Sound off-Please if you are an American Abroad say hello and tell us where you are from.

[davidpdx]

This discussion thread is pinned.

Last edited Wed Feb 17, 2016, 02:20 AM - Edit history (12)

If you don't mind I'd like to keep a running list of Americans Abroad on DU in case anyone has a country specific question:

Asia

Recursion - India
Art_from_Ark - Japan
Out of Time Man - Japan
4bucksagallon- Philippines
davidpdx-South Korea
Expat in Korea - South Korea

Africa

CBGLuthier -Mauritius

Europe

all american girl - Belgium
DFW- Germany
Ellen Forradalom - France
EdwardBernays-Ireland
flor-de-jasmim-Denmark
BlueMTexpat-Switzerland
LittleGirl - Switzerland
Spider Jerusalem-United Kingdom

North America

riverbendgirl - Canada
ExPat2Mex-Mexico

Please also and record!

Ps-If I've left you out please holler!

[CBGLuthier]

1. I live in Mauritius. The usual question about Mauritius is something along the lines of, "Where?"

[davidpdx]

3. Wow, an interesting place with a lot of history

Just briefly scanned the Wikipedia page. I'd like to come there someday. I love islands in the middle of no where.

Hey, I forgot to ask you to record the post. Could you come back and do that? Thanks...

[Ellen Forradalom]

31. My husband and I honeymooned there.

Spectacular place.

[BlueMTexpat]

33. I spent Christmas with friends

who lived there for many years. The husband is a native Mauritian (Creole & Chinese descent) and his wife is a UK citizen from Wales. He is a doctor who had a practice in Mauritius before moving to Geneva to work with WHO's UNAIDS program before retiring in Switzerland.

Mauritius does indeed have a fascinating history, being a way station on the way to the Dutch East Indies and to British East India Company interests, as well as having long-standing associations with both India and China.

[LittleGirl]

2. Howdy

I'm in Basel Switzerland. I've signed up on the Democratic abroad voters here so I am on their list as well. Cheers!

[davidpdx]

4. Nice to meet you Basel

If you could please record the thread so we can get some exposure on the front page.

[LittleGirl]

5. done! n/t

[BlueMTexpat]

34. We likely know a lot of the same people then!

I'm currently in Vaud (Coppet), but am primarily associated with the Geneva Chapter.

[4bucksagallon]

6. From Maine now living in Mindanao an island in the Philippines archipelago.

I don't miss winter but I do miss the changing seasons especially fall when the tourists have left.

[davidpdx]

7. I have been to the Philippines several times, but never that far south

Went to Boracay in 2009 and 2010 and Palawan this past January. Living up in Korea I would love to miss a winter or two. It is cold and dry here which is very different from the weather I grew up with in Oregon.

[ShinPath]

60. Metro Manila

My lovely wife bought a Condo in metro Manila and I hang out there (now, actually) during school vacations, lounging by the pool, taking a trike to the SM Malls, and making side trips to Coron, Vigan, Subic, and Cebu. Back to Shanghai on Friday.

[DFW]

8. German Rheinland here

Düsseldorf area, although my work usually takes me to a different country every day.

I encounter a LOT of Filipinos wherever I go. I think they are the secret power behind the scenes in the world. They are in every restaurant, every hotel, every ship. If they wanted to take over the world, just one word from the Malacañang and we'd all be learning Tagalog in order to serve our new masters.

I was on a cruise ship in Alaska last month--first time I was ever on one of those things. My few words of Tagalog got me the best service of any anglo on the boat. The biggest smiles, too. Magandang Omagá! I know they speak something different on Mindanao, but I've never met someone from there.

David--you'll appreciate this one. About 6 years ago, I was in L.A. for work, and was alone in the hotel breakfast room at a table with about 7 crew members of a Korean Air Lines flight that was obviously leaving in a few hours, as they were in full uniform. They were ready to leave before I was, and they had been happily jabbering away in Korean the whole time. When they got up to leave, I looked up and said, "An yong hi ka za yo." As if instructed by some hidden computer program, they all turned in unison and stared at me with their mouths wide open with this "did-this Anglo-understand-every-word-we-said?" expression on their faces. Too bad that's ALL I know in Korean, or I could have had some more fun with them!

