Expat Chatter
It's true. Even after years of living in Munich, Germany, I find funny stuff to talk about. Language gaffes, cultural confrontations, and life abroad. It's an ongoing adventure!
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 8 minutes
- Episodes
- 162
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
50 years later: The triumph and tragedy of the Munich Olympics Part one: Triumph
It’s been 50 years since the Munich Olympics were held, but their impact lives on in both triumph and tragedy. Part I – Triumph.
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Brenda Arnold
How chicken legs, triangles and sphincters will make you laugh
The German language is very precise and detailed, sometimes to the extent that it goes well beyond being descriptive and descends into hilarity.
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Brenda Arnold
The French girl who wouldn't talk
Language class is where you learn to speak a language, but just memorizing vocabulary and practicing dictations won’t do the trick. I found a surprising way to get our exchange student to talk.
Linguistic sleight of hand - bilingualism at any cost
Raising a family in Germany was a golden opportunity to raise my kids bilingually. I initially thought this meant just speaking to them in English, but reality proved to be a lot trickier. I discover…
The Ukraine invasion made it dangerous to be a Russian abroad
It’s funny, but when you go abroad, you are suddenly expected to be fully informed about activities in your home country. Worse still, you are often held responsible for their shenanigans, especiall…
On the train to everywhere - Germany's €9 ticket and the surprising consequences
The next best thing to free is Germany’s €9 ticket. Apart from motivating even motorheads to hop on the train, it has inspired a few surprising insights and may even have a permanent impact on Germa…
Bombs away! The WWII gift that keeps on giving
The same things that make mothers worry often provide the most valuable lessons to their children. Leftover bombs from WWII provided just such a harrowing but valuable learning opportunity.
If this is punctuality, my watch is broken
Germany has the reputation of being punctual and reliable. But recent snafus in city planning are putting a big dent into that image.
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Brenda Arnold
Trainin' the Ukrainians - Refugees in the classroom
There are millions of Ukrainian refugees in Germany, and I decide to help out by teaching a German class. It was nothing like teaching English and demanded more of my creativity than I had imagined.…
Emotional baggage: why I pack too much on trips home
I used to feel sheepish whenever I took an overpacked suitcase home on a trip to the U.S. But when I thought about it more closely, I realized there was a very good reason for doing this.
My cowboy boots didn't fool the cowboy
I thought cowboy boots would help me develop my rodeo skills. An evening at the Grizzly Rose bar in Denver was enough to teach me otherwise.
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Brenda Arnold
Kraut and about – what are all those Germans doing abroad?
German immigrants used to flock to the U.S. They still go there in droves, but now they go back home again, as I discovered during my trip to New York.
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Brenda Arn…
On the (Same) Road Again
I used to get lost all the time, but that all changed when GPS technology came along. At least, that was the expectation. Reality proved to be a different story.
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B…
The Great Resignation is leading to great consternation
The staffing shortage in the U.S. and Europe was visible everywhere during my recent trip and culminated in an arduous trip home with an unintentionally long stay at Heathrow Airport. But it also af…
In awe of Colorado's awesome athletes
Hiking and biking regularly might lead you to believe you’re in good shape. If you wish to test that hypothesis, just come and pit yourself against the Coloradans who tackle fourteeners every weeken…
The travails of travel, from Mozart to the moon
I was tempted to feel sorry for myself when my plane was delayed by a storm. And then I remembered the travails of the Mozart family during their European travels.
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Follow the Narrow Brick Road - and hope for the best
A man was recently caught on camera driving a Maserati down the famous Spanish steps in Rome. It seemed so silly to me that someone would drive a car down an old cobblestone street, until I remember…
Think digital technology is a cure-all? Don't bet your life on it
A WWII air raid siren startled me once while I waited for a train. Such an old technology could certainly be replaced with something better. At least that’s what I thought until a real emergency cro…
What's that schmuck doing in the jewelry store?
https://expatchatter.net/2022/05/08/whats-that-schmuck-doing-in-the-jewelry-store/
www.expatchatter.net
Brenda Arnold
Karl Marx’s penguin and Richard Wagner’s design for Madonna’s corset
A Berlin museum juxtaposes Karl Marx and Richard Wagner. The exhibition is supposed to highlight their differences. Instead, I found many intriguing similarities.
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