…

The Culture Blend BLOG

If you have EVER lived abroad or love someone who does, there is something here for you.

Scroll through below or click on “Blog” in the top right to pick a category. Hit the magnifying glass to search.

Enjoy — and Thanks for Reading!

The Four Relationships You Need if You’re Doing Something New

There's a whole lotta' new going around. COVID shook things up didn't it? Expats have been kicked out or displaced or put on hold. Brick and mortars are morphing into websites and zoom calls. Careers have shifted. Businesses have been reimagined. Paradigms have been...

Little brother syndrome: How expats feel when you badmouth their host country

I never had a little brother ... but I was one. So I know how this works. There is an unwritten bylaw in the "How Family Works Field Guide" that states very explicitly that elder siblings reserve full rights to be absolutely annoyed by little brothers. Because little...

Oops … I forgot myself: Reclaiming your identity in a massive life transition

You know that feeling? It's a sick one. In your gut. Sometimes you catch it early. Two minutes down the road on the way to the airport. "Did you pack the swimsuits?" "Yes." "Socks?" "Yes" "Underwear?" "Yep." "Boarding passes?" "YES! I got everything ok?!" "Sorry . . ....

Transition in a Transition: A few thoughts for making big moves after a big pandemic

You can feel it can't you? Like racehorses lined up at the gate. Like a dam about to bust. Like globally-minded, would be (or former) world travelers and serial expats who haven't been on an airplane (or put on pants) in over a year. The tension is mounting. We're...

Bald Tires and Bad Habits: The right kind of change in a snowstorm year

Facebook did it. Instagram too. All of them. They cracked my code. Not a day goes by that I don't get at least 458 offers for the exact thing that I was just talking about yesterday. Sometimes (and I swear this has happened) all I have to do is think about it. You...

Permission to Netflix: The Power of Intentional Disconnection

There is a MASSIVE difference between "oops" and intentionality. You've been there right? Tell me I'm not the only one. The clock says three hours past your bedtime but your brain is in full-on bargaining mode. One more episode won't kill me. I'll catch a nap...

Ten Years of The Culture Blend

Ten years ago today I hit "publish" for the first time. I had no clue. I had no clear agenda. No long term goal. No 10 step plan for optimizing SEO, driving traffic, managing bounce rate, or maximizing widgets. I barely knew what a blog was. I just knew that cultures,...

The High Hidden Cost of Constant Transition

If you are running, leading, investing in, managing, or somehow otherwise involved in the oversight of an international business, team, or organization, someone in your group is shoveling money out the window. You should do something about that. Transitory teams are...

Pandemics are Stupid (and other things I learned about transition in a 2020 global move)

I'm a Transition Specialist. I know because that's what is on my business cards -- which are outdated -- and in a suitcase -- on a ship -- somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Feels like a metaphor for my life right now. My role is to know things. Important things like...

Dear China: A note from a thankful expat

Dear China, You're so much better at goodbyes than I am but let's try to get through this ok? When we first met I was so intimidated by you. You were bigger than life, older than Moses, and more confusing than puberty. But you were so welcoming. I can't say I felt at...

“Yeah, but you’re not Black”

How does a White father from the United States, raising his Black son in China talk about the news this week? That's not rhetorical. It's not hypothetical? I'm asking. Because I don't know. What I do know is that I'm not the only parent this week scrambling for the...

The Best Things About COVID19

How do you even begin to write a blog post with that title? Feels like walking through a minefield of potentially explosive offensiveness and miscommunication while word-twisting snipers lurk in the trees all around. "Did you see that blog post? Some idiot said COVID...

Stop Thief: Getting back what COVID19 has stolen

COVID 19 is a dirty, rotten criminal. Ironically, not even a smooth one. It snuck in and no one saw it coming, but it made a bunch of noise and stayed way too long. Got greedy. Got cocky. Thought it could take everything. Got news for you COVID ... you don't get...

3 Seconds of Insane Courage: A Tribute to Caleb Meakins

"The problem isn't fear. It's being stopped by fear."- Caleb Meakins One year ago my stomach was in my throat and my heart was about to beat out of my chest. I was weighing out a decision that was wrenching my guts. It was one of those "this could be beautiful,...

Expat Disrupted: How to Move Forward When Everything is Going Wrong

This year has been NUUUTS. I had a plan. It was a good one. I was excited. And then . . . Life happened. Sound familiar? In June I quit my job to pursue my passion -- something I've been dreaming about for a long time. So (as one does), I laid out a plan for a...

An Expat in China’s Response to the Coronavirus

Two weeks ago Corona was just a beer. A couple of disclaimers to start: ONE: I'm no doctor, reporter, researcher or a public official and I am certainly no expert in nCoV-2019 (the Corona Virus that everyone around here is talking about). I'm just an expat in China...

