This is the first time, after writing 500 or so blogs, where I’ve used pen and paper to compose my posting. It’s not because I’m living, for two months, in a 500 year-old-city known for its preservation of historical buildings, traditional ways and conservative thinking. Guanajuato, Mexico is a lovely city but I didn’t think I´d be going back to doing things the old way just because I was living here.

My taking up this quaint way of getting ideas down can be blamed on shrimp, a housefull of cats, a dog and my distracted mind: but we’ve all decided to lay most of the blame on the shrimp. more…

Returning to a familiar place, especially during the holidays, brings with it a wealth of emotions that make your travels so much more meaningful than at any other time of the year. That’s probably why so many of us make the trip home despite the higher cost of airfares, the blizzard-blocked roads, and the stress-caused fights that come from cramming so many family members together.

While I rarely travel to the same location twice—there are simply too many places in the world to visit—Guanajuato, Mexico is certainly the exception as this is the fourth time in four years I’ve been here (okay, France is another one where I’ve traveled three times in 20 years). This is the second time that I’m here for the holidays so while I’m being reminded of where things are located in this small town–the bakery, the post office, the Mercado Hidalgo, the little calejon (street) with the silver jewelry store–I’m also re-encountering traditions related to Christmas. more…

There’s nothing like being home for the holidays, any expat will tell you: but what if you have many homes? And no, I’m not some jet-setting international traveler with real estate on every continent.

I just left my home in China where husband Jacob is finishing up his one-year teaching contract. Since I truly believe that home is where the heart is, my home is wherever the love of my life is.

My first home is in Canada where my mother, four sisters, and the rest of my family lives. Since all of my childhood memories of the holidays are set in the Great White North, my home is where my nostalgic heart pines to be. more…

I’m living the life of an American for a few weeks and so This ExPat Life is on break until I move to Mexico. It will return on Monday, December 20th just in time to tell you about Navidad in the lovely land to the south of us.

On this, my last day in China, I’m looking ahead to how being back home in North America will seem somewhat foreign at first. Long-term expats—those who’ve been gone for several years or decades—are often warned of the culture shock of re-entry into their own societies.

I don’t expect a stunning surprise since I’ve been back so often. But do I look forward to those first few weeks when special insight is granted travelers to see their own countries and people through the eyes of outsiders. If in China I’m always impressed by the sheer number of people, I will surely find California with its green wooded hills, wide boulevards and large suburban malls a sparsely-populated space. more…