As an expat living and working abroad as an international educator many of the conversations I have with fellow foreigner colleagues revolve around one of two things: work or travel. The shop talk can be tiresome and therefore I try to avoid it or navigate to alternate topics. The second topic is a discussion of where one went on their last holiday, or where one will be traveling to for their next break. Everyone seems…
I have always believed that people either have the knack for language, or they don’t. I put myself in that latter or second camp. I took Spanish for three years in high school and could never do much more than ask where the bathroom was located. Don’t get me wrong, that was useful language to know when you found yourself suffering from Montezuma’s revenge; however, it’s not any level of fluency. My inability to speak…
For the better part of 20 years I wore a wedding ring on my left hand. I took the last one off about a year ago, and have felt naked ever since. Last month I spent time exploring jewelry shops in my neighborhood. These are not the sort of shops I frequent as I’m not drawn to traditional sparkle, and am not a fashion hound of any sort. I was skeptical about finding anything suitable, but…