Wandering Thoughts

Here is where our volunteer editors collected their favorite blog post reprints, short essays, or short memoir pieces that illuminate any aspect of expat life.

The French Bistro Social Experiment

Wandering Thoughts

April 2021

By April Remfrey

I was so busy in high school with sports, drama and music that I never gave much thought to anything happening outside of my small town in Iowa. That all changed the first day of university when I met my future husband. He was a very tall, dark, and handsome 17-year old who promised to be my study buddy for our freshman religion class. He was a double Russian and IT major with a French minor. This beautiful French language would spill out of his mouth at record speed every time he encountered a French classmate on campus. As we started to date, I would ask him to whisper French into my ear. “What should I say?” he would ask, but it didn’t matter, it all sounded the same to me: beautiful. I was in complete awe at his ease with the language, and honestly, how anyone could understand what...

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My Trailing Spouse Resumé

Wandering Thoughts

May 2019

By Kelly Bembry Midura

Overview

After 29 years experience as a expatriate spouse, 17 of them overseas, I bring a unique perspective to any crazy venture. With 10 international moves under my belt to date, my vocabulary of profanity is impressive, while my organizational skills have been refined to the level of obsession. I am particularly fond of making lists on napkins and sticking post-it notes to household items, pets, and children. Unfazed by incomprehensible languages, Euroglyphic appliances, and funky plumbing, I make a house into a home wherever I land.

Special Skills

Post Research

I am an expert in this field, having volunteered a significant portion of my life to researching cities and countries overseas. I make extensive use of online resources and social networks to acquire quick answers to questions unanswered by State Department materials and offices. International schools are a particular specialty: I can find a post with a school to...

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