[davidpdx]

9. That is pretty funny

Yeah I've heard many stories where Koreans under estimate foreigner's ability to understand. In your case, they were lucky that's all you knew. I believe what they were exhibiting is what is referred to as "loss of face", which is important in most Asian cultures.

I'm sure since you travel a lot you have picked up a lot about different cultures. It actually has become one of my interests. I don't think I cared that much until I started working on my doctorate and reading more on culture and started learning more about the things that are unspoken. I read through the entire book Cultures and Organizations and finally got my hands on a used copy (that stuff is so expensive here) for my own reference.

[DFW]

10. Can't confirm or deny the loss of face

If I really could understand Korean, then I would have known, but since I don't, it was only good for shock value as far as I could tell. I got my money's worth on that score, but as for the rest, that would depend on to what extent they had been talking about me before I spoke up, and that, my friend, is something I will never know.

Culture and appreciation of same is SO important when meeting people of others than your own. Some you can read about, but some you have to learn about from the people themselves. I remember about reading in "Tai Pan" that the Chinese have a superstition that if you don't complete your first deal of the day, the rest of the day is ruined. Clavell described it in such detail, I suspected he hadn't made it up. So, when I was in Hong Kong, and saw a frog (the symbol of my wife's home town of Quakenbrück in northern Germany) carved out of green malachite, I looked at it in the late afternoon but didn't buy it. I was quoted $2000 (outrageous) but told that "today's deal" was for half price. Yeah, right. I passed, but was back there at 4 minutes to nine the next morning when they opened their doors, and asked to see it again. I told them I was quoted $1000 but it was too high for me. They asked what my price would be, and I said $400. The sales woman gulped, and came down slowly in $100 increments, but I stuck at $400. At $600, she was reaching the end of her limit, at least for a "gwei-loh" like me. She finally said $500, and I thanked her for her time, but I just couldn't justify it, and started to walk out. Sure enough, she wouldn't let me leave, saying "no! You are the first one today!" To-jieh sai, Tai Pan! I settled on $450. Probably only 10% less than they really wanted, and I never let on that I had read of their little suspicion (have to save face, after all).

[davidpdx]

11. I bet your wife really loved that

I loved up what that is and have never heard of it before. It is a very nice color. Kind of like the inside of the thunder eggs in Oregon (except they are purple).

[DFW]

12. I'm well acquainted with the thunder eggs of Oregon

I am an old rockhound from way back. My wife did indeed love the green frog, and it now occupies a prominent place in our house, which is saying something, considering the overabundance of minerals I have laying all over the place from my other travels!

[davidpdx]

17. A rockhound

Now I'm going to start calling you Andy (Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption). lol

[DFW]

23. Well, seeing as how I loved that film

Go right ahead! Actually my brother-in-law IS named Andy. Originally from Wisconsin, he is now a stage techie on Broadway in New York. He practically singlehandedly made the Mamma Mia show run for nearly 15 years. Downside of that is that when the show finally closed last month, he suddenly found himself out of work at age 52 in a highly competitive field, and he's now struggling to find another show.

[BlueMTexpat]

36. This ...

I encounter a LOT of Filipinos wherever I go. I think they are the secret power behind the scenes in the world.

They are also some of the most beautiful, hard-working, and loveliest human beings I have ever encountered.

[SoapBox]

13. Well...

I'm not living abroad and don't ever plan on it but was fascinated by this thread...good job David on starting this!

I just got back from PDX (again) last night...the weather was dry and nice but just going to start raining.

Oh ya, the reason I stopped in to International was because of the Netherlands question in this post,

http://www.democraticunderground.com/128059908

However seems that the section is missing...Europe.

