The following post is one of a series about American values sparked by my renunciation of US citizenship in November 2015. In my last two posts, I discussed four of the six key American values emphasized in the textbook American Ways: individual freedom and self-reliance, and then equality and competition. The last two are material…
It’s almost Christmas, and I’ve been thinking a lot this year about the holiday as an event. Perhaps because I was much less busy this year than in previous years leading up to it, I’ve been noticing more. Note added at Christmas 2020: While I wrote this back in 2015, these observations still apply ……
While it may seem appealing to ditch the daily grind and live an adventurous life abroad, being an expat comes with its own trials and tribulations, and not all expat locations are created equal. This is – or, rather, was – a sponsored guest post, originally published by thehipmunk on Hipmunk’s Tailwind blog on December 13, 2015. The Hipmunk brand…
This is one of a series of posts about American values inspired by my renunciation of American citizenship. I wrote last week about a book I’ve used for teaching, American Ways, and the six values it emphasizes. Last week I discussed individual freedom and self-reliance. This week I’d like to address two more: equality of…
WinterWelVaart is Groningen’s annual Christmas market, with an unusual maritime twist that makes it extra special!
I teach American Studies at a teacher-training college here in the Netherlands. The eight-week courses—two for the younger, full-time students, and one for the adult, part-time students—are not in-depth studies. They are introductory courses for students training to become English teachers. One of my goals is to prepare them for the sorts of questions their…
New York City’s African Burial Ground National Monument has an interesting history. Or, rather, two histories: one of the people who were buried there, the other of the rediscovery of the graveyard and the establishment of this monument. Disclosure: This article contains an affiliate link. If you click on it and spend money, I will…
“No taxation without representation,” a slogan going back to colonial America, is commonly cited by overseas Americans like me in discussions of FATCA. It’s also the basis of the Tea Party’s name: a reference to the Boston Tea Party, an act of rebellion against the taxation of the American colonists by the British government. FATCA…
It’s that time of year again: Sinterklaas is approaching, along with Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). I wrote about this two years ago and then again last year, so I thought I’d add a short update today. Changes in Zwarte Piet The Zwarte Piet debate continues. Or rather, a vocal minority condemns it as racist while…
“Are you still going to do Thanksgiving?” This is one of the questions I get asked when I tell people I’ve renounced my US citizenship. Yes, I am still doing Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving in the Netherlands It’s always felt a little odd to celebrate Thanksgiving in the Netherlands. It’s a celebration of a particular event in American history, after…
Just seeing the bright hand-painted sign above the entrance to La Maison du Cacao (The Chocolate Museum) in Pointe Noire, Guadeloupe, was enough to make me happy. The truth is that pretty much anything chocolate-related makes me happy. I’m an addict. Disclosure: This article contains an affiliate link. If you make a purchase through the…
I renounced my US citizenship today. Right now, I don’t want to discuss the politics, but rather just let you know what my day was like. Note: This article was published on November 18, 2015. Getting there Like any good Dutch resident, I got to Amsterdam by first riding my bike to the train station…
Last spring in Guadeloupe I visited an archeological park where I got to sample the pulp from a fresh-picked cacao pod. I heard more about chocolate cultivation at two coffee plantations. Given my obsession with chocolate, I decided to take the process a step further on my short visit to the Costa Blanca in Spain,…
For the two solo trips I took this year—one to Guadeloupe, Martinique, New York and Spain, and one to Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and South Korea—I needed a very specific kind of luggage. The problem Since I was traveling solo, I needed to travel as light as possible. I also needed luggage I could manage…
Red Light Secrets Museum of Prostitution in Amsterdam presents a measured, pragmatic view of an institution usually looked at with derision and disapproval.
After a gorgeous, winding drive through the mountains from where I was staying in the Costa Blanca, finding the Refugio de Cervantes Bomb Shelter Museum in Alcoy took me another hour or so. The delay was due to its humble signposting, and by “humble” I mean a simple sign on a gate next to a…
If you’re ever in the Costa Blanca in Spain, here’s what I’d recommend: get away from the coast! Yes, you can enjoy the beaches and party till the wee hours in the coastal towns, but there’s far more to see inland. The drive I did the other day, for example, was absolutely lovely. Leaving from…
It’s not surprising that Amsterdam is home to a museum of Hash, Marijuana and Hemp, given its generally tolerant policy toward soft drugs.
You’ve boarded a plane and found your seat, stowed your things and buckled up. The plane makes its way onto the runway and, after a short wait, the acceleration for take-off begins. You’re reading the book you brought along and don’t pay any attention to what the plane is doing, but, as it speeds up, something…
The Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam might be worth a look, if you like handbags or if you enjoy the absurdity of a museum devoted to purses. [This museum is now closed.]
When you check into a hotel room, chances are you look for particular things that are important to you. Perhaps you want a hairdryer, or a bathtub, or an air conditioner. I tend to check the general cleanliness of a room. If it’s scrupulously clean, I’m not so particular about the rest. Staying in the New…
At Body Worlds Amsterdam we are viewing actual dead bodies, called plastinates. Is this entertainment? Education? Or just a freak show? A critical review.
On my recent solo trip in Asia, I developed a hernia in my neck that caused a lot of pain in my left arm. Without going into all of the details, I ended up on an odyssey of sorts through the Korean medical system as well as my own Dutch medical system and, as a…
The no-man’s-land of the DMZ embodies the tension that continues between these two countries, still officially in a state of war.
Two Seoul Neighborhoods: Buckchon Hanok Village contains many hanoks, but it has a completely different feel to it than Ikseon-dong Hanok Area.
Suwon, South Korea, a city with more than a million inhabitants, is a separate city from Seoul, but it’s been swallowed up in the post-Korean War urban sprawl, so that it’s in the same metro system. Getting to Suwon from the center of Seoul involves a very long metro ride: more than an hour, and…
Seoul Tower, perched on Namsan Mountain above Seoul, is visible everywhere, looking like some sort of 70’s version of the future. Built back in the 70’s for radio and television, it was and still is a communication tower. However, it’s also a destination for tourists and locals: a thing to do on a free weekend afternoon….
On my recent trip to South Korea, my left arm began to hurt. I dismissed it as a muscle ache, probably from carrying my luggage up and down metro stairs. Little by little, though, it got worse. I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t find a position in which my arm didn’t hurt. When my arm started…
Seoul is home to six different royal palaces, each built by or for a different king. Beautifully crafted and opulent, some are more intact and authentic than others. Authentic? The five older ones all include at least one tale of complete or partial destruction. All were burnt to the ground during the Japanese Invasion in the last decade…
The big gold-colored statue of a turd right next to the entrance was enough to tell me that Mr. Toilet House, the toilet museum in Suwon, South Korea, wasn’t going to be a disappointment! Mr. Toilet House Believe it or not, “Mr. Toilet House” is the popular name for the Toilet Culture Museum in Suwon,…
For those of us who do not know Japanese, traveling by train in Japan can be a bit daunting, to say the least. Here are some tips for Japan travel that will allow you to negotiate the Japanese rail system, including reading signs, without knowing any Japanese at all. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links….
A show that’s produced for foreign tourists can be an insulting oversimplification of local culture, or it can be an interesting peek into that culture. I wasn’t sure which I was getting when I agreed to go to a performance by Kyoto Traditional Musical Art Foundation at a venue called Gion Corner, in the famous…
