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Yes, moving to a new place is without any doubt one of the most stressful experiences you can undertake in your life. It is hell. But, after almost three weeks, I can honestly say we’ve come out that dark tunnel remarkably unscathed. And now that I’m sitting at my desk, looking out over sparkling Lake Read more

It’s happening. The contents of our house are being loaded onto a truck as I write, and our new life in Texas starts on Sunday (I guess it’ll be just me, the girls and the cat on that plane, while the rest of the States is glued to their television screens for Super Bowl Sunday, Read more

As 2015 draws to a close, it appears that our sojourn in California does too. After almost 6 years, the time has come for us to say good-bye, and explore new horizons. We always knew this wasn’t going to be our forever home, but never in a million years did I expect to finish the Read more

I hadn’t really planned to extend my blog on the current education woes, but it looks like it’s a hot topic everywhere right now. Two days after I published my blog on Hacking Silicon Valley Culture, my daughter’s Middle School Principal (that’s headteacher for you UK readers) sent her weekly newsletter and it was like Read more

Coming back to one of my all-time favorite topics – linguistics! I’ve written a slightly adapted version of this for the newsletter of the company Smart Coos. They are a provider of children’s online language learning tools, supporting families and caregivers in their endeavors to bring up children with more than just one language. Basically, Read more

I know I’ve written about this topic before: our crazy, fast-paced, highly pressurized modern lives that don’t leave much room to breathe and are especially toxic for our children (see my previous blogs here and there).It seems there is always more to say. I just saw a TED talk that made me gasp and cheer. This 13-year-old boy gives the most amazing Read more

What do I write about after a hiatus of almost 2 years? Ok, how about a little update on the family? We’ve now been living in California for 5 whole years. Been US residents for 3 years. Our younger daughter has spent more than half her life in this country, and has never gone to Read more

I don’t know if it’s age – I am fast approaching 40 – or if it actually is the slow Americanization and its positive effect on me (not to mention the relentless cheerfulness of Californian sunshine), but over the last couple of years, I’ve become a good deal more adventurous and “can do” than I’ve Read more

Despite my best efforts, this last blog of the year is being written abroad – the last few days at home were simply too busy! Yes, we made it across half the world to celebrate Christmas in England, before moving on to Germany for New Year’s. It’s the first time back over here at Christmas Read more

It’s election time! And as much as you try and avoid getting caught up in it, you can’t escape the noise and pandemonium this year’s election campaigns are causing. Of course, as a non-US citizen, I am not allowed to cast my vote, but it’s highly entertaining to watch it all from the sidelines.To me, Read more