Tag Archives: expat blogger

Death By Chocolate Cheesecake

Posted on by
7

We are fortunate enough to live in a great friendly neighborhood! This means that we are often the recipients of some delicious baked goodies – courtesy of some gracious neighbors. (Thanks Sabika!)

One such day, I received a slice of a extremely lush chocolate cheesecake. It was rich, decedent, and in essence a chocolate lovers dream!

I’ll share the recipe with you below and some pictures I took along the way. I’ll also add some tips that I use, to ensure the cheesecake doesn’t sink or have cracks. Don’t panic if you do, because the final step is covering the cake with a rich chocolate ganache!
Continue reading →

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Posted on by
20

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid


Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West which was recently short listed for the Man Booker prize was one of my anticipated’s read this past month. I had read his earlier books, The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Moth Smoke and have enjoyed his modern writing style. An intelligent novelist, with a unique storytelling ability, Hamid’s latest book, Exit West, is a book that evokes much feeling and is pertinent in these times when we face a refugee crisis.
Continue reading →

Top 5 Text Messages – As explained by an Introvert

Posted on by
18

I recently came across an article ‘Why introverts absolutely loathe talking on the phone’ and shared it with my friends on Facebook. Surprisingly, it generated quite a bit of response. Some could relate to it, others took it to understand why introverts, like myself, avoid phone calls like the plague!

I felt liberated – people understood me!

Continue reading →

5 ways to get over a post vacation hangover: Expat version

Posted on by
18

One minute I was in Virginia, enjoying the breathtakingly beautiful skies, the refreshing lush greenery, walking down the aisles of Target with a macchiato in hand and the next, I had returned to the Doha sandpit where temperatures were a miserable 110F with dust, massive construction zones and the never-ending quest to find good tasting fresh milk.

(Left) Great Falls, VA                                             (Right) Doha, Qatar

Continue reading →

Can I call myself a runner?

Posted on by
21

I have always enjoyed running. I love to be able to say ‘I’m a runner’. It has a certain ring to it. That being said, I have never competed in a 3K, 5K or even a fun run. Ever. So I am not sure that qualifies me to be a ‘runner’? Add to that, the fact that I run incomparably slower than my kids, who are 10 and 12.  But I still run. Unfortunately, consistency has never been my strong suit, so I run off and on, but these days it is back ‘on’. So perhaps I am an occasional runner?

Continue reading →

Mother’s Day. It’s complicated.

Posted on by
6

 

Mother’s day: The Expat Dilemma

Which day should I really celebrate ‘Mother’s Day’? (I mean who are we kidding – we all know, Mother’s Day should technically be celebrated everyday!). But I think to make things easier for the family, I should choose just one day out of the entire year! (Ridiculous. I know.)

Continue reading →

Ramblings inside the mind of an Expat mom or wait should I say ‘mum’?

Posted on by
17

Keeping dentist appointments, signing permission slips, remembering ‘Viking’ dress up day (why do they have Viking day anyway?), ensuring homework is completed and managing the daunting after school club schedule – are just a few ‘anxiety prone’ tasks, us moms need to plan out in our heads before going to bed on a weeknight.

For expat moms (or mums for my British readers), it is somewhat trickier. They have the usual plethora of tasks to think about, and then there are ‘things’ that pop up in your head because you have chosen the so-called ‘glorious expat adventure’. As an expat parent, these are the thoughts that I contemplate while laying in bed, miserably trying to fall asleep.  Continue reading →

Are introverts misunderstood?

Posted on by
29

dsc_4942blog

When I first started my blog and shared the link with a few friends, one of them said ‘I thought you were an extrovert all the way”. She went on to say that she thought I was pretty ‘social’ and loved ‘hanging out’. That was contrary to what I usually heard. I’ve been told I am ‘too quiet’, ‘very shy’, ‘snobbish’ (say what?!) and ‘prefer being alone’. These are common stereotypes of introverts – not just myself. As a child growing up my mom would say ‘you’re an introvert- just like your dad’. (I’m hoping she meant that in a good way- perhaps I should check back with her on that). I know introverts in general are often misunderstood. So for my readers and friends, here is my experience with it.

Continue reading →