How to be an Expat Returned

On this day, one year ago, I was on a plane returning to the Great White North. A few days after landing I tried to express some of the feels. A couple months later I wrote a sort of love letter to London and then made a decision to be positive about my return. I still have a ton of feels about my return to Canada, but I feel like I'm coping a bit better. If you are an expat about to transition into being an ex-expat after a long period abroad, here's a how to:

1.No stuff. Make do.

 If you were like me, before heading abroad gave/trashed/traded/stored all the knickknacks and stuff that made up my worldly possessions, only taking with me essentials and minimal clothes. Returning home means, most of those things are long gone. But it's just stuff, and you've survived without it so far. Take a moment to lament the old stuff and then remember all the things you were able to do because you let go of that stuff to travel and then smile because you're awesome.

2.Keep in touch

 I hung on to my UK number for an embarrassingly long time. It was my wireless cord to my friends abroad. But really, I needn't have stressed, we live in an amazing time of technology. Now there's an app of your choice to stay in contact with friends all over the world without spending a cent. What's App is a favourite in Europe, not as common with my North American friends I've discovered though. But there are a whole bunch more, not to mention social media helps me feel part of my friends lives even when I'm a great distance away.

It's okay to remember the past, just don't get stuck there. These can be life long friends with a little work on both your parts.

3.Seek the fun

 One of my favouite parts about living in London was all the activities that were happening everyday. Returning home I've had to make a conscience effort to say yes to adventure but it has helped me with enjoying being back home. Nothing's going to be like it was in London, but I'm certainly going to seek out the fun.

Keeping busy keeps away the 'expat returned' blues, especially in the beginning.

4.Make connections

 Join a group of some sort, find a job, volunteer for your community, make friends. Making these kinds of connections will make you feel part of a bigger group. Staying home and binge-watching all the American shows you missed out on while away is fine enough to do every once in a while but feeling connected to your community helps you feel important and that you have a purpose. You're awesome, you need to share that awesomeness around!

5.Dogs make life better

 This is a general life rule. Dogs are great. Mine is the best. Occasionally the "expat returned" blues will sneak up on you even with doing the above things, but it's nothing a good dog cuddle can't cure.

Being an Expat...

Being an expat means adventure and excitement.

Being an expat means doing things that sometimes make you uncomfortable.

Being an expat means growing and discovering just what stock you are made from.

Being an expat means being so far away from home and family.

Being an expat means being absolutely helpless when you receive news of a gravely ill uncle.

Being an expat means not always being able to fly home to be with family in times of need.

Being an expat means not feeling guilty for the choices you've made that have gotten you where you are now.

Love you, Terry.

#LDNBloggers Tea: "Bloggers are great people"

As I told you on Friday I attended a blogger's afternoon tea organized by the darling Selena of Oh, the places we will go! and held at the fancy Radison Blu Edwardian Mercer Street Hotel. They fed us well.

It was my first ever time attending any kind of blogger event and it made me feel like a real blogger, like there are really LIVE people out there who occasionally take the time to actually read the words I string together in an attempt at humour and entertainment. As an only child much of what I do is to amuse myself, (I've spent years at this and I've become my best audience), and this blog was just another way to entertain ME while I traveled, along with keeping a journal of sorts of my time and finding an easy way to keep in touch with Mama Bear and Big Willie Styles (HI parents!).

This afternoon was a great event and I meet so many interesting and clever women bloggers offline, we enjoyed tea, scrumptious food and a lovely chat. I talked to at least 5 new people. That's 5 out of 20! Not so bad for a girl that struggles with stranger danger and social situations.

