Category Archives: Expat Files

An interview with La Nuova Sardegna by Silvana Porcu

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This past March I was contacted by Silvana Porcu, an English-speaking Sardinian journalist from La Nuova Sardegna. She and her editors were looking for an article on Sardinia but from an outsiders point of view. Silvana found My Sardinian Life and she contacted me. We did the interview via Skype, she in Alghero and I in my adopted hometown in Sardinia.

I would like to thank Silvana for taking the time out to interview me on My Sardinian Life. And another huge thanks to La Nuova Sardegna for printing the article. This was a huge honour for me, thank you.

What joy and exposure! I’ve already been contacted by a woman who lives in Sardinia and she is Canadian! Imagine! I thought I was the only Canadian on the island. I’m looking forward to meeting these newfound friends.

My Sardinian Life – A Canadian blogger reveals the secrets of the island …

Has anything interesting happened to you because of your blog?

How Two Travel Bloggers Met | Bagni di Lucca to Trinita

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When I started writing My Sardinian Life I had no set goals in mind. I hadn’t planned that my little blog could bring sunshine to the many colourful pockets in our world. I didn’t expect the positive comments of encouragement. I didn’t really expect anyone to comment at all! These were just my thoughts and daily life in Sardinia, Italy who would be interested in that?

I continued to post, comment and discover other travel blogs. I found new destinations and people, and put them on my bucket list. The list is now, virtually endless.

I am grateful to have met another blogger who has supported my writing pretty much from the start. How the world brought us together, or why, I will probably never know. I’m just happy it did.

Allow me to introduce you to Debra from Bagni di Lucca, Italy via Brisbane, Australia.

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Adventures Rasp

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WhitSundays, Australia

Fourteen years ago
 She sailed away.
 New found land
 In her Canadian way.
Cities, outbacks and
 dingoes called.
 Oceans, islands and
 ships too tall.
Blues, hues in
 journeys grasp.
 Anchors and tides,
 Her adventures rasp.
Fourteen years ago
 She sailed away
 New found land
 as natures way.

Chase The Dart | Believe in Dreams

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Sometimes in life, you need a dart, a dart board and some courage. The board is there to make the final decision. Your only requirement is to throw the dart.

There are a myriad of options why one never throws the dart. There are limits to our logic. Most of the time we spend holding the dart, afraid to throw it, afraid of what the board will tell us.

I’ve held my dart for far too long. It’s time to let go, time to focus on the dream. Time to travel. The time is now. One way or another a life changing event will unfold. Again.

Throw the dart.

I can’t.

Just do it. It’s not the first time nor will it be the last.

But … but … packing up and moving again. Do I have it in me to culturally, emotionally and spiritually open myself up to a new country … again?

Yes, you can.

The dart flies out of my hand, through the air, swoosh. Eyes closed and heart pounding.

I … can’t … believe … I’m … doing … this … again! I’m nuts! Totally nuts!

The dart lands with a thud, stuck to the plastic map and wall. I can’t move, I won’t move. My new reality is about to unfold, another new beginning is about to start. Oh dear, I’m moving where … ? Continue reading →

On Being an Expat | In Sardinia, Italy

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The life of an expat is never easy. Moving to a new country, maybe learning a new language and generally starting a new job are stressful factors for anyone beginning new.  There are hardships to being an expat in any country. I’ve been an expat for sixteen years and in four different countries.

First I was an expat in Australia.

Where I spent nine months living the life between the outback and the ocean. Working in small beach-side cafe’s just to make enough money to travel further up the coast or deeper into the red desert. Some jobs lasted a weekend, some three weeks, but never over three months in one place, as my visa wouldn’t allow it. Continue reading →

A bus trip down the Oodnadatta track – Australia

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NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA

Luck was on my side in 1997 when I checked-in for a domestic flight, Cairns to Darwin. One-way.

“Passport, please.” Said the pretty little lady dressed in blue polyester.

Hands over the passport. “So, you’re Canadian, eh?”

“Um, yeah.” Not giving in, she wanted me to say it. To say, eh. Well, I didn’t.

“Would you like to sit in the cockpit for take-off and landing today?”

What the what? What she just say? My body still intoxicated, filled with VB vapours from the beach party the night before.

“Yeah, yes. Ok. Wow. Thank you.” Effin almighty, eh!

Northern Territory

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Look What I Found in Oz

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It was 1997 and my twenty-second birthday. We’d just drove down from Darwin and were swimming in the Katherine Gorge when I happened upon these little fella’s… Continue reading →

My Expat Lives | Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

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GRAND CAYMAN. CAYMAN ISLANDS

What a juicy little island Grand Cayman is. On most wall maps you can’t even see her, it’s such a shame. She’s just a wee little speck in the Caribbean and her seven-mile beach is one of the most pristine places these brown eyes have seen.

Seven Mile Beach. Grand Cayman. Cayman Islands.

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The Wandering Waitress*. A Guide to Traveling the World One Tip at a Time.

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So you want to give up everything, eh?  Move to another country, get a job in a small café in Australia and become a beach bum?  It’s easy to do and you don’t need a university degree to do it. Continue reading →