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, studying Mandarin and looking for work in a library or as an editor/writer.

This blog explores what it is like to live in China, random travel experiences and interesting things I see, read and hear. As a global nomad and an expat, I often find I am living on the fringes of normal society. I’m very introverted person and also pretty shy (they’re not the same thing!) so at times expat life can be challenging for me. I’d like to use this space to show strategies for living a successful expat life as an introvert.

Read a more in-depth about me page here.

See the evolution of this blog here.

Elsewhere

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

Thanks for stopping by! Subscribe to my RSS feed and, as they say in china, “welcome to come back!”

Contact

You can email me at: imaglobalgal at gmail dot com

En Español:

La vida da muchas vueltas

Soy Americana y vivo en Pekin, China. En el mundo del Internet uso el nombre Global Gal (chica del mundo). Estoy casada con un español (DH) y hemos vivdo en los EEUU, Costa Rica, España, Canadá, y tres ciudades en China. También vivía (sin el DH) en Kuwait. El DH trabaja como piloto corporotivo para una companía de aviones privadas. Yo estoy estudiando Mandarin y buscando curro en una biblioteca o como editora/escritora.

En éste blog escribo sobre la vida en China, viajar y todos las cosas interesantes que veo, leo, y oigo. Como una nomada y una expatriada, estoy vivendo en la franja de la sociedad normal. Aqui estoy a gusto!

Lea mas acerca de mi aqui.

Vea como ha cambiado el blog aqui.

{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

Philip Dickie February 26, 2010 at 23:22

Hey, So so sorry, I couldn’t find anywhere else to post this, and I couldnt find your email address to email directly. My names phil Dickie from england, and I was thinking about going to shijiazhuang for teaching english as a foreign language. Isaw that you also went there, I was just wondering /hoping you could tell me what you thought of it? How was it? Did you enjoy it there? Good nightlife/people all friendly? I wanted to avoid the bigger cities like beijing because I wanted to immerse myself in mandarin to help me improve my own. I really hope you would be able to tell me some stuff on the city and issues like teaching english there. Thanks so much in advance. My email address is philipjdickie@hotmail.com . Best wishes, Phil. ps great photos

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Candice May 6, 2010 at 20:13

Just had to say that I absolutely love that Atwood quote. I think I need to steal it. Great blog!

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globalgal May 6, 2010 at 21:14

It’s great, isn’t it? I don’t even remember where I found it, I just know it fit. Steal away!

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David L. May 19, 2010 at 21:34

Thanks for stopping by and leaving your insights about Columbus Day. By definition, all trivia is practically useless, hence it is trivial or trivia. But I can’t get enough trivia; I don’t believe there is a thing as too much information.

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globalgal May 25, 2010 at 21:18

“I don’t believe there is a thing as too much information.”

Amen!!

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Christina May 24, 2010 at 14:54

Hiya, hey just wondering what hosting you use and how it’s working for you. I’m looking at a new hosting and want my site to be accessed in China and the funniest thing of all is in an effort to find info on hostings that are able to be accessed in China, I found your site. I want to start a site for Shijiazhuang, which I realize is a place you lived! Very cool and crazy. Anyways, if you could let me know what you think about hosting and good options, would be thankful.

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globalgal May 25, 2010 at 12:49

I’ve just sent you an email!

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David Thompson June 12, 2010 at 10:59

Hi Global Gal- I’ve been running Dave’s Travel Corner for the past almost 14 years, http://www.davestravelcorner.com and I was wondering if you have some time to check my site out and if you like what you see, perhaps you could add a link back on your Links section. I have already added your site under my Resources >> Blogs of Travel section.

Thanks :)

Dave

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globalgal June 12, 2010 at 20:20

Done! And thanks!

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Ana O'Reilly July 29, 2010 at 00:54

Hola Heather!

We can share notes on this trailing spouse thing :) I read the About en espanol and from the way it’s written I can tell you married a Spaniard! Love it!

Ana

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Maria August 14, 2010 at 04:48

Love, love, LOVE your blog. At first I just admired the writing, then I got sucked into the content, and then, well, my jealously of both overwhelmed me and I cried a little. :) I’ve added you to my blogroll – I hope both my readers enjoy it!

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globalgal September 1, 2010 at 17:11

Thanks so much for your kind comment! I’m just getting back to the blog after a long absence. I hope that you will continue to read my posts. I’m going to look at your blog now. :)

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