kirsty@shamozal.com - Two Fat Expats: Recent Episodes
kirsty@shamozal.com – Two Fat Expats
A catch up podcast for the New Year. Both Kirsty and Nikki’s youngest expat/repat children have now graduated from school and are on their way to university/gap year. We talk film, books and television.
Kirsty:
Disclaimer – Apple TV
The Season – Helen Garner
Apple Cider Vinegar – Apple TV
Nikki:
Zero Day – Netflix
Paradise – Hulu
Black Doves – Netflix
The post Expat Kids on Tour first appeared on .
Kirsty and NIkki discuss how differently there lives may had been had they done what they’d originally planned.
Kirsty’s favourites:
Dinasaur: Hulu, SBS on Demand
Fake: Paramount +
Dark Waters: Amazon Prime
Nikki:
The Gentlemen: Netflix
The Rest is Entertainment: Podcast
The post What if we’d gone home after five years? first appeared on .
Starting a chat with someone new can be a little scarier when you’ve lost that expat hook. You know the chat – so how long have you lived here? Where are you from? Where did you live before you moved here? Nikki talks about her new intro chats as a repat and how she’s coping with conversations that seem to go nowhere.
When were you your most confident as an expat? Was it pre/post expat? Nikki and Kirsty discuss when they were at their most confident and why.
Our favourite things
Kirsty:
Life After Life
The Bear
The Big Swing – Season Two
Angela Hicks on Instagram
Nikki:
The Three Body Problem (Netflix)
Lie to Me
Nikki has given birth to a poet
See you in the first week of August.
The post I’ve lost my hook first appeared on Two Fat Expats.
This week we discuss Expats the television series based in Hong Kong. The series is adapted from the novel The Expatriates written by Janice Y.K. Lee.
Nikki is 6 months in with her repatriation and has a very honest chat about being friendless and miserable.
Our favourite things:
Tiny Beautiful Things
American Fiction
Past Lives
Taylor Swift The Eras Tour
One Day
Expats
The post Expats – The Series first appeared on Two Fat Expats.
What is a good salary in Doha? London? Jakarta? We’ve all seen the questions based on how much money you need to make to survive, today we have a new question. What’s been the biggest cost you didn’t foresee when you moved? What did you forget to factor in?
We also talk about the grieving expat. Going through grief when no-one understands the enormity of your loss. How do we cope with losing expat friends when we’ve moved on to a new location?
Favourite things:
Kirsty:
We talk Robbie Williams, Last Stop Larrimah, and Glen Maxwell’s iconic cricket innings.
Nikki:
Bosch Legacy – Season 2, Hard Fork (podcast), and a little story about lost in translation
What are you watching and listening to? How’s life where you are this week? Link in the comments.
The post How much money will I need? first appeared on Two Fat Expats.
The Trailing Spouse is dead – this week on the podcast we talk about why the “Accompanying Spouse” has arrived. I mean the Accompanying Spouse was always a better term wasn’t it? We all walk side by side don’t we? Sidenote – the term Trailing Spouse will no longer be used in the Two Fat Expats Facebook Group with Accompanying Spouse being the preferred term.
We’re also talking Posh and Becks and how no matter how much money you have or how many football teams you own you’re still going to lay awake at night thinking of schools, finding a hairdresser, finding new friends and feeling like a fish out of water.
We also discuss dealing with strong opinions on your host country from people who’ve never lived there. Has social media made it worse?
Kirsty’s three favourite things:
Somewhere in Queens (Movie)
Blackberry (Movie – Amazon Prime)
The Morning Wars/The Morning Show – Season 3
Nikki’s three favourite things:
Nikki also loved Beckham
Silo (television – apple tv)
Getting a giggle from the silent walking trend aka walking
The post The Trailing Spouse is Dead first appeared on Two Fat Expats.
This week on the podcast we answer a question from the Fatterati’s “Should I go home?” We also discuss the complications of re-acquainting yourself with old friends after repatriation.
