What Americans notice about Germans…(part 1 of 4)

Was Amerikanern an Deutschen auffällt,  oder Fünfzig Wege die Amerikaner gewinnen den Deutschen Aufmerksamkeit (50 ways the Americans attract Germans attention…they could only come up with 50!?)

(This content was originally published in Die Zeit, 42/2002, in German, but was recently translated by a native English-speaking friend of mine who has spoken German for 20 years. What is unfortunate is that before this section of the article is a section of what Germans think of Americans…my German will just have to get better in order to talk about that part…will blog when I am able to translate it, or can find a friend to help.)
The first ten…


1.  They call Americans ‘Amis’.

Continue reading “What Americans notice about Germans…(part 1 of 4)”

My husband wears a ‘skirt’

Photo by Kevin Bidwell on Pexels.com

Today is the day my husband wears his kilt, actually a Utilikilt which makes the walks and other adventures we have on Sundays very entertaining because people always stare. Never mind that the Germans seem to have a thing with staring; I think my husband is toying with the German public on Sundays. He likes to see them stare, perhaps liking to make them question what they are seeing. We are expats after all, so we do admittedly get our ‘kicks’ in different ways.

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A simple shoutout…

I would just like to nod to another blog that has proven to be pretty funny and rather true regarding their thoughts on Portland Oregon. You should read it, especially if you are from or currently live in Portland Oregon. REALLY!Do it now!!

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On my mind…

It is Saturday night, it’s not even eleven and my husband is asleep on the couch. He always seems to fall asleep on the couch whether he has had a few and it is 3am or if we just had a fabulous homemade Korean Bulgogi dinner with friends. Is it my husband or is it the couch?  We do joke that it is the ‘comfort den’ and some lesser appropriate names that I shall not repeat, because it fully welcomes and encourages relaxation.

So, as my husband sleeps, many thoughts run through my head about home (here and the US)….Continue reading “On my mind…”

A little culturally different.

The other weekend, my husband and I went on a date to hear one of my students bands play at the local pub. It was really good to hear some music played by talented people and as an added bonus the music was all in English (yes!). Our date night likely coincided with many other people’s ‘date night’ as the pub was rather busy.

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Lists…(or things to do in Portland when your dead)…

This post could also be called…

“Things we miss from Portland” or “Ode to Portland”

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International Game Night

I just thought it was awesome and a little funny that our friends got together this weekend to play a board game that my husband ABSOLUTELY LOVES called Last Night on Earth. My Husband and I have a thing for zombies…

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The dimensions of culture learning and how they affect us abroad

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While talking about culture shock, I think it is also important to address the dimensions of culture learning, as we all also go through these as we travel and learn about other places, cultures and people and as we learn about ourselves through this process. Depending on how well we deal with and understand the dimensions of culture learning may allow us to better navigate culture shock. In Cultural Awareness, a book by Tomalin & Stempleski, there are five dimensions of culture learning and they look a little like this:

The Dimensions of Culture Learning include:

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