A Very Foreign Christmas

by Expat Focus columnist Toni Hargis

Whether you relocated two years ago or twenty, Christmas can always be counted on to remind you of “home”.
Holiday attire in the States does that for me.. Oh yes, it’s not just the people standing in for Santa who dress up around here. For the subtle look we have ear-rings that look like they belong on a Christmas tree, some take it a little further with red scarves, perhaps a little sparkle here and there, and then there are others who feel the need to remind everyone about Christmas – on their chests.

American author Mike Harling postcardsfromacrossthepond.blogspot.com, now resident in England, just can’t get used to fireworks at Christmas time. “I have willingly absorbed most of the Christmas traditions of my adopted country, and the holiday season is richer because of it. But the one thing I continue to find jarring is all the fireworks. The towns set them off when they light the Christmas lights (or they used to before the money ran out) and they are a feature of many holiday parties. Watching fireworks in the damp and cold, however, without a barbecued hotdog in one hand and a plastic cup half-filled with warm beer in the other just isn't the same. Fireworks mean...

Read more http://www.expatfocus.com/toni-hargis-201210

Expats bring Christmas cheer to orphaned children in Bulgaria

by Charlie

To all you fabulous, wonderful, kind and generous people out there who donated to Kalofer orphanage, you have made this Christmas for the children the best one ever!

Ok, from the beginning;

Sam, Richard and Roger, our friends here in Bulgaria, came along to help me and Chech load up all the donations. There was a fair bit!! We took our convoy to Kalofer and for the first time ever I think, no one was there to greet us!! Well it was a little on the cold side!!!!

Normally, when we go, the kids are clambering over each other to help unload the car, sneaking a look in the boxes, typical excited children! But this time had to be different, the Director enlisted the help of the older children,(although the older girls wanted to keep posing for photographs, ha ha) and all the others were asked to wait in the classroom, well, not a classroom as such, but it has desks and chairs so somewhere for all the children to have their own spot. I was then introduced to a French lad who was there volunteering, then a girl, then another lad, then another 3 girls ….. I had to find out more. They all spoke excellent English. They work for an engineering and technology company in Lyon and the company has projects that they can take part in. One of the projects is a week in Bulgaria volunteering at an orphanage. They are spending Christmas at the home and leave on 26th December. I asked them what they thought, they said it was good but very cold. The corridors have no heating at all, I think it was definitely an eye opening trip for them. They said they communicate with the children and staff via charades and say the children are great.

So, between us, we took everything upstairs, ready for the big hand out!...

Read more http://www.expatfocus.com/expats-bring-christmas-cheer-to-orphans-in-bulgaria

Feeling Alien in France at Christmas

by Expat Focus Columnist, Sharon Revol



The end of the year is a time for family and tradition for most people, but when you’re an Expat things are never quite the same. For one, not all Expats get to be around their family at this time of year and the feeling of loneliness can dampen the seasonal cheer, not to forget that sometimes the host countries traditions or religions are totally different to those that an Expat is used to, making you feel quite alien.

I have been living in France since I was 16 so have had plenty of time to get used to the French way of doing things at Christmas time, but still each year I spend Christmas here, I find myself longing for a Christmas with my family like it used to be back in England.

It isn’t so much that the French are very different in how they celebrate Christmas, of course they have Santa Claus and nativity plays, traditional meals and Christmas parties, but it is the little traditions from my childhood that are missing for me; no carol singers, not sending Christmas cards (the French send out cards to wish a Happy New Year in January), no mince pies, Christmas crackers or Christmas pudding.

But it’s of little surprise these traditions are uncommon here: A Christmas card is sold individually most of the time at a cost of 2 or 3 Euros as opposed to twenty for the same price back in the UK. Mince pies and Christmas pudding whilst delicious to me as a Brit, fall into the category of disgusting English food for most French people who try them and are never finish them, so hardly surprising that the shops don’t stock them.

However, Christmas in France is in no way lacking in tradition and is much less commercial than in the UK. You would never expect to start finding Christmas goodies in the shops at the end of September and Christmas lights do not get turned on until December ...

Read more about Christmas in France:
http://www.expatfocus.com/sharon-revol-201210

Victoria Twead: From Spain to Bahrain - Christmas cancelled for the Two Old Fools

Christmas in our little Spanish mountain village of El Hoyo is a low-key affair, but charming. A banner pronouncing ‘Feliz Navidad’ is hung across the entrance to the village and the trees in the square are decked with white fairy lights. Although people don’t send each other Christmas cards, they do decorate their houses with a Belén, or intricate, miniature nativity scene. Our neighbours always proudly show us theirs, displayed in their living rooms in pride of place. Unlike the UK, where Christmas is a massive commercial event, Christmas in Spain is much quainter and focuses far more on the religious significance.