Kirsty’s three favourite things:
Exposed (podcast)
Deadloch (television)
Travis and Taylor and everything EVERYTHING about them
Ange Postecoglou and The Tottenham Spurs
Nikki’s three favourite things:
Sex Education Season Four (television)
The Newsreader Season Two (television)
Wilderness (television)
What are you watching and listening to? Are Travis and Taylor the content you didn’t know you needed? What do you think of the social media trend “Taylor put Travis on the map”. How’s life where you are? Link in the comments.
The post Should I go home? first appeared on Two Fat Expats.
🎧 Nikki has repatriated and she’s yet to make a new friend BUT it’s not all bad because she’s living in paradise AND she’s discovered her new favourite drink (a gin mule). This week on the podcast we’re talking repatriation, the good, the bad and the ugly cry. Kirsty’s three favourite things: The Girlfriends (Podcast) What’s love got to do with it (film) Matidlas (Disney + Doco) And I know.. Read More
The post Repatriation – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Cry first appeared on Two Fat Expats.
This was Nikki’s very last podcast before she repatriated.
The post When do you spill the beans that you’re moving? Long term postings or always on the move which one are you? first appeared on Two Fat Expats.
It’s been seven hours and sixteen years…yes I know the song doesn’t go like that but it fits with the intro. It’s been a long time since Kirsty and Nikki have hit the maternity ward so we asked the Fatterati what it was like to have a baby away from home. We also did an expat mental health check, Nikki is now down to her last week as an expat before hitting the repatriation trail. Lots to discuss.
We also gave you our three favourite things (which we didn’t agree on) Nikki loves The Diplomat Kirsty not a fan. Come and have a listen and tell us what you think.
See you next week.
The post Given birth away from home lately? Here’s how things have changed. Also, an expat mental health check. first appeared on Two Fat Expats.
What are some of the unique challenges long term expats face? Savings and superannuation, self care and medical issues? Heart breaking friend break ups? Property ownership and all the tax implications that come with it? We ran through a few.
We shared food discoveries from the Fatterati, what can’t you now live without?
Kirsty’s three things: The Fablemans, Chris Rock, Benjamin Law article on Survivor experience
Nikki’s three things: The witch trials of JK Rowling, Pokerface, MH 370 the plane that disappeared.
The post Want to know the truth? Here’s some long term expat challenges you may not have thought about. Food discoveries from the Fatterati. first appeared on Two Fat Expats.
Also, the ageist expat are you a victim or a perpetrator?
Kirsty’s three things:
Shrinking, The Big Swing and while we’re on the subject….golf!
Nikki’s favourite three things:
White Collar, 1923, Robbie Williams live in Copenhagen
And watch out Amsterdam we’re coming for you!
The post I don’t like it here – what to do when you hate your location. first appeared on Two Fat Expats.
Welcome to our first live audience podcast recorded in Singapore – yes yes Kirsty was in Singapore in 2016 but it was a 4 kids, 20 suitcases and a beagle reading whereas this was the full package!
The theme of the evening was friends. Kirsty asked Nikki will she have to change the way she recruits friends upon repatriation. What will be different? Nikki asked Kirsty How will you replenish or change up your friendship group post covid now that you have quite a defined time split between countries?
We then talked all things expat friendships before giving our three favourite things.
Kirsty:
The Kelce brothers and their mother Donna.
Here’s the video of her post game
Bullet Train:
This NYT article about why men find it so hard to make friends
Nikki:
That 90’s show
Offline – Jon Favreau – Interview with Dr Robert Waldinger (the Good Life – Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness)
Pivot – Scott Galloway – Friendship Aside
The post Doing it live in Singapore first appeared on Two Fat Expats.
Nikki is dealing with the realities of the impact her expat life has had on her family relationships and describes how it feels like a bit of a “kick in the guts”.
