http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner en-us Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:42:26 -0700 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:25:56 -0700 BlogCFC http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d25-French-clubs?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner  French people seem to have a proclivity for forming associations, or what we in the United States would call clubs. Here in Hyères, a town of 52,000 inhabitants, there are three hundred associations listed in the booklet I obtained fr... France culture Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:25:56 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d25-French-clubs?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d23-Artisans-of-yesteryear?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner  On Saturday morning my wife and I left our building to do our weekly shopping at the organic market down the street and as we passed in front of the library we noticed people in 19th century costumes setting up tables. Our curiosity piqued, ... France culture Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:14:06 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d23-Artisans-of-yesteryear?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d20-Rainy-season-roads?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner The worst is behind usThe dry season in Guanacaste corresponds to the tourist season. That is to say, during the months of December, January, February, and March it is safe to leave your umbrella at home. However, it is also a very dusty and hot t... transportation Costa Rica Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:29:50 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d20-Rainy-season-roads?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d18-Small-talk-in-France?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner  Trying to engage in small talk in France just doesn't seem to have the same traction as in the United States. Invitations to have a short superficial conversation by remarking about the weather or complementing somebody on an article of cloth... France culture Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:30:50 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d18-Small-talk-in-France?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d16-Greetings-and-compliments-in-France?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner  In graduate school I did a paper on compliment response strategies. Yeah, okay, speak English. In the United States people are always complimenting each other on one thing or another: Nice hair cut. Cool shirt. Wicked tie. Whatever, you get ... France culture Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:54:17 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d16-Greetings-and-compliments-in-France?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d13-Inexpensive-good-French-wine?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner Fill 'er upTwo items that are relatively cheap in France are cheese and wine. For the latter I can go into any grocery store and pick out a bottle of red or white for between four and seven euros and safely bet that I'm going to end up with a goo... France budgeting Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:28:15 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d13-Inexpensive-good-French-wine?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d11-Social-distance?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner   Upon settling into our life in Casablanca, my wife and I quickly became aware of the phenomenon of social distance; that is, the culturally agreed upon distance between you and the person to whom you are speaking. In the United States, this... Morocco culture Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:31:12 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d11-Social-distance?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d9-Children-in-Morocco?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner Children in Morocco, as I mentioned in my article on greetings, are the second thing strangers typically ask about upon meeting new people. To say they figure enormously in Moroccan culture is an understatement. Obviously, children are no more or ... Morocco culture Mon, 09 Mar 2009 05:40:12 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d9-Children-in-Morocco?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d6-Cultural-notions-of-selfworth?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner   The American notion of self-worth, whether in terms of how we think of ourselves or how we think others perceive us, is often associated with what one is able to accomplish. This typically comes in two forms: quantity and quality. I am ... Mali culture Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:57:50 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d6-Cultural-notions-of-selfworth?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d4-Vacation-time-in-France?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner It is the beginning of March and Easter is still a month away, yet French schoolchildren are in the middle of a two-week vacation. This one is for skiing. Here, in the southern part of France the ski vacation started in February on the weekend of ... France culture Wed, 04 Mar 2009 03:33:42 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d4-Vacation-time-in-France?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d2-Learn-to-surf-in-Costa-Rica?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner If you are a surfer, or have never stood up on a board but would like to learn, or you simply enjoy walking along beautiful stretches of beach while your partner surfs, you can't do much better than this nearby Shangri-La. With direct flights from... Costa Rica entertainment Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:06:40 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m3d2-Learn-to-surf-in-Costa-Rica?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d27-Casablanca-taxis?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner    There are two basic types of taxis in Morocco: the Peugeot 206s and the Mercedes sedans. The former are city taxis, called petits taxis, and in Casablanca they were always painted red. The Mercedes taxis, called grands taxis, ar... transportation Morocco Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:06:34 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d27-Casablanca-taxis?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d25-Hand-gestures-a-culture-specific-language?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner Hand gestures, or what linguists refer to as para-lingual cues, are an important aspect of communication in many cultures. Compared to some, Americans have surprisingly few. The gesture for "crazy" seems to have a certain universality to ... culture Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:04:23 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d25-Hand-gestures-a-culture-specific-language?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d19-Boredom-and-how-to-avoid-it?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner Unless you have a job or intend to surf all day, being in a remote area like Nosara can challenge one's ability to withstand what the northern climes call "cabin fever." In short, what are you going to do all day to keep from going crazy?... Costa Rica employment Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:29:39 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d19-Boredom-and-how-to-avoid-it?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d19-Malian-food?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner When the Peace Corps gave me my site location, I didn't know how lucky I was. This was especially true with regard to diet. First of all, my site was very close to the Niger river flood plain which meant my diet was composed of plenty of rice. T... Mali food Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:17:38 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d19-Malian-food?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d18-Live-overseas-for-free?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner   Joining the Peace Corps and becoming a "Water Resource Manager" in Mali, West Africa was an unparalleled overseas living experience. For two and a half years I lived in Fatoma, a village of about 500 people not far from Mopt... Mali employment Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:25:07 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d18-Live-overseas-for-free?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d16-Make-friends-easily-in-France?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner Accueil des Villes Françaises can loosely be translated as a town welcome center; however, it is much more than that. AVF is a nation-wide organization with more than 350 branches. Its raison d'être is to assist new arrivals to an are... France community Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:25:26 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d16-Make-friends-easily-in-France?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d13-Ramadan-in-Casablanca?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner Our modest ftor In the Islamic calendar, Ramadan begins with the sighting of the smallest sliver of the new moon and ends after the sighting of smallest sliver of the next new moon. This is a time when Muslims make a special effort to &... Morocco holidays Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:54:42 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d13-Ramadan-in-Casablanca?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d11-Live-more-cheaply-in-Costa-Rica?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner Our walk to the grocery store As with any beautiful coast, Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula has been developing rapidly over the past ten years and rental prices have risen accordingly. Partly to save money, we decided not to have a car. H... Costa Rica budgeting Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:51:26 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d11-Live-more-cheaply-in-Costa-Rica?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d9-Learn-Spanish-in-Mexico?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner   While Cuernavaca, Mexico has a good reputation for Spanish language schools, my aunt attended one in San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato and loved it so much that I decided to go there. The first time I visited this lovely... language Mexico Mon, 09 Feb 2009 03:54:50 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2632-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner~y2009m2d9-Learn-Spanish-in-Mexico?cid=exrss-SF-Living-Abroad-Examiner