White Expat Privilege

Photo by bruce mars So this happens. A lot. I get into a taxi and say "ni hao" ("hello" in Chinese). The taxi driver's eyes get wide and he says, "Waaahhh, your Chinese is SO good!" My daughter, on the other hand, could get in the exact same car, with the exact same...

Addicted to Change

Hi. My name is Jerry. And I'm addicted to change. Hi Jerry. Glad I got that off my chest. I know I'm not alone (come on expats -- fess up). I've seen you out there and you're just like me. You get itchy if you go three months without getting on an airplane. Your life...

A Christmas wish for ALL people

Christmas has become a convoluted affair, hasn't it? Frankly. I'm confused. As an expat, I'm admittedly behind the curve on the most current culture wars and feather ruffles. I lose track of what I'm supposed to say and what I'm not supposed to say. Let me see if I've...

Stop wasting your time abroad: Recovering what you came to do

This blog post will change your expat experience -- if you let it. Grab something to write with -- and something to write on. We're about to go to work. Remember that time you moved abroad? You were so ready to take on the world and you had big plans to do it right....

Sign up and get free stuff!

AND I’ll send you updates when I post new content.

Foreign Devil, Foreign Monkey

Apr 12, 2011

Maybe you've heard the term "foreign devil". The Chinese word "guilao" can be literally translated as "ghost man" and it dates back several thousand years to a time when European barbarians invaded China and made a really bad first impression. The term has been...

When Bad Things Happen to Good Hamsters

Apr 9, 2011

"Scramble Pentagon Jones" Avid Runner, Beloved Rodent, Trusted Friend 2011-2011 Scramble and his (or her) brother (or sister) Scrabble came to live with us just two weeks ago and today he was laid to rest near our apartment in a medicated chest rub box. It was a...

Mythbusters: All Chinese People Look the Same

Apr 6, 2011

Originally posted in the now retired "Keeping up With the Joneses" Be honest (no one will know) - have you ever said something like, "All Chinese people look alike"? Now be honest again. How many Chinese friends do you have? Wait - Don't count them unless you know...

And I’m Both: On Being Chinese (but not really) in China

Apr 5, 2011

As we were leaving McDondald's this week Rachel had her "I'm about to confess something" look (she's recently decided to come clean on every single white lie, stolen cookie or minimally rebellious thought she has had since conception). "Dad, that lady asked me if I...

Speak Chenglish or Get Out!

Apr 3, 2011

Something really interesting happens when speakers of one language try to learn another. They make mistakes. There is a theory that says a person must make one million mistakes to speak a language fluently. I proved that theory wrong last week when I hit one million...

My Second Favorite Daddy and Daughter in China

Apr 2, 2011

Me: Who's the President of China? Rachel (my amazing 7 year old): That's right. Me: What do you mean, "that's right"? I said who's the President of China? Rachel: Exactly. Me: (frustrated) Exactly what?!! WHO IS THE PRESIDENT OF CHINA? Rachel: Yes! Hu is the...

Communism & Capitalism: Does it Blend?

Mar 31, 2011

The most searched name in Chinese cyberspace this week is Yao Ja Xin. Yao is a 21 year old college student who accidentally hit a woman with his car and then not so accidentally stabbed her eight times until she died. His reasoning? He feared "the peasant woman...

On Japan, China and Things That Matter Even More When Disaster Strikes

Mar 20, 2011

"We fully empathize with how the Japanese feel right now" Wen Jiabao, Chinese Premier Some people are laughing out loud at Japan right now. No, not Gilbert Godfried, the long-time voice of the most annoying duck on the planet. He quit laughing last week when Aflac...

The “F” Word: As Taught By an Insightful Seven Year Old

Mar 19, 2011

I'm beginning to miss three years old. Three year olds have no framework for naughtiness outside of their own. They've learned about "no no's" and timeouts and consequences but it's all about them. It's one layered. Seven is different. At seven they get crushed...

Is It Racist in Here?

Mar 18, 2011

Had an interesting discussion on the bus today. Here are the questions in question:Part One: Are different races different beyond appearance? In other words, is there any evidence that one ethnic people group is genetically predisposed to a specific activity. Are...

On Japan, China and Things That Don’t Matter When Disaster Strikes

Mar 16, 2011

Like so much of the world our hearts are shattered for Japan this week. Disaster has a way of breaking otherwise unbreakable barriers and exposing what we once thought was most significant as small, petty and irrelevant. Wealth, prestige, political agendas, even...

Why My Son is Cute and Justin Bieber is Not

Mar 15, 2011

The Chinese word for cute is "ke ai" and Judah hears it a lot. His curly locks (a rare commodity in China) and toothy grin more than make up for his confusing skin tone. Nearly every person who walks past him glances, grins and mumbles "ke ai". The one exception,...

« Older Entries

Next Entries »