We talk about Kirsty’s book and its premise. Ever been described as excess baggage? Get ready for the reply.
Three favourite things Kirsty:
Meet Cute
The Good House
Helen had her baby – The gorgeous Wengel (meaning the good news)
Three favourite things Nikki:
The Sound: Mystery of Savana Syndrome
The Last of Us – Episode 3
New friends long coffees
How will you settle? Expats traditionally have itchy feet so how do you settle when you’re heading home?
How will you plan your expat year ahead? Or how will you divide up your time ahead? Now that expats are back travelling between countries what’s the most effective way to plan your year?
Kirsty’s three favourite things:
She said
Steven Spielberg on Smartless
Have you ever taken your kids to a driving range in the holidays? Highly recommend.
Our author friend Kylie Ladd
Nikki’s three favourite things:
Offline – Jon Favreau. Episode – How to Avoid Distraction with Johann Hari
‘Stolen Focus’ – JH book
Hard Fork (New York Times podcast) – Tik Tok and Chat GPT transforms a highschool classroom (for the better) and is M3GAN real?
The Last of Us – HBO 99% Rotten Tomatoes (not so much a recommendation more a discussion)
How will you cope with no-one giving a flying fig about your expat life when you’re home for the holidays or repatriating? Kirsty and Nikki discuss why expats are hurt by friends and family that appear disinterested in their expat lives. Is it time to accept that you’re really not that special?
How will you deal with newcomers writing you off when they hear that you’re leaving? And how will you keep yourself open to making new friends even though you know you’re at the end of your expat gig?
Kirsty’s favourite things:
The Flatshare
Mathew Perry’s autobiography
Cherry Cherry Yum Yum (NYT’s food)
Nikki’s favourite things:
Treason BBC
The Recruit
Turning on the subtitles to listen to the lyrics in films (Nikki swears you’ll be amazed)
Did you listen to last week’s podcast? Any topics you’d like us to discuss?
Let us know in the comments. xx
Will you be with family or without for the festive season? What do you do to make your holiday season special or is the holiday season non existant where you’re currently living?
Instead of our usual three favourite things with podcasts, movies and television we discuss our three favourite holiday traditions.
Nikki:
Making or tracking down Christmas Crackers and Bon Bons
Buying a christmas ornament from your expat location
Christmas Eve baking followed by a Christmas movie
Kirsty:
No more Christmas Wrapping Paper it’s recycled newspaper all the way with re-used ribbons
Teenagers/young adults filling the adult’s stockings
Christmas Movie countdown (three favourites The Family Stone, Love Actually, Christmas with the Moody’s)
In our would you/could you we discuss what Covid restrictions look like in China right now. Would you/could you move there? We talk to the Chinese Fatterati about their lives and report back.
Would you/could you make your house a home without your shipment? How?
