Intro Post - Hello!

[Wanderista]

Hi there everyone,

I'm not quite sure what the protocol on here is but I'm a new poster and thought I'd introduce myself and try to join in. I used to briefly participate on another board on the broader site but I didn't really feel like I fit in there. I stumbled across this board on TN yesterday, right after this mass exodus, followed the link, lurked for a day and figured that I would give it a go and try and post. I've been wanting to find a more "international" board to participate in.

I'm an American from DC and my partner is Croatian, I divide my time between DC and Eastern Europe. No kids yet, but I hope that I am still allowed on this board. (I do want that someday). I'm definitely an expat type and most of my IRL friends are expats in international relationships living all over the world, so I figured that I'd look for a similarly worldly board of people which this appears to be.

My work allows for a lot of traveling which is great. I also lived in London for 4 years and have spent a lot of time in Brussels during my Master's. I've also traveled a lot throughout Europe generally. No chance to visit Australia or Asia yet, but I always love learning about different cultures and really respect the "trailblaziness" of everyone on the board.

I travel in Europe regularly. This summer I'm also taking my first trip to Egypt, which will be an exciting change of pace.

So again: Hi everyone!

[clogged]

Hi!

The family part doesn't necessarily mean kids. Just having a partner counts (family of 2!). So does having only yourself (family of one!). So does having 6 dozen cats, but if you have this kind of family I will mock you.

[pseudoagain]

Welcome! I'm a "reverse" expat of sorts. I am a Brit living in the Boston area with my American husband and 2 kids.

This board is great, you'll fit right in

[dulcemariamar]

Hello!

You dont need a family to join. They just added the word family when we came over here.

I am American living in Spain with my DH.

I hope you stick around because I was a bit sad about not having new blood so I am glad you found us.

[RITS]

Hi and welcome! Glad you were able to find us.

[Cheesecake]

Hi and welcome! I'm part of a family of 2, it's just DH and me - unless you count the numerous seedlings I'm trying to grow as part of my family, in which case clogged will mock you... and me... DH and I were both born in the country we live in now (NL), but both have half our family/parents come from other parts of the world (me US, him Italy).

Anyways, glad you found us. We're kinda awesome :-P

[Wanderista]

Thanks everyone! I can already tell that everyone seems really nice and inclusive. My partner is a vegetarian, so I've become adept at cooking veggies but definitely have not tried growing them. That is impressive.

I've been to the Boston area in the summertime, which was really lovely but I'm a bit afraid to try visiting in the winter.

Spain is one of the remaining corners of Europe that I have yet to see but would love to learn about.

And having 6 dozen cats probably means that the person in question needs a forum of perhaps a more psychiatric nature. Hehe.

[allibally]

Hi. You belong here. I'm an American living in Chicago with my German DH. We lived in Zürich before this.

[crimsonandclover]

Hi and welcome! I'm an American who usually lives in Germany with my German DH and our 1-year-old DD, but we're currently in the US for a few months while DH is on paternity leave.

[dorothyinAus]

Welcome! I'm an American omnivore living in Australia with my vegetarian husband.

It's been quite interesting to work our adapting my favorite recipes so we can share them without having to make two completely different dinners. Though some days I just skip trying and make what I want -- like Sunday when I did a barbeque pulled pork.

[karmaroma]

Hey there, nice to meet you! We're another family of 2 MH and I are from Rome (he's also half french) and live in NYC. Welcome to the anti-board

[wise_rita]

Welcome!

I cannot tell you how it warms my heart to steal traffic from the Nest like that.

[azure]

Welcome!
I'm Canadian living in France with my dual Canadian/French H and kid.

[bail229]

Welcome! I am an American living in Sydney with my Aussie DH and our dual son!

[mouseinlux]

May 16, 2012 0:04:23 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Welcome!

I cannot tell you how it warms my heart to steal traffic from the Nest like that.

Wiserita, thats great!

Hi I'm a Brit living with my Burger and Mini Burger in Luxembourg

[potatopie]

Hello! I'm an American living in Cape Town with my Italian DH.

