14 Comments

  1. German Expat in 11 1/2 Signs » Grounded Traveler
    March 4, 2012 @ 4:37 pm

    […] you have to adapt to them. And things can be freaky and scary sometimes. It’s ok to be unsure or overwhelmed sometimes […]

  2. 11 and a half Signs You Could Be A German Expat » Grounded Traveler
    March 4, 2012 @ 4:36 pm

    […] you have to adapt to them. And things can be freaky and scary sometimes. It’s ok to be unsure or overwhelmed sometimes […]

  3. Andrew
    August 5, 2010 @ 8:15 am

    Wow very high praise, thanks. I hadn't thought about the link between this and the grass post, even though I was looking at using the same sheep picture. Added the related post on your recommendation. 🙂

  4. Aliadventures7
    August 5, 2010 @ 3:50 am

    I started reading through some of your posts I haven't read yet and this one was really helpful. Kind of goes along with the “grass is greener” one you just posted. Even though I know I can't really understand what it's like to travel long term or be an expat (yet?) reading stuff like this gives me a glimpse of what it might be like to live in another country. Helps me feel a little more prepared and aware for whenever I decide to take the leap 🙂

  5. An American expat in Germany: expat interview #3 | The Brink of Something Else: expat life in Cusco, Peru
    June 26, 2010 @ 1:17 am

    […] his travels around Europe and the expat life on his blog, Grounded Traveler, and one of his posts, Doubt while living abroad, helped me to decide to focus on expat life for a while.  Here, he talks about adjusting to life […]

  6. Expat Interview #2: Joe Tuck in Istanbul | The Brink of Something Else: expat life in Cusco, Peru
    June 21, 2010 @ 4:03 pm

    […] next interview will be up on Friday, with Andy of Grounded Traveler.  Andy’s post, Doubt while living abroad, was a fairly key factor in my decision to focus on expat life for a while.  He made me realise […]

  7. Camden
    June 15, 2010 @ 12:01 am

    Thanks for the best wishes Andrew – I feel better already now that I've analysed it a bit. And as you saw on twitter you've totally inspired me, I'm going to run a bit of a series on expat-dom and the challenges of integration and adjustment. If you'd like to be involved I'd love to email you the interview questions I've put together. Just shoot me a tweet.

  8. Andrew
    June 14, 2010 @ 6:07 pm

    Thanks for the stumble and the comment. I am glad I could help. I originally wrote it as a catharsis for me, so it is cool that it can be helpful to others.

  9. Andrew
    June 14, 2010 @ 6:06 pm

    Thanks for your story, it helps me too to hear that other people deal with (and succeed despite) all of these doubts. This is really not a piece of being an expat that I had expected. It does take a toll and it can be very subtle.

    All the best in Peru. Try seeking out the English speakers. I find it great help to have a group that really understands what I'm going through.

  10. JR Riel
    June 13, 2010 @ 5:07 pm

    btw consider this stumbled upon…

  11. JR Riel
    June 13, 2010 @ 4:52 pm

    Wow, having just made my move abroad this was a great read for me. It reminds me not to be discouraged if things aren't always as exciting as they were in the beginning. Thanks for the helpful advice, I'm definitely saving this one to remind myself all the good things on a bad day here.

  12. Camden
    June 13, 2010 @ 2:13 pm

    I live in Cusco, Peru, and love it, but I definitely relate to the doubts you talk about – especially the language barrier.

    While there's a thriving expat community I could seek out here if I felt the need, the friends I've fallen in with and my boyfriend all speak very little English. It's great for Spanish, but for the longest time I didn't realise what a toll it was taking (so that's what the teary sessions were about!). I can't yet express myself in Spanish like I can in English, and that gets exhausting and lonely at times.

  13. Andrew
    June 12, 2010 @ 6:03 am

    Thanks for the comment.
    Yeah, the opening hours are the most annoying thing here too. It is better now than 15 years ago. Like you say and like I have heard from others here; having Sunday as a forced rest day is actually a good thing, whether convenient or not.

  14. Valerie Tanswell
    June 10, 2010 @ 6:23 pm

    Thoughtful and honest post. I enjoyed it!

    And I relate to a lot of it, though I don't have the language barrier in the same way (or do I?) 🙂 My least fav thing is “Sunday Trading Hours” there? Shops can only be open for 5 minutes. But then I guess that's one reason life in the UK is slower than in the US and that's not a bad thing.