Different canine expectations Kaiserswerth, Germany, a small village just outside of Düsseldorf, is a dog haven. There are vast green farmers’ fields for miles, very little traffic, and the shore of the Rhine offers many interesting things to smell and discover. Dogs...
The GW Expat Blog
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expats
Losing my German
We have been in Ireland for about three months now, and every time I speak to my closest German friend, I notice words slipping away. I was "home" this weekend, so I am feeling better about that again, but it is amazing how quickly it happens. When we arrived in...
Feiertage: What are we celebrating today?
With Halloween drawing close, I've been thinking about holidays for expats. Which holidays are observed and how they are celebrated varies a lot around the world. In the English-speaking countries alone there are great variations. (Canada's Thanksgiving is the second...
More German than the Germans
Slowly, we've found ourselves integrating into our non-German lives here in America. Instead of hearing the phantom ring of our default Siemens ring tone melody, I've gotten attuned to hearing our Uniden telephone gently playing the Star Spangled Banner. Something I...
Working My Way
I have just completed my first work week in Ireland, after working in Germany for most of my adult life. My most recent stint was at a large German company that was known for being relaxed and friendly, two qualities that are not always associated with other sorts of...
Dies and Das
Being a foreigner once again here in Ireland, after finally not feeling very foreign in Germany, is a new adventure. I finally learned the little cultural tricks in Germany, like not putting my hand out for change at the bakery, but waiting for them to place it on the...
Before Amazon, there was…
I'm an avid reader, and always have been. But as an expat in Germany, it wasn't always easy to feed my fervent need for reading material. When I was a kid, I sat between my brother and sister in the back of the car for every vacation with a pile of books at my feet....
Buying Bio (Organic) in Germany
Long, long ago, in 1992, when I first came to Germany, I, at the tender age of 21, had no real idea of what "organic" even was. Who did back then, except a few hippies and tree huggers (ha, ha). I had a few older and wiser friends with small children who bought bio...
Expat, Phone Home
Nowadays, there are many cheap and easy ways to keep in touch with friends and family at home when you are an expat in Germany. When I first moved here in 1992, I was only really able to call my parents from a pay phone outside my dorm, and I could talk for about 5...
Raising “Free Range” Kids in Germany
I'm concluding my Christmas holidays now here in America, so it's natural for me to once again think about how different my life would be if I were living in America instead of in Germany, especially as a mother. Despite all my good intentions to not shop as much and...
The Instant Expat
Because I have to go back to work earlier than anticipated thanks to the recession, we had to think about childcare for the little ones earlier than anticipated. With two kids under three, daycare (Kinderkrippe) was not an option due to the cost involved. Although an...
Learning to Drive in Germany
I decided to depart my single, independent life years ago when I moved to Germany to marry my now husband. It involved making a lot of significant changes in my life all at once, including learning German, leaving a metropolis of the world (London) to move to the...
German banking (and credit cards) for beginners
Notice! This older blog post has been replaced by a new German Way article. This deprecated blog post will be deleted soon. When I was traveling in France recently, I rediscovered some of the differences among the European countries in the area of banking and credit...
Long-term Expats – Are My Kids Really American?
Recently, with the economic crisis and the dreaded Kurzarbeit, we have been thinking about whether the US is an option for us again job-wise. There is nothing concrete happening, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder, how will it affect the kids? I dragged...
What’s in a Name
As an American, it would never occur to me to make a distinction such as “German” vs. “German national,” but it’s one that I’ve encountered while living in Germany. Not only would I never think to draw such lines, I find them offensive. It’s a debate that hits close...
The Expat Trap
As I write this, I've been living in Germany for about two years. From time to time I meet up with other English-speakers in cafes or restaurants just to get that "fix" of speaking my native tongue at full speed complete with cultural references and a chance to drop...
Expatriate Eating Adventures: Volume 1
Food, food culture and cooking has always been important to me. All three of those things are hobbies of mine. By extension I am also interested in matters of health when related directly to food and cooking. So my move to Germany a few years ago was, in part, an...
The downside of English as the universal language
Why is it that many Anglophones seriously consider going to Germany to work when they have zero German skills? A German would never for an instant think that he/she could go to Britain or the United States to work without knowing English well. So why would it be OK...
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