Adjusting to Life as an Expat: Interviews and Resources

Image: TreeFaerie via stock.xchg I’ve always considered myself to be an especially adaptable, laid-back and open-minded traveller. I suppose we’re all susceptible to that kind of self-congratulation, especially as you get into the double-digits of countries visited and the triple-digits of hostels slept in, unfamiliar cultural aspects observed, weird and wonderful people from all corners... [Read more]

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Renting an Apartment in Buenos Aires

Yep. It really is that small. But have you noticed the adorable mini oven in the "kitchen"? Would you like skip my rambling and just find out how to rent an apartment in BA? You don’t know what you’re missing, but OK. Click here. This is some quality rambling, though. Just sayin’. I signed the rental contract on my new Buenos Aires apartment yesterday, and then I went to... [Read more]

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Live Music in Buenos Aires: La Bomba de Tiempo

It’s 8 pm on a Monday night in Buenos Aires: the summer heat has finally receded and night is slowly beginning to fall. Enjoy that gentle breeze while it lasts, because the seventeen percussionists that make up La Bomba de Tiempo [sp] (Time Bomb) are just kicking off their two hour set and the crowd is about to, as we Australians say, go off like a frog in a sock (see Note 1). Which means... [Read more]

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The (hateful) ties that bind: Expats and cultural criticism

Image: Camden Luxford I was on Craigslist Buenos Aires today looking for a job and I came across this little gem: “Argentinean are just at the bottom of the bottom out of all the scumbags you can find in this world… THIRD WORLD COUNTRY like it or not… There are not jobs like in the US other than that enjoy the beauty of the people, the cheap meals, THE COIMAS the cheap drugs and... [Read more]

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Manu, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Cusco anymore….

La Boca, Buenos Aires. Image: flickr via elNico  … we’re in Buenos Aires, Argentina! I’ve found an apartment, and should be signing the contracts this week. Manu, my dog, will have to adjust to city life in a shoebox size studio apartment; I’m just thrilled it’s mine, all mine, and after months – years – of living in hostels or out of a combi I’ll be... [Read more]

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Expat Interview 17: German Marcel Krueger in Ireland

Today, I’m running the seventeenth interview in my Adjusting to Expat Life series.  If you’re interested in being interviewed about your current or past expat experiences, please get in touch via the Contact page. Marcel Krueger used to be a heavy metal singer, something I find delightfully in keeping with German stereotypes.  Then he moved to Ireland and became a writer, which is something... [Read more]

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5 Movies To Help You Learn Spanish

Film Night. Image: Adam Foster via flickr This post is brought to you courtesy of the folks at Vacation Home Rentals.  Check them out for holiday rentals in the United States. As part of my preparation for the upcoming DELE exam, I’m refreshing my familiarity with all of the different accents in Spanish – they draw the listening test samples from any Hispanic country.  The best (and... [Read more]

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Bribes and Near-Death Experiences

Terrifying Andean roads. Image: Thiago Jacomasso via flickr   I almost died on the way home to Cusco from Lima. Maybe that’s a little dramatic.  But it felt pretty damn real at 4 am, when our driver took a little nap behind the wheel and we veered dramatically across the narrow Andean road before one of the wheels blew.  This was enough to wake him up, and we veered dramatically back... [Read more]

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Back to School: Studying for the Superior Level DELE (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera)

That’s right, a new language challenge!  I’m not sure if I’m excited or terrified:  Jose’s confident comment – “you’re more street than anyone, Cam, of course you’ll pass” – pretty much sums it up.  My Spanish is very barrio, and very barrio limeño at that.  My friends are all from Lima, and they’ve taught me a very specific slang. ... [Read more]

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Review: MatadorU’s Travel Writing Program

Disclaimer:  I’m a Matador U affiliate, so if you enrol with them by clicking through on the links here I will earn a small commission.  This review is, nevertheless, my honest opinion. Habana Vieja, Cuba... seen from the other side of the bay. Image: Camden Luxford When I was in Cuba, MatadorU‘s lead faculty Julie Schwietert hooked me up with a sweet casa particular and a great on-the-ground... [Read more]

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Let Them Eat Cake: Mistura and Poverty in Peru

Feeding the masses?  Image: Camden Luxford Mistura, 2011 is over.  I went twice. Twice I fought the crowds outside to buy my last minute tickets at S/.25-30 (instead of the ticket office price of S/.20). Twice I elbowed my way through the hordes to line up for delicious ceviches, anticuchos, and chicharrones, along with twists on Peruvian classics, like risotto de seco and gnocchi a la carapulcra. Twice... [Read more]

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Check it out, Mum and Dad. I’m still your little overachiever.

It's pretty. And doesn't really fit anywhere else. Image: Camden Luxford The last month has witnessed a sudden surge of writing activity; I’m like a new woman, boys and girls (let’s see how long this lasts). (A week after starting this post, and finally preparing it for publication, the surge is already a distant memory.  And looking less surge-y and more – I don’t... [Read more]

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Mistura, in photos.

Mistura.  I’ve had far too many beers and Pisco Sours, and way too much good food to really express in words how awesome today was.  So I’m going to leave you with some photos, and head on out to celebrate a great day of over-indulgence with, you guessed it, yet more over-indulgence.  The actual blog post, with, like, words, will have to wait to I’m detoxing on the long bus trip... [Read more]

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Review: The Moon, Come to Earth; by Philip Graham

Out of his time, out of his place. So reads the epitaph of an exiled Jew on the islands of Cape Verde, photographed by author Philip Graham‘s wife Alma, and remembered in this collection of essays on the Graham family’s year living in Lisbon. And although any expat may relate, at times, to that feeling of exile, Graham’s book is not a yearning for home, for the familiar.  It is... [Read more]

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Expat Interview #16: Author Philip Graham – and family – in Lisbon

Today, I’m running the sixteenth interview in my Adjusting to Expat Life series.  If you’re interested in being interviewed about your current or past expat experiences, please get in touch via the Contact page. Image courtesy of Philip Graham My interview guest today is Philip Graham:  author, editor, professor, expat and traveller.  Here, he reflects on his family’s experiences... [Read more]

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