[davidpdx]

14. I envy you having been in my beloved Portland

I miss it so much and hope to go next summer.

Personally I think the way international forums is set up are a little screwy, but that's just my opinion. There is no forum for Europe or Asia. Apparently for Asia we are suppose to post under the Asian Group under race & ethnicity. I've tried explaining to you know who but it went on deaf ear so I am just rolling with it and doing what I'm told to. For Europe and Asia we can also post under the Americans Abroad forum too. That's why I'm trying to revive it.

I'll jump over to that thread and make a comment.

David

[Recursion]

15. Dependent of a diplomat; living in Mumbai

Hi all,

I live in Mumbai right now. My wife works for the State Department as a diplomat. We're in election season right now so it's a pretty interesting time.

[davidpdx]

16. Thank you for introducing yourself

I've always wondered what India is like. I have seen a few university positions open to foreigners there and would be willing to spend a year or two living there. Not in Mumbai though. Sounds like it is way too crowded. It has about 2 million more people than Seoul.

[Recursion]

18. New York City seems like a quaint village to me now

What do you teach? There are some wonderful universities here, but there are even nicer ones in Pune, which is a much less crowded college town inland from here. Kolkata also has some amazing academic opportunities. Also Ahmedabad is an up-and-coming city with some good academic spots.

[davidpdx]

19. Currently I teach English, but finished my Doctorate in Business Administration in April

I'm switching over after 10 years of teaching English as I'm tired of it and really wanted to teach in my field (I already had an MBA, but unfortunately that wasn't enough). It took me 4 years and 7 months to finish my doctorate and it was tiring. I defended the day before my 44th birthday.

Thanks for the recommendations on those cities. I'll keep an eye out for openings in both.

[Recursion]

20. Do. I particularly recommend Pune and Kolkata

Though skilled English teachers are also always at a premium here.

[davidpdx]

21. I really want to teach business courses in English

People in India are pretty fluent, so I would guess they have programs like that. I did a webchat with a service agent for Norton Antivirus for customer service and I'm pretty sure that's where he was.

[Recursion]

22. For that Mumbai and Ahmedabad are probably the best bets

But, yes, English is pretty much a given among the college-educated crowd here.

[Art_from_Ark]

24. Hello from the Land of the Rising Sun

[davidpdx]

25. Art!

[NBachers]

26. Thanks, David- this is an interesting thread. I'm in San Francisco, but I like to develop a

perspective on other people and places.

One of my work friends just returned home to Tehran for an extended visit tonight. She's been telling me about the changes she's hearing about since the agreement was signed. I told her she's a goodwill ambassador between our two countries now.

[davidpdx]

27. I have a Iranian friend on Facebook who I met in a MOOC class

He's a younger guy who is trying to get an education. I knew another Iranian when I was an undergrad. He was our resident assistant in the dorm. A real nice guy. In graduate school there were lots of Turkish male students (which is kind of funny because the school is Catholic).

As I have stated in other posts that I grew up in a small town (18,000) with very few minorities. I was able to go off to university and meet people from many different backgrounds and live in Portland for 11 years and then 12 years ago move here to Korea. I consider myself lucky that I have been able to experience so much 23 years or so.

[all american girl]

28. We are living in belgium...outside of Brussels

[davidpdx]

29. Nice to meet you!

[Ellen Forradalom]

30. France n/t

[davidpdx]

32. Glad to meet you

I just saw Anthony Bourdain's show on Marseilles a few days ago and he said it is the place to go in France. I've only been to the Netherlands and Sweden in terms of Europe and plan to go back again one day.

[BlueMTexpat]

35. Hi David! Thanks so much

for starting this thread and inviting me over!

I live in Coppet Switzerland, right along Lake Geneva, and about nine minutes by train from the center of Geneva. Coppet is a beautiful little town with associated with some famous figures in French literature, politics, history, and philosophy. Germaine Necker (aka Madame de Staël https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_de_Sta%C3%ABl) had a family home here, known as the Château de Coppet (http://www.swisscastles.ch/vaud/coppet/), where she hosted such individuals as Benjamin Constant among many, many others, wrote a couple novels herself and has a spot among the French romantic writers.

