Latest Column for Expat Focus... G'day, If you're a regular reader of my ramblings, you probably know I've spent a fair bit of my writing time, wearing expat shoes and being quite vocal about the thrills and spills of culture shock - you know - stuff like: what happens when you find yourself catapulted into the arms of another country, anxiously wondering if this is simply a fling or a lasting love affair? Well, in answer to that - Hong Kong has me in its clutches, but Australia you'll always have my heart. (Awwww.) But on a recent trip back Down Under, it was kind of like running into an ex-boyfriend and finding something that had been so familiar, for so long, was suddenly quite alien. I think it's what they like to call "Reverse Culture Shock." Strewth mate! So where the bloody hell are you? To continue reading head over to Expat Focus - click here >>> … [Read more...]
Reinventing the Wheel: From Television News Reader to Expat Mum in Asia
Last day on air as a News Reader for Sky News Australia My column for online magazine Coping with Jane…. I want my old life back! You know the feeling right? That nagging little voice in your head -- sometimes it's not so little though, it's screaming out, desperate to be heard. I suppose it’s all par for the course when you’re catapulted out of your comfort zone into a foreign land where no one speaks your language and everything from the climate to the culture is about as alien as eating a fish ball on a stick! The initiation into expat life is not all that different to those frenzied days as a new mum. To say everything feels unfamiliar is probably a gross understatement right? Babies definitely don’t speak your language and working out their culinary desires can be a far cry from your usual dinner date. I copped a double whammy. From television news reader living the (sort of) glamorous life in the harbour city of Sydney, to the unknown fragrant harbour of Hong Kong, unemployed and up the duff! I’d been with Sky News for ten years and I’d worked hard for my dream job. I always assumed when or if I was lucky enough to have a family, I’d simply do what I’d seen the other mums do before me – come back to work after a year or so of blissful baby-dom, and slot into a few shifts a week on the tele. Perfect! That was until I threw a spanner in my own destiny. Click here to read more on Coping With Jane >>> … [Read more...]
Homeland…
Being an expat is the easy part, being good at it - not so 'all in your stride' straightforward. I've just arrived back in Hong Kong, bleary-eyed from an overnight flight with a two year old (say no more) and feeling a little bit, well, empty. It's been six months since I was home, the longest period since my 'stint' as an expat began. So far I've been lucky enough to get home on a pretty regular basis, but two and a half years into this mad Asian adventure, saying 'goodbye' doesn't get any easier. It's the quiet drive to the airport, everyone lost in their own world. Here we go again - brace yourself, don't cry - smile, make light-hearted banter, pretend you'll be back in no time and they'll be none the wiser you've even gone, lost in translation somewhere over the Orient. To read more...head to Expat Focus … [Read more...]