Joe and I love Christmas in El Hoyo, so it’s quite a wrench to be here, in the Muslim Kingdom of Bahrain for Christmas. However, we’ve been quite surprised. Funny little Christmas trees have sprung up in odd places, like our hotel lobby, and some of the bigger stores are actually selling Christmas merchandise. Bahrain is home to thousands of expats, so I guess that’s to be expected.

Checking exactly when public holidays fall in Bahrain is not a simple matter of looking at the calendar. Islamic months start when a crescent moon is actually sighted by the appropriate religious authorities. Some festivals and holy days might fall a day before (or after) the predicted dates because if the moon is obscured by cloud, the holiday cannot be declared until the moon is actually visible to the naked eye. So you can imagine our confusion.

Some holidays are only officially announced 12 hours before the start of the day, frequently leading to great uncertainty on the part of schools...

Read more: http://www.expatfocus.com/victoria-twead-201210

An Australian Christmas on the Gold Coast

by Tracie Hocart


Christmas on the Gold Coast is really something special. People ask me “Are you heading away over the Christmas break?” and I always say I would rather be here than anywhere else this time of year. Why would I head away when there is such a great atmosphere in the air? It’s that special time year when everyone is friendly & smiling (except for the usual grumpy people who have lost the smile reflex somewhere along the way.)

For us, living on the Gold Coast at Christmas time has always been a pleasure. Even when we lived in Brisbane we still managed to find ourselves down here at Christmas time. So many of our friends and family head to the coast and we find people landing on our doorsteps trying to organise get togethers everyday of the two weeks before and after Christmas. Thankfully most of our friends either have their own accommodation arranged or have holiday homes here. We generally have family staying here and there, but do not find that a problem. Happy to have them!

It’s really starting to get hotter that’s for sure. We have noticed the humidity during the past week after the rain. Like most people, who end up living on the Gold Coast, we have great insulation (keeping the house cool in summer & warm in winter), a pool, a covered outdoor entertaining area (patio) and air conditioning. So for us the heat isn’t too much of an issue – in fact I love it when the temperature hits the high 20s (28+°C) and early 30’s.

In the summer months around Christmas our social activities consist of lots of BBQ’s, sitting outside for meals, enjoying a ...

Read more about Christmas on the Gold Coast
http://www.expatfocus.com/australia-christmas-on-the-gold-coast

Expat Experiences: Ecuador - Gary Kesinger, Cotacachi

Who are you?

My name is Gary Kesinger. I worked as a middle school teacher for nearly 20 years, traveling internationally nearly every summer. After tiring of the stress of modern life, my wife and I decided to start a new life in South America.


Where, when and why did you move abroad?

I had been interested in the idea of breaking away from the rat race and retiring early for several years. After much research and discussion, we made an exploratory trip to Cotacachi, Ecuador during a week long break from school in 2008. We immediately fell in love with the idea of spending our days in this beautiful mountain town. Within a few days, we had purchased an apartment and made plans to move at the end of the school year.


What challenges did you face during the move?

Some of our family and friends thought we were crazy to quit our jobs at the age of 43 and move overseas. However, we knew that we did not want to look back someday and wonder what our life could have been like if we had followed our dreams. Sink or swim, this was something that we felt that we had to do, and we have never looked back.


How did you find somewhere to live?

On our first trip to Cotacachi, we looked at several properties through a local realtor. We settled on a new development that was under construction in town. The prices were so low that we felt confident that it would be a good investment. We closed on the property just before we had to leave and...


Read more about Gary's life in Ecuador at
http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-ecuador-experiences-cotacachi-gary-kesinger

The French Medical Experience - Culture, Language and Posteriors

By Expat Focus Columnist Sharon Revol

If you were looking to experience new cultural experiences would you really expect to find them at the Doctors surgery?
Nearly everyone in the Western world is bound to hear about France’s extraordinary reputation for exemplary healthcare at some point in their lifetime. High standards come at a price though. It’s one of the causes of the country’s large deficit and the reason behind some of the additional taxes that the French have to pay, but very few people would expect going to the Doctors to be a cultural experience as well as a medical one.

Most new expatriates arriving in France are likely to be surprised by certain things in the French healthcare system and I can clearly remember my first experiences even though they were a long time ago now. Experiencing medical care in France is a lesson in language, being discreet and becoming comfortable with one’s body.

The majority of French doctors work independently as opposed to being part of large medical centre, meaning most of the Doctors and specialists work from apartments or houses often where, or nearby to where they live. Not quite what you would expect if you are used to clean, clinical looking medical centres with neutral decorations and plenty of mod cons. My current Doctor’s premises look like a throwback to the 1970’s complete with original wallpaper, furniture and plastic plants.

As a first experience this can be quite nerve wracking as there usually aren’t any receptionists. You just ring the doorbell and ...

Read more about the "French Medical Experience"
http://www.expatfocus.com/sharon-revol-241110