She and Napoleon Bonaparte were initially friendly and she moved freely between Paris and Coppet at first, but later on her royalist tendencies resurfaced (her father had been Louis XVI's Minister of Finance) and she went into exile in Coppet in the early part of the 19th century.

I first came to Switzerland in 1994 to work with a special UN Commission and in 2001, transferred to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), from which I retired, so I was able to exercise the option of residing in Switzerland as an expat. I love living in one of the most beautiful places in the world, but having the option to visit family and friends in the US from time to time makes my life close to perfect. My birth state is Montana (as can be guessed from my DU name) and my voting residence is in Maryland. Family and friends are scattered around the US and the world. Interestingly, considering that you are now in South Korea, one DIL is of Korean origin - the first in her family to be born in the US (Arkansas!). Her older brother and sister were both born in South Korea and were very young when their parents immigrated to the US in the late 1950s.

Before coming to Switzerland, I was a 1960s Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco, and stayed there for an additional six years, first as a teacher and later as a development worker with a USAID-financed project. I am a long-time teacher, but also have a Master's degree in business as well as a J.D. (public international law), so have had some different career incarnations.

The American Democrats Abroad -Switzerland (ADACH) group here is an outstanding group of expat Dems with all ages, genders, and many, many different cultures represented. We may support different candidates for the primaries. But there is absolutely no question but that every one of us will vote BLUE in the GE. None whatsoever!

[Out of Time Man]

37. Hello - a long time lurker, relatively new poster here

I'm based in Hiroshima city, teaching English through the JET Programme. I'd be glad to be a part of this group!

[davidpdx]

38. Welcome to DU and to the group

Glad to have you here. Hiroshima (and Japan in general) is one place I would like to go someday. The only time I've been over there is to go to Osaka on visa runs, which is just a daytime trip. We barely had time for lunch. Had to do that when I was on an E-2 (employer based) visa. Thank god I don't have that anymore!

[Out of Time Man]

39. Thanks for the warm welcome!

I've been lurking on DU since 2004, when my father introduced me to the site. I was sixteen years old then, working with my father canvasing for Kerry in Janesville, Wisconsin.

Japan is incredible in many ways. Like any nation state, it has its short comings, but the land here is unlike anything I've experienced in the States, and the people are some of the most kind and patient I've ever met.

Hiroshima city (and the prefecture at large) has plenty to see and do. However, if you have limited time to explore Japan (in my unsolicited opinion), the most bang you'll get for your buck regarding historical sites will be in Kyoto and its neighboring prefectures (Nara has a lot to offer as well if you're into historical sites).

If you're looking for more of a national park route, Hokkaido is the place to be. Many of Japan's largest national parks reside there, and in my opinion, the climate is perfect year round (being from Wisconsin, the cold and the snow make me feel at home).

I hope you get the chance to come to Japan some time, it's a place I would recommend to anyone!

[davidpdx]

40. Thanks for the advice

I too was a long time lurker before joining in 2008 during the primaries. If you've lurked since 2004, you know how bad it can get during the primary season.

[Out of Time Man]

41. Both the '08 primary season and the 2010 midterms...

Were particularly rough times. I'm patiently waiting for primaries to wrap up - maybe then I'd feel adventurous enough to poke my head back out of safe havens. Until then, many posters seem to range from being a race car in the red to the guns of the Navarone, and I'd rather not get swept up in the crossfire.

[EdwardBernays]

42. Ireland

I've lived in Ireland for about 8 years now... the UK before that.

[davidpdx]

43. Welcome, it's nice to see you

[ExPat2Mex]

44. Living in Sonora, MX

Hello. I just joined this web group.

I live in the heart of the Sierra Madres in Sonora, MX. 12 years, on and off. When I am north, I live in Bisbee, Arizona.

