About

 I believe that everyone else my age is an adult whereas I am merely in disguise. ~Margaret Atwood

I am Heather, an American expat currently living in Beijing, China. I sometimes use the pseudonym Global Gal/globalgal online. I am married to Ivan, a Spanish expat (known as DH on the blog) and together we have lived in the US, Costa Rica, Spain, Canada and three places in China. I (without the DH) have also lived in various places in the US and attended high school in Kuwait. The DH is a corporate pilot for a business aviation company and I am between jobs, living the life of a Tai Tai while looking for work in a library. I love travel, writing, sewing, and reading.

Pico Iyer is a writer who muses much on the phenomena of Global Souls. I read an interview with Pico, who writes about living as a British born, California raised child of Indian parents, now living in Japan. He said many global souls are “living on the fringes of societies, perhaps even in their own.” So true. I’ve often felt like an outsider thanks to my many, many moves, whether around the US or around the world. Here in China I most definitely feel like I am living on the fringes of society, peeking in and observing. I hope I can share with you a little bit about life on the fringe.

A disclaimer:

I have lived in China for over six years, but I am far from fluent in the language and culture. I do have Chinese friends, but for the most part I exist in an expat’s world. I am no expert on China. In a country this complex, it is impossible to be an expert. I have good days, where I love everything, and I have bad days, where I judge everything, rant and probably stereotype way too much. My posts are all well-intentioned. I recommend taking what I write with a grain of salt. Anything you read on this blog is simply me trying to figure it out for myself.

This blog is most definitely a work in progress, as is life.

Contact

You can email me at: imaglobalgal at gmail dot com

Elsewhere

• Ni Howdy – Chinese for Texans – A couple of years ago I wrote about life in China from the Texas perspective. Published on my hometown newspaper’s website, The Victoria Advocate. In the future, I plan to include Ni Howdy days here on the blog.

• Expat Interviews – I answered a few questions on expat life in Linyi, China.

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