Kirsty’s Favourite Things:
Colin from Accounts
Shetland
Magnetic Eyelashes
Nikki’s Favourite Things:
White Lotus Season 2
Wednesday
Long Lazy Lunches watching your expat kids catch up with old connections
This week’s episode is all about the World Cup both in Qatar and South Africa. I’ve written a piece about living in Qatar and the recent press. Here’s a few of the links I talked about: David Beckham Peyton Manning World Cup Commercial Ghanin Al Muftah – the star of the opening ceremony. Michael Sheen – Welsh message Nikki’s three favourite things: Heartbreak High on Netflix The Handmaids Tale Season.. Read More
A quick chat about having the World Cup on your door step. Who has the longest work hours and is it just a part of Expat Life? Should you put up and shut up? What’s it like to work in Qatar during the World Cup? We answer your questions about our 200th episode: When and how did we meet? What was our favourite holiday as an expat? Where would we.. Read More
Nikki walks us through her covid on holidays experience. Would you/could you send packages to a transit hotel? What are the rules? Do all hotels let you do it or are some hotels going to charge you for the privilege? We discuss. Would you/could you set up a contract with your partner on how many times you’ll be heading to your home country (particularly if you’re both from different countries)... Read More
In would you/could you this week we discuss expat insurance. What do you need? Are you paying too much? Or have you forgotten to pay at all? We also discuss recent activity in the Two Fat Expats Group. Anger management, political commentary and killing the spirit of expats one post at a time. It’s time for us to have a chat. 🙂 Our favourite things: Kirsty: The Split season 3,.. Read More
What happens when expat love turns sour. Two stories of betrayal, young love and then twenty years on, how do you protect yourself from getting burnt? Why is an expat betrayal any different. We decide on the best medical face mask to fly with. Stop overs in a time of covid, if you can’t fly direct what do you do in transit and how does it affect your choice? We’ve.. Read More
This week in would you/could you? Would you/Could you go out without a mask where you live? Would you/Could you call Lunar New Year Chinese New Year? Would you/Could you travel with just a ticket and a passport? We speak to Bridgee a Kiwi in Saudi. If you’re unaware of the situation in New Zealand and what it has been like for their expats and residents you NEED to listen.. Read More
We put a call out to the Fatterati and today we have an absolute gift for you. Sit back and enjoy some beautiful expat love stories. How did you meet? Where did it take you? Have you ever had a ten day first date? From a chance meeting on the dance floor in Guatemala, to running into someone while grabbing a coffee in rural china – in their own voices.. Read More
This week we discuss Austria’s decision to make covid vaccinations compulsory. Who’s next? Can you keep your job while being a vacine hesitant expat? We also take a look at a new app designed to assist families to connect. It’s kind of like Tinder for families, would you do it? Will this narrow our expat world or expand it? Our three favourite things. Kirsty is in love with the story.. Read More
This week we discuss the pros and cons of returning to your “home” country for the festive season. We’re also talking Christmas markets in Europe – will they happen this year? Nikki’s trying to not get her hopes up after last year’s heartbreak of watching the markets in Hamburg appear one day only to be dismantled and taken away the next. Nikki wants to know if magic mushrooms are back.. Read More
How much sh*t do you ship? And what effect is it having on the planet? In the week of COP 26 we look at shipping containers and personal belongings and how we can be better at moving our things from home to home. How does a third culture kid react to a fellow TCK telling them that they’re not really from where they say they are because they’ve “never lived.. Read More
This week we talk about the things you didn’t know you needed until you got there. Nikki is all over her new phone cover for her bike (something she didn’t need in the US). What have you needed in one country that became irrevelant in another? A portrait of Ghaddafi to show your allegiance? Winterized tyres in the Middle East? What has been your hardest goodbye and why? We talk.. Read More
This week we talk about the best vaccination for international travel. What’s the most widely accepted? And will there be restrictions on where you can go and what you can do depending on your vaccine? We also talk about getting the cold shoulder when you arrive. Are you going to be welcome when you return home? Are you better off staying away until travel is a little more accepted? Here’s.. Read More
Business Travel. Are you ready for it? Are you busting to do it or are you a little bit wary? Personal travel is different (there’s a lot more margaritas) and you get to choose the destination and the activities – but business travel may have you heading towards a red zone, stuffy conference rooms and having to knock back that first offer of a hand shake. We also talk about.. Read More
