Last week I was honored to be included in a group of Cross-cultural and International Bloggers to Watch in 2010. This week as the guest curator in a review series at SheWrites, I’m pleased to note a few fellow expat bloggers. Members of the Ning network’s blogging group can read it here.
I’m drawn to the subject matter of these writers (and many others who I hope to highlight in the future). Posts seem compelled by the daily negotiation of expat/immigrant/exile identity. Shaped by unfamiliar environments. Inspired by moments when belief systems are challenged or uprooted.
You’ll recognize fiction-writer Catherine Yigit as a contributor to the Expat Harem anthology and the group blog expat+HAREM. In Skaian Gates, the Dublin native writes with a wry sensibility about “living between the lines” of culture and language on the Straits of the Dardanelles. She takes us through the gauntlet of getting a Turkish driving license. Although prepared for the exam, she discovers she’ll have no control over the vehicle since her examiner has a lead-foot on the dual-control pedals! Even if we learn the rules and practice the gears in our lives abroad, we often sense we’re not in the driver’s seat and we have to be okay with that.
Professionally-trained artist Rose Deniz lives in an industrial town near the Sea of Marmara, a body of water named for its marble-like surface. Her spare blog reflects deep ideas and personal geographies, like the trouble with being the kind of person who visualizes color, numbers and forms in the midst of a chaotic Turkish family setting; and finding the art in life outside the studio. Her real-time, online 2010 discussion series in which “art is dialogue and the studio is you” will be hosted at expat+HAREM.
Petya Kirilova-Grady, a Bulgarian who lives in Tennessee with her American husband, writes about bi-cultural misunderstandings and shares her embarrassment over a recent gender role snafu. The only way to explain why the progressive young woman “couldn’t be bothered to do a ‘typically male’ task” in the domestic sphere is because Bulgarians are traditionalists at home. Petya writes of the realization “I can’t remember the last time I felt as Bulgarian.”
Expat bloggers flourish when we face a fresh appreciation for not only where we are but where we come from — and what we’re made of.
Who are your favorite expat bloggers and why?
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Hi there, I was very interested to hear about cross-cultural and international Bloggers. I’m also an expatriate, if not in quite such an exotic location. I have a blog “Intercultural Musings” and would be happy to hear more about your network!
Thanks for checking in Margit, and letting me know about your blog. You remind me that another source I could have mentioned is the blogroll on the left sidebar at expat+HAREM. Not everyone is an expat blogger, but they represent a wider embrace of the world, what I call cultural exploration, identity quests and intentional travel. I find often these are the qualities I admire in my favorite expat bloggers….
We love the Food Bridge blog. Sarah’s food photography and writing about Israel are about the best we’ve seen.
Thanks Barry, I’m a fan of @FoodBridge as well (she’s on my Twitter list of globalists + culturati)….and particularly appreciate how she demystifies staple ingredients and preparations of Middle Eastern cuisine.
Also, if anyone is interested in checking out expat women blogs in particular, there is a huge directory of them at ExpatWomen.com while Expat-Blog also maintains a list of expat blogs worldwide.
Someone who I think does amazing, amazing work is Carol at American Bedu. Part of it is how eye-popping I find the culture she writes about: Saudi Arabia. The other part of it is how sensitively she explains Arabian culture to Westerners and Western culture to Arabians. Carol is a peacemaker. Her blog address: http://americanbedu.com/
Thanks, Karen. I’ve read American Bedu a few times and it’s obvious how deeply Carol’s audience has become invested in the world she shares. She is definitely a stand-out expat blogger.
http://istanbuls-stranger.blogspot.com/
I love her sense of humor. I am not so interested in ex pats writing about the politics of Turkey because it is generally such a complex issue and it gets depressing in most cases. I like writers who give me a personal perspective and make me laugh and think at the same time. It is hard to find that balance.
Hi Nomad View! Agree, the feisty and knowledgeable expat blogs are some of the most entertaining. I liked CarpetBlogger (“Caustic commentary from Constantinople”) for that reason. She ceased blogging last month, but now I see she’s started again, from East Texas!
Wow, I’m so so thrilled to find your voice here. I was born in South Africa, worked as an expat in Asia and for the past ten years have tried to find my way as an immigrant in Canada. I’m constantly trying to navigate this global cultural embrace. I can’t even tell how excited I am to find this larger voice. I kept saying to myself it has to be out there! But I’ve been pretty busy the past six years with raising a young family, so for the past few months I have been re-entering the world that looks like actually sitting at my computer. Just yesterday I googled “global women blogs” and didn’t come up with much. But a whole new world has opened up for me tonight. Literally. I can’t wait to explore all your links. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Great to meet you Idelette! I think you might be also interested in the community over at expat+HAREM….and I can certainly appreciate what a relief it is to tap into this ever-growing network. Looking forward to seeing you around.
Glad to have discovered this place! I have not come across many expat blogs before.
Mine is all about culture clash and living in the UK after being raised in Azerbaijan- an ex-Soviet muslim republic.
Thanks for checking in, Scary! I’ve got you on the expat+HAREM blog roll, hope one day you’ll consider a guest post for that group blog. ex-Soviet transplant to posh UK suburb, the possibilities for culture clash are immense.
Hi Anastasia,
Thanks so much for this great list of expat blogs. I started a blog in Feb. 2003 when I moved to London. At the time, there weren’t many bloggers at all, not to mention women expat bloggers. (I created the first show based on a blog at the London Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival.)
I recently moved to the U.S. and although I was born in Canada, I grew up in the States, so I guess I would be considered a repat…although I feel that once you are an expat, you’re always an expat in some way. Maybe that will be my next blog topic!
Looking forward to checking out many of these blogs.
Sorry for the delayed response… Thanks Devon, what a veteran you are! You’re absolutely right: once an expat ever changed.
I recently came across the website expat + Harem, and I must say it’s like a breath of fresh air. So many bright people!
Until recently most of my reading was of moms blogging and kids, etc hence my blog about raising a multilingual child. I’m Mexican married to a Croatian and about 10 months ago we moved from the States to Croatia so our daughter could see the other half of her genetic pool. It’s been a roller-coaster of emotions personally and reading your blog well it makes me feel human.
I can’t remember but maybe I found you via expatwomen, another great resource.
thanks for allowing me to share my voice.
Elisa
Thanks for coming by Elisa! I enjoy the little photo journeys on your blog, they really bring your daily experiences to life.
Today PocketCultures in its section on BLOGS OF THE WORLD posts “100 blogs on living abroad”. Take a look!