Author Archives: Expat chatter

Are you sure that’s what that sign means?

Signs are there for the express purpose of helping you find your way. They tell....

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Don’t look now, but there’s a shark at your feet

Everybody has their idea of a perfect vacation. I enjoy the ocean, but I don’t....

A kindness repaid, 40 years later

After an overnight trip from Spain, I was thrilled to finally arrive at the doorstep....

This cheap ticket is amazing, but I missed my connection

Germany already experimented with a cheap train ticket last summer. People loved it so much....

Land of the free, home of the waste

The U.S. is not just a large country, everything in it seems bigger, too. This....

How to get a stranger to voluntarily show you their socks

Eyeglasses and watches used to be mundane utilitarian accessories until designers were invited to the....

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Bring out the Easter eggs – the kids are coming home

Just as I was getting used to not being a mother, my COVID-harassed daughters came....

9 things you didn’t know about Chicago

Chicago was named by French fur traders who founded the city, which was destroyed by....

Home sweet home – only better

I fantasize about taking my kids back to where I grew up to show them....

A knack for snacks

When is a snack a meal? It depends on what country you’re in, as Germans....

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If an alien landed in New York, would he know where he is?

New York feels like another world compared to Munich. Many elements are obvious and in....

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Just ‘cause it’s American, Europeans ain’t buyin’ it

American companies have made serious inroads into the economies of Europe and elsewhere, but this....

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When a fight with your mom costs millions: acrimony at Aldi

There are grocery stores, and then there’s Aldi. In the decades since WWII, this discounter....

The nightmare of motherhood in Germany

Germany has the reputation of having generous social programs, with vivid descriptions such as "cradle-to-grave"....

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The Super Bowl and other American sports make a touchdown in Germany

Read by Brenda Football – the sport known everywhere but America as “American football” –....

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Look here, U.S. election deniers – Berlin bungled it big time 

The press and social media are still abuzz with deniers of the U.S. elections in....

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Even better than bread: the best excuse to fatten up, complete with cream filling

January is when Germans confront the fact that Christmas is over but winter is just....

The new, improved me – courtesy of the EU-conform driver’s license

For years, I suffered from the lousy picture I had taken for my German license,....

Catapulting the plague into Europe and other viral tales

The coronavirus isn’t the first disease that jumped from animals to humans. This has been....

Belt out “Walk the Line” all you want, but walking in the U.S. is not an option

Long gone are the days when you could walk down to the local five-and-dime store....

Blasting our way into the New Year

Germans are so careful about maintaining their cars and build their houses so well that....

‘Twas the Night Before Weihnachten

On a trip to a Christmas market in Munich, I was inspired by The Night....

Christmas cookies: good, better, and German

I loved Christmas cookies growing up and thought they were pretty good, but have since....

The best show the World Cup has to offer is outside the stadiums

The news is all abuzz about the World Cup games in Qatar, but the coolest....

What happened to my pumpkin pie?

It wouldn’t be a holiday without pumpkin pie, but what I bake today is a....

The 100 meters between fascism and democracy in Munich

On just a 10-minute walk through Munich, I passed a murder scene leading to the....

Led astray by my naïve trust in a native speaker, but I should have known better

My trust in native speakers was boundless, and it caused me to maneuver myself into....

In not-so-hot pursuit of the Way of St. James

Somehow I keep coming across the camino or Way of St. James, leading to surprising....

What is the Inquisition doing in 21st-century America?

Looking at U.S. politics over the past few years, Germans recognize many patterns from the....

No Halloween? No way. My sneaky and successful plot

Some Germans celebrate Halloween, but not all of them. I was determined to find a....

Noise in the modern world—from cacophonous to carefully controlled

Read by Brenda It’s that time of year again: The leaf blowers are back. They....

Three cheers for English: Concise, neutral, to the point.

English has its downsides. But when you compare it to German, French and Spanish it....

Welcome back, fleas! The Oktoberfest is on

Following a three-year hiatus, Munich’s favorite party returned. Corona didn’t dampen people’s spirits, but I....

When life gives you lemons, it helps to recognize them

I thought my French was good enough to get me around southern France. But language....

Germans put the fun in fungi

My experience with mushrooms was confined to cans as a kid. In Germany, collecting them....

50 years later – Triumph and tragedy of the Munich Olympics. Part II: Tragedy

The 1972 Munich Olympic Games brought many long-lasting improvements to the city, but they were....

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