Typical bloggers photographing 

The fab ladies that attended can be found at:

Gina from Sweet Serenity

Mandy from Emm in London

Erin from Erin Out and About 

Sarah from The Experience Collection Project 

Sarah from The Wanderblogger

Bonnie from A Compass Rose

Tina from Girl Meets Globe

Jacintha from Urban Pixxels

Anna from Eat, See, Do 

Emma from Adventures of a London Kiwi

Janelle from The Halfpenny Diaries

Jaklien from Passport and Toothbrush

Kara from Pen Plus Passport

Sarah from The Secret Life of an Unknown Housewife

Shobha from NYLon Living

Annie at Sew Graceful

Kelly from Around the World in 80 Pairs of Shoes

Melanie from Melanie Fontaine

Samantha from To the Days Like This

I had a great time! And Selena said that she's thinking of making this a quarterly event, I can't wait til the next one.

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Just of bit of rambling

In every relationship there comes a time when you have to decide if this relationship is going someplace and if you even want it to be going there and the other day I found myself in this very same scenario (weird, right?). We decided that rather than just hang on for the sake of it, we should end things and just be friends (I so badly want to use quotations around that). 
The initial comedown from a relationship, no matter how casual and how amicable the parting, is always a hard one. I'm forcing myself not to pick up the phone and send a quick text because I'm bored (OH SO BORED). I realize now that almost every spare evening I had I spent with him, I must get used to being on my own and coping with my moments of boredom (GOOD LORD THE BOREDOM). 
Then I realized there is no better time for me to be single than while living an expat life in London. I meet new people each week and London has a lot on offer. I just need to get back to being comfortable with myself again and London will be shiny and exciting to me once more.

Enough rambling from me, thanks for sticking around. As your reward, here is a dog enjoying his bone.

Fun travels!

Things get a tad bit serious as I guest post over at Oh, the places we will go! But just a tad. 
If you haven't checked out Selena's blog yet (can't understand why you wouldn't have, she's just one of my most favourite people ever and I might have mentioned her here once or twice) then go there NOW! 

Happy Wednesday!

Toilet Talk

The decor in the washroom at the Peacocks Tearoom in Ely, UK

Conversation I had with a waiter,

Waiter: "Your table will be ready in a few minutes."

Me: "Great, thanks! Um, where is your...toilet" (I find I have to repeat myself if I ask for the washroom)

 Waiter: "Just around that corner. And after you use the toilet just wait over there." I cringed slightly at his use of the word toilet.

WC, loo, restroom, bathroom, washroom, toilet, can, johnny-on-the-spot, crapper, powder room, water closet...a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. I just can't bring myself to accept the use of the term 'toilet' that is so common here in Europe. It just feels too personal, too crass and vulgar! I thought at first it was just me, but I've done a survey of my Canadian expat friends, some whom have been living in London for some time (scientific, I know) and they all agree with me. There is just something cringe worthy and blunt about referring to it as The Toilet.
No, thank you England--I will gladly take on your use of the words 'whilst' and 'bespoke' and even your crazy pronunciation of words that end in wich, but I REFUSE to adopt this one.
I prefer my goings-on in there to be much more vague and euphemistic.

via

via

Fun travels!

Orphans Gatherings

This past weekend was Easter and like many people travelling or living abroad, I'm away from my friends and family who were getting together and celebrating this holiday/long weekend.  Instead I was invited to a new friend's orphan's Easter lunch and a chance to head to the Thames to watch 'the boat race'. (*spoiler alert* Oxford won!)

An orphan's dinner is usually put on and attended by a group of expats who can't make it home for a particular holiday and are missing out on the traditions from back home. This particular dinner was not quite traditional to anyone's Easter dinner as we had a mishmash of barbecued meat, potato salad, avocado and spinach salad. But tasty nonetheless.

After lunch we headed down to central London to catch a brief glimpse of the Oxford and Cambridge University rowing teams and they raced in their 159th competition. I did literally see each boat for 2 seconds between people shoulders, as they glided through the water. Being so vertically challenged in large groups is such a bummer.

purse wine

Despite that and despite the cold, cold, COLD day, it was a great time. Some appeared to be having a better time than others, but no judgement here :)

Happening at the same time as the boat race is the Spitalfields City Farm Goat Race between a goat named Cambridge and another named Oxford. Maybe next year...

Fun travels!