Christine's Page

My dream assignment is to document the expatriate experience worldwide, using real-life expats to reimagine historical paintings, iconic photographs and famous literary passages depicting travel and expat life. And you can help!



The contest is called Name Your Dream Assignment, and the winner receives:



$50,000 to go anywhere and shoot anything, plus a video camera, your own blog with built-in readership, and the amazing Lenovo® ThinkPad® W700ds created just for… Continue

(This and other posts are repostings of my favorites from my own blog, Miss Expatria.)



When I left America, I left behind a loving, supportive family and friends I would take a bullet for. Anyone would be glad to have the life I had there. It was a good life.



When I go back, I am often asked how I did what I did, and how I knew this was the life for me.



I give them a cocktail party line about living only once or some such nonsense, because I still… Continue

"Holy...where am I?"



If you've ever woken up and said that, most likely your next thought is the realization that you've got a hangover.



Now, usually the best way to cure a hangover is to avoid it - drink lots of water before, during and after your party time - but you don't want to hear that right now, do you? Your liver just declared a jihad against you, and something crawled into… Continue

I recently spent the better part of an afternoon looking for a fax machine. France is overrun with hair salons, lingerie shops, and stores selling outlandishly priced baby clothes, but alas, there is not a Kinko’s to be found.



With documents in hand, I left my apartment and walked with great purpose until I realized I had no idea where I was going. I’ve never sent a fax in all the years I’ve lived in Europe. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen a fax machine. So, I did what… Continue

Usually, when people come to visit me, I provide information, guidance and a base for their otherwise autonomous vacations. I’m happy to do so; it’s fun to see one’s city from an outsider’s perspective. It also makes me realize that I am not as much of an outsider as I feel sometimes - for a brief time, I am the expert in all things European.



Other times, friends are just plain jazzed to know someone who lives in Europe, and are happy to pretend to live here too, if only for a little… Continue