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The Frustrated Nester

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Your Brazzaville Escape Plan

March 27, 2018February 20, 2019 frustratednesterLeave a comment

It's easy to feel a bit stuck in our industrial small-town corner of central Africa. Direct flights out are very few, and very expensive. In our case, MT has not so far been able to take any holiday time to coincide with the school holidays. Our last relaxing family holiday feels like a long time… Continue reading Your Brazzaville Escape Plan

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We started watching this three countries ago 😄 . Quite happy with the ending, personally. And anyway #itsonlyatvshow 😉 . Makes me grateful to be an expat in the 21st century. There may be the constant ‘how to get BBC iplayer’ chat in forums, but otherwise I can watch pretty much whatever telly I like, wherever I live. . . . #gameofthrones #got #expatliving #myexpatlife #yayforstreaming #whatatimetobealive

#MayontheMove2019 Day 10: Culture Blend . (Francais ci-dessous.) I couldn’t walk past this Danish edition of ‘Le Petit Prince’ when I saw it in a supermarket bargain bin recently. . My thought process went something like, when I’m ready to start reading in Danish, this will be a good resource since it’s a story I know, and it’s a link to our own...culture? . It was a moment when the way our cultural influences have blended into our own culture came into clear focus. . I first read ‘Le Petit Prince’ in French to our then 2-year-old, after we’d left France and were living in Uganda, not knowing at that time to what extent we’d continue to live ‘Frenchly’. The French copy here is our second one - the first one fell apart. . I stood in Føtex that day and reached out for something from our ‘own’ culture, only afterwards noticing what it meant. . J’ai acheté ce livre dans un supermarché danois, dans un instant de reconnaissance: j’ai soudain remarqué que j’ai vu ce livre comme une partie de ‘notre’ culture et que nos influences culturelles sont bien mélangées en nous. . . . #lepetitprince #denlilleprins #bookstagram #cultureblend #francophonie #bilingual #maviedexpat #challenge #instachallenge #community #buildingcommunity #instacommunity #lifeonthemovebook #joinin #sharingiscaring #sharinggoals #expatlife #expatblogger #myexpatlife #expatliving #expatcommunity #internationalcommunity #expattribe #internationalliving #nomadicliving #globalliving #expatsofinstagram

Hello from the top of #Aarhus!

#MayontheMove2019 Day 9: Culture Shock . For my most intense culture shock experience, see day 5. . I can't say that my encounters with different cultures since then have created any acute discomfort. But the impact of low-level culture shock is just as important to try and be aware of, because it's draining, and takes its toll, and you need to be able to give yourself a break. I love the way @d.m.honour compares it to the background programmes running on a computer, invisibly using up battery power. . Denmark's pretty easy for me: the climate's not an issue, I'm used to more northern winters with even shorter days, I only have to learn as much Danish as I want to, and people speak English to such an extent I can take part in lots of interesting cultural events. . But...it's still different. It's not my normal. Here are a few examples of my low-level culture shock encounters with Danish living. Warning: there may be ranting ahead. . 1. There may be a big friendly 'Hej!' greeting you at the airport, but you will also be greeted by the all-pervading smell of pølsehorn. 'People of the world! Welcome to Denmark! Make sure to enjoy our overly-processed, over-suggestive signature snack!' Sorry, Denmark, it's not the best first impression. 2. I'm not sure why, but after navigating the unfathomable supermarket layout (why are there two separate baked goods areas? why is the frozen section in the MIDDLE of the shop?? why is it such hard work to find fresh fish in an island nation?) and trying to Google-translate the backs of packages only to realise the app is struggling because the Danish is mixed up with Norwegian words - but only the ones that are different...after all that, my heart sinks the MOST at the thought of getting through the till and packing. And it's not just because I miss the staff member in the Congo supermarket who always looked out for me because he knew I'd happily tip when he packed for me. Why is this so stressful? One theory I have is that the height of the packing area is higher than in the UK, borne out when a very tall visiting friend said, 'Ooh, this is much easier for me!' Denmark: not built for shortarses. 3. Continued in comments! 🙈

🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰 Flags are flying and it’s a day off today in Denmark for Stor Bededag, which means Great Prayer Day. . The main focus seems to be less about prayer though, and more about baked goods. Hvedeboller til alle! . . . #denmark #danishflag #storbededag #hvedeboller #flyingtheflag #danishliving #expatindenmark #myexpatlife #esbjergblogger #expatblogger #danishtraditions

#MayontheMove2019 Day 8: Bucket List The more I travel, the more people I meet, the more friends I make, the longer the bucket list becomes. . Top of my list just now is Calgary, which is just as well, since that's where we're heading this summer! This destination is as much - probably more - about people, than the place itself. . Since the very start of our expat journey 10 years ago, we've had friends based out of Calgary. So I've heard about it, seen pictures, been told that Stampede is one of the world's best parties, and yet until now I've only landed at the airport and driven right out again, for a Banff wedding. . So now I'm eager to see the city that is (or has been) home to some special members of my expat family (including @canadianexpatmom of course, from whom I’ve nabbed this pic), as well as to explore the region of the Canadian Rockies where MT lived and worked for a while, long before he became Mr Frustrated Nester! . And yes, this will be my first rodeo! (How many times can I get away with using that line I wonder...) . . . #canadianrockies #calgary #alberta #canada #bucketlist #travel #expatfamily challenge #instachallenge #community #buildingcommunity #instacommunity #lifeonthemovebook #joinin #sharingiscaring #sharinggoals #expatlife #expatblogger #myexpatlife #expatliving #expatcommunity #internationalcommunity #expattribe #internationalliving #nomadicliving #globalliving #expatsofinstagram #writersofinstagram @rippleroo @lolalovesrocks @ceciledash . #Repost @canadianexpatmom with @get_repost

Good morning ☀️ #dandelionclocks #seenfromtheschoolrun #seenfromtwowheels #danishliving #expatindenmark #nofilter

#MayontheMove2019 Day 7: Local For a Brit abroad, ‘local’ is a noun, not just an adjective. Every new home comes with figuring out where our new local is. In our suburban corner of Denmark there isn’t one. 🤨 It’s at-home hygge round these parts. But here are some of my regular slightly-less-local haunts around #Esbjerg: 1. @espressohouse_danmark - a chain, but the coffee is 👌 and it’s next to... 2. @fofvest where I learn Danish. 3. The library @esbjergbib - so love being able to get back into #librarylife 4. @hjertingbadehotel - always reliable 😎 How important is a third-space hangout for you? #challenge #instachallenge #community #buildingcommunity #instacommunity #lifeonthemovebook #joinin #sharingiscaring #sharinggoals #expatlife #expatblogger #myexpatlife #expatliving #expatcommunity #internationalcommunity #expattribe #internationalliving #nomadicliving #globalliving #expatsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #local #thirdspace #hangout #coffeegram

Good morning 🌼 #obligatoryrapeseedshot #danishliving #expatindenmark #esberg #denmark #bluesky #goodmorning

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