In My Opinion

I enjoy researching and writing about hot topics, world news and events, what would you like to know more about?

Why Are The Umbrellas Missing? – Rhodes, Greece

by Amanda | Jun 2, 2015 | Blog, Opinion

It's June and on many of the beaches in Rhodes the sunbeds and umbrellas are missing and the kantina's haven't opened. I have a good friend in the village who runs a small kantina and set of sun beds on Glystra beach and went yesterday hoping to find that they were...

Expat Imports or Going Local in Greece

by Amanda | May 17, 2015 | Blog, Expat Life, Opinion, Rhodes

As expats we always miss things from home. Some get excited over Tim Tams or Hershey Kisses, others lose the plot trying to find Marmite or Vegemite, for me it's Yorkshire tea bags. Shopping overseas is nothing like at home. Firstly you can never get everything you...

Happy Mother’s Day – Χρόνια Πολλά, Μανούλα

by Amanda | May 10, 2015 | Blog, Expat Life, Opinion

Mother's day is celebrated at different times and in different ways around the world. Today is Mother's Day in America and Greece. It's a time to honour our mother's and thank them for all the do. And also a time to reflect on their importance in our society. The...

An Expat View of Immigration

by Amanda | May 2, 2015 | Blog, Expat Life, Opinion

What gives me the right to speak about immigration? I don't live in my own country, I am an immigrant. I've lived and worked in different countries with people from all over the globe. We were all there to make our lives a little better, for some it was about money....

The Expat Wonder Woman

by Amanda | Apr 16, 2015 | Blog, Expat Life, Opinion

Yeserday the original concept sketch of Wonder Woman went up for auction. She was a bit of a heroine of mine as a child, she helped fuel the idea of the modern woman who could do anything. Of course she also helped fuel a few stereotypes. Her dress was short and her...

The Expat Bragger

by Amanda | Apr 15, 2015 | Blog, Expat Life, Opinion

This morning I noticed an article in the Daily Mail about a mother who had been bullied for posting too many pictures of her new baby on Facebook. Don't shoot me yet, I know it's the Mail, in my defence I saw the link from Australia's 9 News on Facebook. It turns out...

Saturday Soapbox – Beauty, You and The Media

by Amanda | Apr 11, 2015 | Blog, Opinion

I'm getting on my Saturday Soapbox today. I really enjoy researching and writing my opinion pieces and this morning have decided they should have a name. So Saturday Soapbox it is. I spent years teaching teenagers, researching and planning lessons that would inform...

My Mental Health Heroes

by Amanda | Mar 28, 2015 | Blog, Opinion

This post has been in the draft process for just over a week now, I wasn't sure even how to start it at first. However, with the events of recent days and mental health in the news at home, today seems like the right time for this. The Germanairwings crash will...

❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞
‒Nelson Mandela

The Expat Language Barrier

by Amanda | Mar 26, 2015 | Blog, Expat Life, Opinion

This week I started up Greek classes again. I'm determined to learn the language, it's so embarrassing sometimes being English. Everyone makes the effort to learn our language as it's become so international, yet as expats we are notoriously lazy. ❝If you talk to a...

The Expat Image

by Amanda | Mar 23, 2015 | Blog, Opinion

Over the years the expat has taken a real bashing in the mainstream British media, from drunken pensioners in Spain to the sexual exploits of couples in Dubai. More recently even the term "expat" has come in for criticism, with Mawuna Koutonin's article Why are white...

The Expat Technology Challenge

by Amanda | Mar 22, 2015 | Blog, Expat Life, Opinion

Technology can be a challenge for many of us, with smart phones and tablets, lap tops and smart TV's just trying to keep up to date with what you already have can be a minefield. Then you add a little bit of overseas magic and it becomes more like a jungle you have to...

My Memory Fog

by Amanda | Mar 16, 2015 | Blog, Opinion

Phew, now that's done it I'll admit I'm going through the menopause or perimenopause, I'm not sure which? The one thing I'm can be certain of is my appalling memory. I used to be able to remember the names of hundreds of students and their families, but I started to...

Expat Guilt – on Mother’s Day

by Amanda | Mar 15, 2015 | Blog, Expat Life, Opinion

As expats we are supposed to feel guilty. Guilty for leaving behind our families and friends. We do of course feel that guilt. In my family I'm not the only expat and not even the first to be one. My grandparents lived in Spain for a while, both my parents were in...

The average Briton consumes 238 teaspoons of sugar each week – often without knowing it.

Going low carb

by Amanda | Mar 11, 2015 | Blog, Opinion

Having spent the last few months really going for a low carbohydrate lifestyle I've been cooking or should I say experimenting, not always successfully, like a woman possessed. Now it's time to start sharing some of the successes I've had with my Greek style low carb...