I have a lot of writing about current events and people, from Trump to El Chapo, the presidential election and Mexican life here on my blog at:

http://livinginsonora.blogspot.com

[davidpdx]

45. Welcome to the group

It will be nice to have a perspective of someone who has an ear to the ground in Mexico. Feel free to post a bit with links to your blog posts, especially on Trump. I'd love to hear what they think about the crazy gringo El Trumpo.

[ExPat2Mex]

46. Thanks

Thanks, David. I will be glad to do that, but how many times must I reply before I am allowed to post the links in a new thread in "Good Reads"? I get a message to that effect when I tried to do that.

[davidpdx]

47. I am not sure, but be careful how fast you run up your post count

If you look like a troll MIRT will zap you. I would think by the time you hit 20 you should be able to.

[ExPat2Mex]

48. troll, MIRT

David,

For many good reasons, I have stayed away from discussion boards for almost 20 years, after I closed down my newspaper. It was one of the first in the nation online, so even in 1995 I was anxious to be a part of the social media until I found out how little I could say there. There are many people who sit hours on end without much else going on in their lives except to "troll" (is it?) the words of others. I have no problem with that.

I have written for a living for many years, so it does not bother me that some people use their time to live that way in the waters we all inhabit. Perhaps, at best, they are hooks to catch us at our mistakes in a catch and release world of bits and bytes.

After returning in 2011 from Iraq at 63, none of that really bothers me. I'm as much at home at the keyboard/keypad as I was in a helo headed for Basra or Kirkuk. Life is always interesting, both in safety and in danger.

And words are very important, but they can only build or destroy, they only live in hate or in love. Intellect, or the absence of it, is only a messenger's tool in each of us. Pick your poison, I say. I will always believe in free speech, even though I may reject most of it as meaningless.

By the way, I have no idea - yet - what MIRT stands for. I still am acronym-impaired, a badge I wore proudly as I worked with soldiers! I suppose I will find out soon.

[GP6971]

49. Once you've posted (replies) 10 times you can post your own thread, what is referred to as an OP.

Last edited Sat Feb 13, 2016, 02:58 PM - Edit history (1)

But be careful if you are trying to promote your personal blog. It's referred to as "Blog Flogging" and is considered spam and your posting privileges will be revoked. I'll check later, but I think it is acceptable to have your blog link in your signature line.

MIRT stands for Malicious Intruder Removal Team. It is a group of volunteers that monitor new registrants looking for racist, bigoted, sexist, hateful posts and posts meant to disrupt DU. It also looks for spam. Members of MIRT have the authority to immediately ban (revoke posting privileges) any new member that posts any of these type posts.

Welcome to DU and I'll get back to you on the sig line.

[davidpdx]

50. Thank you for clarifying that

[GP6971]

51. Your welcome

I found out that links to personal blogs are mostly discouraged by MIRT. Best not to have them take the chance.

[ExPat2Mex]

54. Thank you for the clarification

GP,

I will be aware of your caveat about blog advertising. I am admittedly bias about what I have written in it, and I feel this way because I have had some very supportive responses offline. Despite having been a writer for decades, I have never formally submitted a single article. I did have my own newsweekly from 1993-95, the Mishawaka Monitor. I made my share of enemies then for my progressive anti-PAC stand and for editorials against corruption in both parties.

I like the thinking I see in your site, and yet I have purposefully refrained for decades in taking part in any of the posting sites like DU. The vast majority of my posts have been to the NYT commentary, and I have been active there for many years. There, I post under my real name.

I would appreciate it if you might take a look at my blog entries. They cover a lot of ground, and I have moved away from journalism to more of a historical look at the world. I love the essay format and consider Lewis Lapham to be the best at it. He likes my writing too.

I'll await your decision. Thank you.

George

[flor-de-jasmim]

52. Denmark...waiting for a visit from Bernie!

[davidpdx]

53. Welcome to the group!

[Spider Jerusalem]

55. UK here (n/t)

[davidpdx]

56. Welcome!

[BooScout]

57. Wales, United Kingdom

I've been living in Wales for about 10 1/2 years now.

