Mexico City:
"You need to disinfect all fruits and vegetables with an iodine solution. Medical care is just as good as, if not better than, in the States because most doctors in private hospitals are US trained. I have had a couple experiences with public hospitals and will tell everyone to steer clear of public hospitals." Read More.
Thanks to Robin Pascoe for her generous gift of books for our fundraising campaign! Buy her new book (below) on Amazon (click here), or click here to donate $75 or more to Tales and get the book free while supplies last!
Inside a U.S. Embassy
A unique resource, taking readers inside embassies in over 50 countries,
providing detailed descriptions of Foreign Service jobs and first-hand
accounts of diplomacy in action.
Language isn't the only communication barrier in Asia
Of course it's hard to communicate in Asia if you can't
speak the local language. But what if you can? According to
longtime Asia hand Antonio Graceffo, many people across the
region seem to assume it's impossible to exchange information
with a Westerner, no matter what he says or does. Don't miss
Antonio's delightfully exasperated Covered Wagons article, reporting on hilarious encounters in the Philippines, Thailand and China: Asia Isn't Babel: The Lack of Communication is Cultural, Not Linguistic.
An Australian finds much-needed support in an unusual expat group
Living in Singapore and working at home, Australian writer
Patricia Tan felt increasingly isolated and lonely. Yet the
first steps toward friendship seemed daunting too -- "Keep
breathing," she told herself, as she set off for her first
gathering of YCFE (Young Childless Female Expats). Don't miss
her honest and personal Covered Wagons
essay about reaching out to a group of strangers in a
foreign land: Starting Somewhere: a first step into the expat community in Singapore.
An Anglo-Australian expat finds beauty and harmony at a traditional Thai festival
In Bangkok, the polluted canal behind Apple Gidley's house
often overflowed during monsoon season. Her attitude toward
its muddy waters changed completely, however, when she
experienced Loi Krathong, a time when people launch offerings
symbolizing thanks and forgiveness. Join Apple for a lisping
toddler's prayer, gentle lessons from a Thai household helper,
and plenty of cross-cultural insight, in her Road Less
Traveled essay, Loi Krathong: Festival of Lights, Laughter and Love .
An American health worker learns about life as well as medicine from a doctor in Senegal
In the West African village of Sindou, the clinic is a cement-block shack with no electricity or running water. Yet the dedication, caring and generosity of the people there -- especially Dr. Daouda Mbengue, who chose to return to the village in spite of attractive opportunities elsewhere -- led Kari Masson to realize that these qualities are even more important than money and Western technology. Don't miss Kari's moving and insightful Road Less
Traveled essay about her work alongside the doctor: Learning from Daouda .
An expat in Thailand finds salvation at a rustic pharmacy
Newly married and living in Pattaya Beach, Dodie Cross is
struck by a painful infection in an intimate body part. In a
hilarious Postcard from
the Edge, she describes her desperate journey to seek
relief, featuring an overly polite driver, a dusty drugstore
-- and a pharmacist who shouts out something very
embarrassing. Read it here: The Pattaya Beach Drug Connection.
A young expat describes her life in Africa
What's it like to be a 10-year-old American in Accra,
Ghana? For Magdalena Travis, everyday life included things
like fresh-cut coconuts, dancing at an Ashanti festival, a
stinky outhouse on the beach -- and most memorably, working
with a multicultural group of kids and adults on a community
theater performance. Read Magdalena's fascinating and honest
Covered
Wagons essay here: No More Pork Chops: My Ghana Experience.
Clashing attitudes toward food and fitness in an American-Moroccan family
In Morocco, it's desirable to be slim -- but you're also expected to enjoy the generous helpings of delicious traditional foods and sweet tea offered to you, as Christina Oulamine, an American writer with a Moroccan husband, discovered. Don't miss her humorous, enlightening -- and appetite-stimulating -- look at this dilemma: Your Mouth Is Too Big: Food and Conversation in Morocco, in our
Covered Wagons section.
Antiquing with Curly in Guadalajara
A classic old typewriter at a flea market in Guadalajara
caught the eye of American expat T.M. Spooner. It was sold to
another customer, but Spooner's neighbor Curly stepped in to
help, with a parade of assorted and dubious substitute objects
on "la humpa" of his old VW -- and ultimately, a lesson about life and Mexican culture. Read about it in The Near Miss: Hunting
Treasures in Mexico in our Road Less
Traveled section.
The Runaway BrideUnable to speak Italian to her relatives in Messina, the author knows something important is happening, but she's not sure what it is ...
Bonding for BeginnersThe mother of a deaf kindergartner in Japan struggles with unfamiliar customs (a bath with the teacher?) but gradually comes to appreciate the kindness behind them.
The Bookseller of DhakaA Peace Corps official in Bangladesh develops a surprisingly deep connection with an elderly man on a rickshaw.
What's it like to be a 10-year-old American in Accra,
Ghana? For Magdalena Travis, everyday life included things
like fresh-cut coconuts, dancing at an Ashanti festival, a
stinky outhouse on the beach -- and most memorably, working
with a multicultural group of kids and adults on a community
theater performance. Read Magdalena's fascinating and honest
A classic old typewriter at a flea market in Guadalajara
caught the eye of American expat T.M. Spooner. It was sold to
another customer, but Spooner's neighbor Curly stepped in to
help, with a parade of assorted and dubious substitute objects
on "la humpa" of his old VW -- and ultimately, a lesson about life and Mexican culture. Read about it in