If you had a chance to have a job in your home country (that you could do from anywhere) or a job locally, what would you choose? What makes more sense? Keeping one leg in the employment market at “home” or getting overseas experience? Does it affect how you settle into your new location? Nikki wants to know how you follow local media in a new country? Particularly if the.. Read More
Nikki gives us an insight into life in Denmark without covid restrictions. Spoiler alert…there was a buffet table! We discuss what airlines are doing to keep customers “on board” . Nikki mentioned this article https://thepointsguy.com/guide/airline-elite-status-coronavirus/ Do you re-invent yourself with every expat move? Can you do it both professionally and personally? Or is re-invention just an expat myth. Here’s just a few of our favourite things this week: Modern Love.. Read More
Kirsty has lost her tree, what was once a flourishing jungle appears to now be a burnt stump. Nikki on the other hand is trying to work out where the top of the tree begins. Who do you call when something significant happens? Kirsty wanted to know what Nikki wouldn’t be leaving Hamburg without which took the conversation to Libya, Canada, Jakarta, South Africa, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Kirsty’s favourite.. Read More
With Europe and the US opening up, but Australia shutting down who are the expats who will make it home for Christmas? Also we talk International Schooling, when do you decide where your children will finish their schooling? How soon is too soon? Kirsty’s three favourite things: Australian Story – A Balancing Act Catch of the decade Feel Good Nikki’s favourite things Snowpiercer The Bold Type Day X – New.. Read More
How do you keep your medical records up to date when you travel? Have you registered your Covid vaccine in your home country. Nikki’s decluttering, Kirsty’s rowing on her brand new water rower. Nikki is reading – The Mindful Way Through Depression – Freeing yourself from Chronic unhappiness. She’s also dowloaded “Insight Timer” a meditation app. Favourite things for Kirsty Motherland You can’t ask that Baby Surgeons Favourite things for.. Read More
Kirsty opened a can of worms in the Two Fat Expats Facebook group with a question (that with hindsight) was always going to be problematic. “How do we make International Schools more accountable?” So how do we? We discuss in today’s episode what makes a great school. Is accrediation important? How do you measure the success of a school and what types of International schools are available? Nikki wants to.. Read More
Our anonymous question this week is all about staying together when you’re physically miles apart. How do you turn those “admin” phone calls into conversations that will brighten your day rather than leave you feeling flat and discombobulated. Our anonymous Fatterati member feels like her phone calls with her partner have become more like reporting in. We call in the experts and offer our own tips. Kirsty’s husband G has.. Read More
Season Seven. Episode two. We’ve received our second anonymous question and it’s another cracker. A member of our Fatterati feels her partner may be having an affair. What would you do? And once you decide what to do what’s the best way to do it? If it were time to separate how do you extricate yourself? We discuss how to take those initial steps if you think your marriage/partnership is.. Read More
In the words of Vanilla Ice “Hey Fatteratti, if you gotta problem yo we’ll solve it”. We kick off with our first anonymous question and bring in the expat experts. Dr Sean Truman from The Truman Group answers all of our mental health issues in regards to expat life. We walk through the fat expats questions. When your children receive the feedback that their accent isn’t really theirs. Seriously. And.. Read More
Here’s the best of 2020 from the Fatterati. January Kirsty – Years and Years Nikki – Fleabag Season Two February Kirsty – Australian Survivor All Stars Nikki – Little Women March Kirsty – Stateless Nikki – Catch and Kill April Kirsty – Unorthodox Rabbit Hole (Podcast) Nikki – Fortunately with Fi and Jane After Life Season 2 (Netflix) May Kirsty – Four Corners – Outbreak Onboard (ABC Australia) Nikki –.. Read More
Welcome back Fatterati! This week’s four fat questions Do you think your kids would be different had they not grown up as Cross Culture Kids? How? How do you go about college/university applications for your expat teen? What are your three favourite Christmas movies? You can love a city but can it ever love you back? If a city could love you as much as you loved a city, which.. Read More
Covid strikes in Adelaide (we recorded the day before lockdown hit) and Hamburg has had 3000 new cases in the last week but never fear we’re still here to talk all things expat. Our Four Fat questions: What gets you excited about a new move? What’s your clean out strategy before a move? Are you the mandarin or the garlic? It all makes sense when you listen, I promise! But.. Read More
We kick off with an update from Susan and Eva who are in China. They fill us in on the current Corona situation and what their life in China looks like right now. We’re also introducing the Fat Four Expats Questions. Each week Nikki and I have four fat questions to ask each other: What’s your expat superpower? Would you ever go on a cruise? Or as Nikki likes to.. Read More
