Tag: Travel Narratives

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #5: Pam Mandel of Nerds Eye View
April 2, 2011

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #5: Pam Mandel of Nerds Eye View

Welcome to the fifth interview in my infinite series of indirect conversations with expats, repats, half pats and other as yet unnamed pats. This time I bring you one of my personal small-h heroes, the ukelele-toting, penguin-friending, apt-word-writing Pam Mandel of Nerds Eye View. I …

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A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #4: Michelle Lara of I Heart Mondegreens
March 29, 2011

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #4: Michelle Lara of I Heart Mondegreens

Welcome to part 4 in my as yet infinite series on the varied and multi faceted expat experience.  Today I bring you Michelle Lara of I Heart Mondegreens. Michelle is in Spain for now, working and studying for a Masters degree in translation. She’s married …

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A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #2: Connie Hum of Connvoyage
March 24, 2011

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #2: Connie Hum of Connvoyage

Welcome to the second in my series of interviews with expats, re-pats, un-pats, quarter-pats and half-pats. For this one, I bring you Connie Hum of  Connvoyage. Once upon a time, not too long ago in a parallel universe, Connie had an awesome apartment in New …

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A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #1: Nancy Lewis of Wandering Solo
March 21, 2011

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #1: Nancy Lewis of Wandering Solo

  Welcome to the first interview in a series that has not yet had its parameters defined. I’ve loosely determined that I want to talk to as many people as possible (or at least until I start annoying people and cease-and-desist comments begin to outnumber …

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A Call To Arms (and Submissions): A New Series on Settledness and Restlessness
March 14, 2011

A Call To Arms (and Submissions): A New Series on Settledness and Restlessness

As you may have noticed, my posts recently have been flailing wildly back and forth on the subject of being settled in a place. It’s not just my posts that are contradicting themselves. I’m waffling on a daily basis, veering between quiet acceptance of being …

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After thoughts: Notes on having settled whilst still unsettled
March 13, 2011

After thoughts: Notes on having settled whilst still unsettled

I was wrong. Last week, I declared with false confidence that I was settled and ready to stay in Shanghai for a few more years. Or maybe the better word would be ‘bracing myself’ or ‘girding my loins’ or ‘grudgingly acquiescing’ to staying put for …

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Notes on Genocidal Tourism in Cambodia
February 27, 2011

Notes on Genocidal Tourism in Cambodia

One of the emotionally complicating factors of constantly living in and travelling through countries with troubled pasts is that you will inevitably end up having many conversations with and interacting with people who had lived through that troubled past. And given that troubled pasts often …

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Brief Notes on 15 Days in Cambodia (part 1)
February 20, 2011

Brief Notes on 15 Days in Cambodia (part 1)

We just got back from Cambodia last night, returning to a cold, grey Shanghai and a chaotic jumble of bills, dirty laundry, empty fridge and dusty floors.  The two flights from Phnom Penh to Guangzhou to Shanghai had been turbulent and cloudy and the taxi …

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How much would YOU pay to be bit by a rabid monkey: More good times in Phnom Penh
February 8, 2011

How much would YOU pay to be bit by a rabid monkey: More good times in Phnom Penh

Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe monkeys? In India, on an island just off Mumbai, a monkey once mugged me with a snarl for my bottled water; in Ubud, in Bali, a monkey lunged at me and dug his claws into my leg …

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Shouldn’t it be…harder?: On Travelling in Comfort
February 7, 2011

Shouldn’t it be…harder?: On Travelling in Comfort

Let me introduce you to a few key examples of how I have traveled in the past. Let’s start at the beginning, when I was barely 20 years old. In 1994, I spent two months sleeping on my friend’s sofa in a small flat above …

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Short film: Shanghai Museum and the Former French Concession
January 13, 2011

Short film: Shanghai Museum and the Former French Concession

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Gerald the Bear is accepting freelance blogging opportunities now!
December 27, 2010

Gerald the Bear is accepting freelance blogging opportunities now!

I just wanted to take a moment out of your presumably busy day to introduce you to my new co-blogger, Gerald the Bear. Gerald joined me late last week, thanks to an introduction from my thoughtful students at the university Christmas party. So far, Gerald …

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