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While helping rebuild war-ravaged Bosnia, development consultant Amanda Fernandez and a few colleagues hoped to forget about work for a weekend and just go skiing. But the winter resort was in a scary Serbian nationalist stronghold, and their jeep got stuck in the snow -- which provoked humorously different reactions among the expat nationalities represented. Don't miss this Road Less Traveled tale of discarded scruples and pragmatic solutions: Skiing with the Serbs. Language isn't the only communication barrier in Asia Of course it's hard to communicate in Asia if you can't speak the local language. But what if you can? According to longtime Asia hand Antonio Graceffo, many people across the region seem to assume it's impossible to exchange information with a Westerner, no matter what he says or does. Don't miss Antonio's delightfully exasperated Covered Wagons article, reporting on hilarious encounters in the Philippines, Thailand and China: Asia Isn't Babel: The Lack of Communication is Cultural, Not Linguistic. An Australian finds much-needed support in an unusual expat group Living in Singapore and working at home, Australian writer Patricia Tan felt increasingly isolated and lonely. Yet the first steps toward friendship seemed daunting too -- "Keep breathing," she told herself, as she set off for her first gathering of YCFE (Young Childless Female Expats). Don't miss her honest and personal Covered Wagons essay about reaching out to a group of strangers in a foreign land: Starting Somewhere: a first step into the expat community in Singapore. An Anglo-Australian expat finds beauty and harmony at a traditional Thai festival In Bangkok, the polluted canal behind Apple Gidley's house often overflowed during monsoon season. Her attitude toward its muddy waters changed completely, however, when she experienced Loi Krathong, a time when people launch offerings symbolizing thanks and forgiveness. Join Apple for a lisping toddler's prayer, gentle lessons from a Thai household helper, and plenty of cross-cultural insight, in her Road Less Traveled essay, Loi Krathong: Festival of Lights, Laughter and Love . An American health worker learns about life as well as medicine from a doctor in Senegal In the West African village of Sindou, the clinic is a cement-block shack with no electricity or running water. Yet the dedication, caring and generosity of the people there -- especially Dr. Daouda Mbengue, who chose to return to the village in spite of attractive opportunities elsewhere -- led Kari Masson to realize that these qualities are even more important than money and Western technology. Don't miss Kari's moving and insightful Road Less Traveled essay about her work alongside the doctor: Learning from Daouda . An expat in Thailand finds salvation at a rustic pharmacy Newly married and living in Pattaya Beach, Dodie Cross is struck by a painful infection in an intimate body part. In a hilarious Postcard from the Edge, she describes her desperate journey to seek relief, featuring an overly polite driver, a dusty drugstore -- and a pharmacist who shouts out something very embarrassing. Read it here: The Pattaya Beach Drug Connection.
A young expat describes her life in Africa
Clashing attitudes toward food and fitness in an American-Moroccan family In Morocco, it's desirable to be slim -- but you're also expected to enjoy the generous helpings of delicious traditional foods and sweet tea offered to you, as Christina Oulamine, an American writer with a Moroccan husband, discovered. Don't miss her humorous, enlightening -- and appetite-stimulating -- look at this dilemma: Your Mouth Is Too Big: Food and Conversation in Morocco, in our Covered Wagons section. Antiquing with Curly in Guadalajara
Short Takes Before The Archive:
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What's it like to be a 10-year-old American in Accra,
Ghana? For Magdalena Travis, everyday life included things
like fresh-cut coconuts, dancing at an Ashanti festival, a
stinky outhouse on the beach -- and most memorably, working
with a multicultural group of kids and adults on a community
theater performance. Read Magdalena's fascinating and honest
A classic old typewriter at a flea market in Guadalajara
caught the eye of American expat T.M. Spooner. It was sold to
another customer, but Spooner's neighbor Curly stepped in to
help, with a parade of assorted and dubious substitute objects
on "la humpa" of his old VW -- and ultimately, a lesson about life and Mexican culture. Read about it in