Even though this is my second Christmas abroad, it's really my first expat Christmas. Remember last year how I ran away on a megayacht on Christmas Eve? And then didn't come back for two months? I don't know if that really counted as an expat Christmas last year since I was on a fancy boat drinking endless champagne (woe is me).This year I am at my house, by myself, working as usual. When your job caters to people on vacation, you don't get holidays off.christmas at my ...
Life
Expat Blog Awards 2013!
I've entered this year's Expat Blog Awards over at over at Expats Blog, and I would love for you all to read my entry and vote for me!!You can click the badge above, or follow this link to my entry: Top 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming an Expat in Honduras.To vote for me, simply leave a great comment on the entry at the link above - not this post on my blog, although you can do that too if you want! They require all comments to be over 10 words to ensure ...
Roatan Month 16 Roundup
Full disclosure - I had NO idea what month it was for the roundup at all. I had to go back and search for the last one!You can always see all my monthly roundups by clicking on the 'roundup' tag below... but here they all are in order: Month 15, Month 14, Month 13, Month 12, Month 11, Month 10, Month 9, Month 8, Month 7, Month 6, Month 5, Month 4, Month 3, Month 2 and finally little old Month 1. Sometimes when ...
Why I Tell You to Get the F#*&! Off the Coral
Yep. I really do tell people to get the fuck off the coral. (Great news is I'm underwater, so they can't hear my foul language, but the hand signals I give them seem to suffice.)Even after numerous briefings about the Roatan Marine Park from the shop assistant and dive lead, people seem to not be getting the message. I'm not sure where this mindset of "it's okay to manhandle or feed creatures, take shells or anything else I find, or be shitty diver and smash the coral to ...
Rainy Roatan Nights
We've been dodging a very big bullet on Roatan for nearly two months now... RAINY SEASON. The dreaded few months of the year where gray skies and rain only leave us a few days of sun, where the power is out more than it's on and when you get 'trapped' in bars, restaurants or your friends house because you want to wait out the torrential downpour that just started outside. It's the time of year when you go to take out one of your clutches from the back of the closet and discover all 4 of ...
10 Ways That I Know You’re a Tourist and Not an Expat
When I first came here on holidays, I was mystified. There are loads of expats living on Roatan, so how did everyone seem to know I was a tourist? I could have been a dive instructor living here...how did they know I wasn't?After less than three months of living here, I had all the answers. When I ask people, "how long are you on holiday for?" they giggle and ask how I knew they were on holiday. At this point in time, I can spot a tourist a mile away. Some things are easy to pick out, some ...
Inaugural Roatan Review: Roatan Boat Excursions
Being a 'blogger' (I guess I can call myself that now, at this stage of the game?) has a lot of perks. One of these is getting to connect with people all over the world. I love hearing from people! However, due to the focus of my blog on where I live (Roatan, seriously you guys should know this by now) I am now getting lots and lots of emails asking me for my recommendations about Roatan... where to stay, who to dive with, what to do and where to eat. I really want to share what I know from ...
Organization Addicts Unite (GIVEAWAY…WOOHOO!)
I have a little secret to share with you. Yes, I live on a Caribbean island. Yes, time is slow here, we'll get to it tomorrow, let's do that when the rain stops, etc. etc.But while lots of things have changed since moving here, my attention to detail and excellent organization skills (or, as my dive shop co-workers call it, my anal-retentiveness and OCD...whatever guys, at least you know the tip sheet is done right!) have not changed much since my escape from the cubicle.I love details and I ...
“So, like… what do you EAT in Honduras?” – Part 2
I hadn't ever intended this to be a two-part series... I thought I'd just write the original "What do you eat in Honduras?" post to answer all the questions I used to get about it, and that would be that.Well. An islander saw my post and decided to cook for me and show me what real island food is, because he said my photos of 'bush' (salad) was ridiculous and "that not what we island people be eatin here" (his words, oh hey island creole). So a follow-up post became necessary!So ...
Roatan Month 15 Roundup
Hello from rainy season (FINALLY!) on Roatan. After suffering through September and October like...well... a white girl that gets overheated way too easily living in the Caribbean... we have arrived in rainy season with cooler temperatures (that being around 30C/86F rather than 45C/113F) and loads of rain. I promise not to complain for at least a month into it. That's pretty good for me, all things considered. Down to business!Fifteen long months after leaving the corporate grind ...