This is our first ever podcast recorded together and it should possibly come with an apology. We had a great chat, and it’s possible there was a bit of rambling BECAUSE WE WERE TOGETHER! In this episode we cover owning a house in your home country. Transitioning your children from expat to repat without you. Kirsty’s daughter Lizzie gave us a piece of gold on what moving is all about... Read More
It’s a BRAND new season and we’re baaaaaackkkkk! Kirsty is looking for 5 new friends for Christmas, after being in Doha for 9 years, she is definitely a ‘stayer’ and a long termer but still in need of new ways to make friends. We break down all the different ways she might be able to do that and asked the Facebook group about the strangest place they’ve ever met a.. Read More
It’s still Season 3 and it’s already Episode 8 of Two Fat Expats. The 2016 US election results continue to be discussed in households around the world and expats are no different. This week we look at the election results through the eyes of a Muslim family in the US, a Muslim American in the Middle East and a American family also living in the Middle East. Thank you so much to Nivin,.. Read More
Hello hello hello! We’re back! In this episode we’re joined by the fabulous Nikki Moffitt, an Aussie who has just made the move from the US to Hamburg. This is Nikki’s fourth move in 14 years. Is it any easier the fourth time around? Have a listen and a giggle while we discuss. In this episode we’ll also discuss our favourite podcasts, movies and books as well as launching the.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats where we believe you should live a fat expat life, live it to the max and make the most out of every moment. This week we’re talking to two amazing expats who are doing extraordinary things in their expat life. Dr Erik left his medical practice in Beverly Hills working with famous actors and actresses to start a new life overseas... Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats where we believe you should live your expat life to the max, live it large and live it fat. This week we’re talking about the glamorous life of an expat, or lack there of. Many people looking from the outside in would think all expats live a glamorous lifestyle of brunching and jet setting off to exotic locations. While there.. Read More
Hello and welcome to Two Fat Expats where we believe your expat life should be lived to the absolute max. Kirsty and Sarah are back from their Spring break and jumping straight in with a brand new episode this week. What happens when one wants to stay in their expat location and their partner is ready to leave? How do you make the right decision? There’s a lot of give.. Read More
Hello and welcome to a new episode of Two Fat Expats where we believe in living a fat expat life. Expats across the globe have been hit hard with the fall in oil prices and the knock on effect it’s had on other industries. Redundancy in the expat world is incredibly tough. Not only have you lost your job, but you will have to leave your home, pull your children.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats where we believe you should live a fat expat life. We’re bringing back one of our most popular topics; your best holiday. A big thank you to Erika who shared what it’s like to travel as an expat kid and an expat adult. Erica gave some great suggestions for different types of holidays…Cambodia or Croatia anyone? We had a great.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats where we believe in living a fat expat life. This week it’s all about bad houseguests. You know the ones…show up on your doorstop, stay for a few weeks, expect to be entertained only to leave without even a thank you card or a bottle of wine. Our listeners were not shy in coming forward with their horror stories. The.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats. We believe your expat life should be lived to the max. This episode we chat to two expat women on how they found their passions because of their expat postings. We share tips on how to go about discovering what your passion in life is and we chat about our own passions in life. Articles Steps to finding your passion.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats. We’re breaking all the etiquette rules this week and discussing money! Expat money to be exact. Did you choose a posting overseas for the money? Or was it solely for the adventure of living somewhere different? In this episode we speak to the The Barefoot Investor, Scott Pape who shares his advice. We also spoke to Sam and Kate who shared their expat money.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats. Moving to a different city can be daunting, but once the dust has settled and you’ve slotted into your daily routine, you’ll often stumble across a hidden gem in your city. Is it that great tailor who can whip up a ball gown in no time? Is it the best place for Dim Sum? Or that perfect children’s park hidden.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats. This week we’re talking about how to get the most out of your air miles. We both admit to not being very savvy when it comes to frequent flyer points, upgrading to business or making the most out of airline affiliations. So we’ve done our best to research the tips and tricks you need to make your next flight a little.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats. Expat real estate for some is owning a dream home back in their home country, a place they can return home to for a few months each year. For others, it can mean a holiday house, or an investment property or no property at all. For Kirsty, having a home base to return to throughout the year is important for the.