Category: Brits abroad

O Canada…I’m Still In Love With Thee

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Given my strapline is ‘Brit mama with Canadian tendencies‘, I felt it was high time to talk about the Great White North again. I may not refer to her much, but Canada is a huge part of who I am. The Lord and the General are both Canadian and I made some of my best friends out there.

Becoming an expat can be a rollercoaster of emotions – scary, exciting, lonely, challenging; but there are some fantastic resources to tap into and the adrenaline of the adventure can carry you a long way. When you return home however, there is very little to help you readjust. The adventure of an ex-expat is equally as turbulent.  Continue reading →

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The British Maple Leaves Tdot: Dear Toronto, It’s Not You, It’s Me

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Dearest Tdot,

This is the hardest letter I’ve ever had to write.

We didn’t get off to a great start – you, with your subzero winters and slower than snail pace banking. Me, with my post-wedding blues and no job for the first time since I was 14. But we stuck at it, we pushed through the tough times and fell in love.  I embraced your pace of life, your obsession with coffee and even started to enjoy hockey. You (finally) gave me a job, adored my Britishness and taught me how to stay warm. Continue reading →

The British Maple Leaves Tdot: My Last Canada Day

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You know that feeling, on that rare occasion, when you are the only sober person at a party and you look around and think WTF is going on?! It’s a precarious balance of funny and concerning, right? Then, when the loud-mouthed, sauced-up funny man suggest bungee-jumping from the landing with a silk scarf, you face palm and think ‘it’ll never happen’. Next thing you know, Funny Man is face down on the floor and people are laughing and crying in (almost) equal measure.   Continue reading →

The British Maple Leaves Tdot: Telling The Tots

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Moving is a shed-load of work at the best of times, but you should try doing it with a pre-terrible two-er and a threenager in tow.

The Lord is (and always has been) far too alert and perceptive for his age. I’m not boasting when I say this, if anything it is mightily frustrating for him (and us) because he doesn’t yet know how to deal with these ‘big feelings’.  I’ve learnt the hard way that we can’t hide anything from our darling threenager, so we decided to talk to the Lord very early on about the move. Continue reading →