[hourglass1]

58. Another from Japan

Sorry, haven't checked my DU messages lately.

[ShinPath]

59. ShinPath History teacher in Shanghai

I have been off of DU for a few years, but I'm back now, so a reintroduction is necessary.
I moved to Japan in 1989 and lived in Osaka for almost 18 years, working as a university teacher of English (Conversation, Writing, Public Speaking). In 2001 I married a woman from Shanghai, brought her to Japan, had a son, but then in 2008 we moved to her hometown Shanghai where I took up a new assignment, teaching History at an International High School.

My first political campaign, at age six was handing out Edmund G. Brown literature when he ran for reelection against Ronald Reagan in 1966 and lost. In Japan I helped start up the Western Japan branch of Democrats Abroad and served as their chair until 2005, since moving to China I tried to stay active on line as the local authorities do not permit DA to operate. This year has seen me online against Trump almost daily. I supported Bernie during the primary and now #ImWithHer.

ShinPath is from a joke avatar name I have 'The Shining Path of Least Resistance,' unaffiliated with those nasty Peruvian Maoist guerrillas. My hobbies are watching and physically supporting futbol, especially the USMNT and my local China Super League team, Shanghai SIPG, travel (ask me about going to North Korea), and History. My workplace is the former Lunghwa Civilian Assembly Center, the Japanese WWII internment camp, described by J.G. Ballard in 'Empire of the Sun' which was later made into a movie =of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg.

My full name is Sven Aarne Serrano, and I have the distinction of being of Mexican and Finnish parentage. I have a 2nd passport, thank you Finland.

[bdamomma]

61. Hi

originally from Providence Rhode Island USA living in Bermuda for the past 27 years.

[Layzeebeaver]

62. New member, decade old lurker

Last edited Tue Aug 6, 2019, 01:22 PM - Edit history (1)

Currently in the lovely town of moreton-in-marsh. Working all over Europe (that is until Brexit!) cough!!!

Have been a long time reader of DU since about 2009 if memory serves.

I keep a very low social media profile which equates to zero social media accounts! As such, I was hesitant to join up formally but hey, why not?

Edit: forgot to add, originally from Detroit area.

[RocRizzo55]

64. Hello Folks

Hi,
I moved to the Netherlands in March of 2019. I have retired from my NY civil service job and met my wife back in 2013, when she was in the US. I am now here on a visa that allows me to have a small business, but hope to get a family visa, as the business has not done well at all since COVID.
I haven't been on DU in a while, but decided to check in here.
The folks here in the Netherlands are good folks. I live in the college town of Wageningen, where the number one agricultural university in the world is. Because of this, there are more nationalities of people here than there are in The Hague. It is quite interesting.
I have been trying to learn Dutch, but it is quite difficult, since about 90% of the people here also speak English. This makes it a bit difficult. I can read a good part of it, but speaking and hearing it is difficult. Whenever I respond to folks in Dutch, they answer back in English! The language is not too hard to read. It's something between German and English, with a lot of compound words. It keeps me busy.
It's a good place to be for me at this point in my life. I hope that I can stay here.

[Laurelin]

65. Howdy, neighbor

I'm in Eindhoven. Moved here 4 months after you did. I hope you're still enjoying it here. Since covid lockdowns started, I've gotten addicted to biking. This may be the best place on the planet for bicycles.

[Tetrachloride]

66. Egypt and previously Japan

additional key country or 2 is likely in the next 8 mr

[EastMeetsWest]

67. US, and now Japan

ここで生活が安心にできるから、よかった！

[Old Crank]

68. I'm in Munich

Been near 7 years now.
Came here because my wife got a job.
She was fired from a start up and looked for positions in programming. Came out of our office and asked
if I would be interested in Munich. I said I had been to Munich for 5 days in 1977. Why not?
90 days later she was in Munich and 30 days later I followed her.