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats, where we believe you should live a fat expat life. How do you source good food as an expat? For many of us living away from the comfort food of home we need to adapt and source food that we may never have even eaten before. As expats we substitute ingredients, cook from scratch and buy weird and wonderful fruits and.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Two Fat Expats. This week, Sarah and Kirsty are talking about staycations. When’s the best time for a staycation and how to make the most of your time. We spoke to the lovely Mascha who is currently living in Amsterdam but had some amazing staycations in New York City. We had great responses from our listeners on the Facebook page who shared.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of The Two Fat Expats. Obviously not all expats celebrate Christmas but what does it look like for those who do? Do you head home to see family and friends like Kirsty does each year, or do you stay in your adopted country and celebrate with other expat orphans like Sarah? We spoke to some wonderful expat women who shared their Christmas traditions which are.. Read More
We talk a lot about what it’s like living an expat life but what is it like to be on the other side? The parents who watch their children leave on overseas adventures. Grandparents who see their grandchildren more on Skype and FaceTime than in real life. A big thank you to Sarah’s Mum, Pip for sharing her feelings and thoughts on being the parent of an expat and also.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats. It’s been a week since the dreadful terror attacks in Paris and where we have seen awful atrocities occur across the globe. As expats when a terror attack occurs we invariably have friends visiting or living in that city. What is it like being an expat during a terror attack? Do you pack up and leave or do you stay and.. Read More
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Two Fat Expats, where we believe you should live a fat expat life and get the most out of your fat expat life. Expat boy meets expat girl, they fall in love and start to plan a wedding. What does that look like? As with pretty much everything in the expat world if you put the word “expat” in front of a.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats. This week we spoke to Taisha and Kelly about what it’s like to be an expat family traveling with a child with special needs. Both women had such a wonderful approach to life and we are sure will provide inspiration to any parents in the same situation. Articles Living Abroad with a Special Needs Child Moving to Italy with a.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats where we believe you should live your expat life to the absolute fullest, a fat expat life. Today we talk to three amazing women about their journey through the adoption process as expats. Three very different stories that we felt needed to be told. This episode is not about how to adopt, we are not an authority on the matter but.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats where we love to live a large, fat, expat life. Today’s episode is going to be a fun one. What is the best holiday you’ve been on? One of the perks of expat life is the ability to travel. So where do you go? What is the best vacation if you’ve got young kids? What adventure can you take your.. Read More
Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Fat Expats. Thank you to everyone who tunes in each week and for all your lovely reviews of the show. This episode is all about what you’ve learnt as an expat. For many expat women, they’ve had to leave behind a career at home and have had to learn to carve out a new career for themselves in their adopted home. It may.. Read More
Hello and welcome to Episode Three of the Two Fat Expats where we believe that expat life should be lived to the fullest…a phat expat life if you will. In this episode we’re talking about re-entry. How do you feel when you return home from a holiday? Do you get straight back into your expat life or do you suffer the re-entry blues? We spoke to two expats this episode.. Read More
Hello and welcome to Episode Two. Kirsty and Sarah are back recording together under the bunk bed. A question we as expats get asked a lot is “When are you coming home?” How do we answer that question? Does it bring a lot of guilt with it? Have you stopped being asked that question because you’ve been away for so long? We cover all that and more in today’s episode... Read More
Hello and welcome to Season 2! Have you missed us? At the end of last season Kirsty and Sarah were having a giggle over not leaving you with a cliffhanger like they do in TV shows. Well we’ve managed to bring season 2 in with a bang. This week we’re talking about cancer. Oh happy times! With Kirsty’s recent diagnosis we realized that expat cancer is a little different than.. Read More
It all began with this post. I have a little list in my phone, it gets added to throughout the year when I think of something I’m missing from home, or perhaps after I’ve exhausted the local stores in Doha looking for something I just know I could find easily in a department store in Australia.
