teaching English Abroad
Oh man, the dreams we have before embarking on expat life, the ideas we have before teaching English abroad! Visions of motivated students delighted with every inspired lesson, eager to listen to the wisdom you drop. Relaxing sunset…
Two Years of Expat Life, Three Lessons Learned
Today is my two year anniversary of getting on a plane and flying over Canada to Tokyo, where I’d spend a brief, adrenaline-pumped fourteen hours before continuing on to Singapore. It was the start of my expat…
