Lately, the idea of being an expatriate versus being a tourist has been on my mind. I think we usually think of the two as very separate entities, but the truth is, any time you are an expat, you probably still have more in common with the dozens of tourists filtering their way in and […]
Expat Living
How Much of a Foreign Language Should You Know when Traveling?
I used to be fairly good at speaking Italian. After my three months abroad when I was nineteen, I felt at least conversational—I could hold my own whenever I was chatting with a resident from Venice. It was great to have this skill as a traveler, because you learn so much more about whatever culture […]
Reverse Culture Shock: Be Good to Yourself!
I’ve been thinking about reverse culture shock recently because I am headed home to Montana in just about a week. I think reverse culture shock is an interesting phenomenon, especially since I always have a harder time with it than I do the initial culture shock of going to a place I don’t know. I […]