Hello, Wife

Guten Tag, yodelers (oops, how High German of me),

Hope everyone had a great holiday. While I recover from my first Nachtzug experience (more on that later), I wanted to share an essay that some of you might be able to relate to--especially if you are a trailing spouse.

I think most of us Fraus and Hausmanns know that in the end, it's worth a little identity confusion for the opportunity to live and travel abroad. But that doesn't mean it is always easy.

After all, the first time I translated what was on my Swiss permit, I practically had a heart attack. It was something like: "Only allowed in country because of Husband. Not worthy otherwise."

Thanks, Switzerland.

Read my essay, Expat, in Skirt! Magazine this month for more on identity at a (European) crossroads.

New Blog: Writer Abroad

My new blog, Writer Abroad, is launching today and even if you're not a writer, I hope you'll check it out anyway for the awesome illustration header that was created by a former colleague of mine, Swiss art director, Tom Kees. He doesn't want me to give him credit, but too bad. And on second thought, I can't wait, so what the heck, here's the illustration:



If you're a writer living abroad or just dreaming of becoming one, I hope you'll join me over at Writer Abroad. I'm currently looking to interview writers living abroad and if you've got a blog about writing or are a writer abroad with a blog, please let me know so I can add it to the links section of Writer Abroad.

And if you're not into the writer thing don't worry, One Big Yodel isn't going anywhere. Tomorrow, we're back to our regularly scheduled program of strange things that happen in Switzerland. Tomorrow's topic? How to sum up the differences between Switzerland and the United States with a box of dryer sheets.

Shameless Self Promotion Day

Hello and welcome to Shameless Self Promotion Day. It's just a brief departure from our discussion of Switzerland to let you know that I'm excited (well who am I kidding, I'm practically peeing my pants) that not just one, but two of my essays are out in bookstores across the United States today in one of the best-selling Chicken Soup anthologies, Chicken Soup for the Soul: All in the Family: 101 Incredible Stories about our Funny, Quirky, Lovable & "Dysfunctional" Families.

I don't know what having multiple essays in a book about dysfunctional families says about my family, but I want to take a moment to thank them for providing endless inspiration.

The first story (which is actually the first one in the book--you can read it by clicking on the "see inside this book" button) is about how my father wraps everything (including plastic lawn chairs) in plastic (oh, and happy birthday today, dad...you know what you're getting for the big day).

The second essay is about the DNA I've inherited from multiple family members that just makes me want to steal those butter packets from the table at Denny's (and also the DNA that makes living in Switzerland so difficult because of the lack of these kind of things to take.)

To make Shameless Self-Promotion Day slightly less shameful, I'm giving away a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: All in the Family: 101 Incredible Stories about our Funny, Quirky, Lovable & "Dysfunctional" Families. All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post about something crazy your family does from now until November 3. Craziest family story (in my opinion, of course) wins. You'll get the book and your story will be posted on my blog in a future post along with a link to your blog or website. Please keep stories to 150 words or less.

Writer Abroad Tips Featured on The Urban Muse

This week I was featured on a blog called The Urban Muse, which is a great blog to read if you are a writer or if you are just interested in ways to improve your blog. It’s filled with tips and personal experiences and is written by successful freelance writer and blogger Susan Johnston, who resides in Boston.

My article, “6 Reasons to be a Writer Abroad,” appeared on her site on Monday and expanded on a topic I covered some time ago on this blog. If you’re interested in more on this topic, please visit her blog and have a look.