[pittpurple]

I'm so glad to have new posters on here! DH and I are Americans who have lived in Scotland for over 6 years now.

[expatjen]

Hi. I'm an American living in south India with my Indian DH and almost-2-year old son. Welcome!

[clogged]

Crap, was so obsessed with the cat-lady potential forgot my stats....

American, married to a Dutch, with two little half-and-halfs. Only one half-and-half is half Brit not Dutch. Border crossing effing loves us!

[aMrsin09]

Well, I figured out who clogged is ...

HI! I'm an American from the DC area, living in Australia with my Aussie husband who just happens to come from Croatian stock (well it was still Yugoslavia when he dad came to OZ). We are a family of three. Two humans a a big ol dog.

[clogged]

You didn't know yet? Sorry. Didn't want my old screen name linked to my new screen name. I haz crazy stalkers.

[aMrsin09]

No problem. It's not like I stalked the new name thread. The new ones I don't know I'll figure out eventually. It's kind of a fun game to see if I can guess from clues. See if I've been paying attn all this time.

Although I do like it when the name changed but the siggy pic stayed the same. That helps TONS!

[oneslybookworm]

Clogged, just because I show up at your house, look in your windows and try to steal your children does NOT mean I'm a stalker! God!

Welcome to the board! DH and I are Americans living in the Netherlands...no kids yet for us either. Hope to hear more from you! (PS, I love cats)

[mrsukyankee]

Hi and welcome! I loved living in DC area (I was in Alexandria, VA). I currently live in London with my British DH. I don't have kids either!

[bugabean]

Welcome! I'm an American in Denmark with a Danish DH and 2 halfsies daughters.

[clickerish]

Hi! I'm Dutch/American (split time between parents as a child) with an awesome family of two that is a hybrid of Dutch, American and Peruvian. I spend my summers on the Iberian Peninsula, my Christmases in Peru and my academic years in the exciting Midwest of the USA. My future children will be confused.

[fernane]

Welcome! Americans living in Vietnam here.

[Wanderista]

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for all of the positive responses! Wow, everyone is so global and interesting, I love it. There's an American tv show called House Hunters Intl where people are always moving around the world. I've often watched that and thought, "I could have a chat with most of the people on this show and we'd have lots to talk about." This board definitely seems like that too - people who defy the "Most Americans don't even have a passport" stereotype.

Haha, I am also a happy omnivore and cooking with a vegetarian is lots of fun but actually not difficult at all. We usually make things with a base dish and then if I want, I cook up my meat separately and add it to my food. He can cook up his tofu or seitan and put that in his food. I don't eat tons of meat and have learned to appreciate lots of vegetables, but yeah I do get days where I just want a burger or something. It's funny because the area he is from is famous for its grilled meats, seriously steaks that would put Texans to shame. I'm totally hooked on eating "Serbian-influenced" burgers now (though that region is famous for its ethnic tensions a lot of cooking styles from Serbia, Bosnia and various regions cross over in that part of the world). It has also been great learning to make American classics like "vegetarian jambalaya", macaroni and cheese from scratch or tater tot casserole with sauteed vegetables. It's funny that he's a really picky eater but he loves all of these popular American foods that he had never tried before he met me.

And yes, there are a lot of ethnic Croats living in Australia. I think that Croatia recognizes their citizenship pretty far back into the generations. It's one of those cases where the diaspora is as big as the country.

[clickerish]

May 16, 2012 11:00:39 GMT -5 Wanderista said:

There's an American tv show called House Hunters Intl where people are always moving around the world.

I saw that show once or twice in hotels. It was fascinating. But I always returned to the question of how I was ever going to have that particular lifestyle

[Wanderista]

Hehe, I agree. I often wondered that too. It would be great if they did a follow up on those people in a year or several years so you could find out what happened to them. Did that bed and breakfast in Nicaragua work out for them? How about that English language school in Mongolia? I'm sure in some cases it did. But yeah, generally, "International Living" is where it's at. :-)