This week on Two Fat Expats we’re asking “what’s on your list?”. What do you take back to your expat location from home? We’ve also put together a little list of things you may want to think about packing for your expat adventure.
There was one particular item that featured regularly. Tampons. Yes, it appears we have a lot of tampons in transit. Other personal items were:
Bras, both sports and daily wear.
Underwear
Pain relief (Nurafen was a popular choice)
Tinted moisturiser may be harder to find in a country where the shelves are packed with whitening lotion.
Dry Shampoo
Shaving Gel
Ziplock bags
Cling Wrap
Sunscreen
Your preferred toothpaste and deoderant
Calendars (with your holidays from home)
Neosporin
Many of you mentioned the patriotic paraphernalia that is required for International Days and sporting events – don’t forget to take back your yearly supply of patriotic flags, tea towels, flags and tattoos.
Our American friends talked of packing Cheerios, Mac N Cheese, Tex Mex accompaniments, Dryer Sheets and patriotic paraphernalia.
The Aussies were keen to come home with vanilla extract, Lucas Paw Paw ointment, passionfruit pulp (it’s all about the pavlova), Violet Crumbles, Cherry Ripes, Freddos, Caramello Koalas, liquorice bullets and Bonds Underwear.
Canadians were keen for Wax Paper, SOS scrubbing pads, Graham Crackers, Crisco, Pie Filling, Turkey Stuffing bags (can someone please explain what these are in the comments), Schreddies, MAC Cosmetics, and the entire contents of Costco and Superstore.
For the English it was all about the Marmite, Tea, Cadbury chocolate and Marmalade.
The Dutch are bringing back liquorice, cheese, light brown sugar, dutch cookies and snacks.
The Scots are packing white puddings, butteries, stock pots, coffee pods, dog chews and cough and cold medicines.
Some of the random things that had us laughing were the chainsaw and rifle, outdoor shower, ashes of a relative or pet, an ice-cream machine, a suitcase full of tinned tuna, a lava lamp, car horn and a cat in the cabin.
Sarah’s Movie Pick: The Water Diviner. Beautifully shot film directed by Russell Crowe. Set during WW1. A father of 3 travels to Gallipoli to try and find his 3 missing sons who were fighting in the war. It’s also a favourite of Kirsty’s as it was shot just minutes from her beach house (and Rusty stopped in for a seafood pie at the local fish and chippy).
Kirsty’s favourite thing on the internet this week was the video of the woman giving birth to the 10 pound baby in the car. How amazing was she?! The conversation between them?!
Husband: “would you like to pull your pants down?”
She deserved some sort of award for her composure. Take a look.
Sarah’s Social Media Pick: Last week it was about Donald Trump and cats, this week it’s all about a toddler and a bulldog. Mum and Photographer Jesse Holland has spend the past year working on a creative project that stars her toddler daughter and their pet dog. Titled “Handfuls of Trouble” the project is a series of side-by-side pictures of the toddler and the French bulldog. They are posed with the same props against the same backdrops allowing for a hilarious comparison. You can see it here
We both wanted to say thank you for all of your support, reviews and ratings this year. We’ve loved making Two Fat Expats and can’t wait to come back in September for Season 2. Apologies for the sound on this one, it was recording in a few different rooms and was a nightmare to edit – I promise we’ll be back to normal in September!
Safe travels and we’ll speak to you soon,
Kirsty and Sarah xxx