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Business Travel. Are you ready for it? Are you busting to do it or are you a little bit wary? Personal travel is different (there’s a lot more margaritas) and you get to choose the destination and the activities – but business travel may have you heading towards a red zone, stuffy conference rooms and having to knock back that first offer of a hand shake.

We also talk about dress codes in International Schools. Why is it that some schools refuse a uniform but demand a dress code? Is it solely about modesty and if so why is the focus so often on the girls?

We have some new favouites things in the form of podcasts, press releases and a bit of telly to watch.

Here’s a few of our favourite things:

Brains Trust – Season Two

The Fitzroy Diaries – Season Three

Why has the NSW Premier had to resign

Cancelled

Off Menu

La Brea

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If you had a chance to have a job in your home country (that you could do from anywhere) or a job locally, what would you choose? What makes more sense? Keeping one leg in the employment market at “home” or getting overseas experience? Does it affect how you settle into your new location?

Nikki wants to know how  you follow local media in a new country? Particularly if the language is not your own? If you only have headlines are you missing the context of what’s actually going on?

We also run through our favourite things with some great podcast recommendations, telly to watch and articles to read. 

Kirsty’s favourites

Stong Female Lead

Morning Wars – Season 2

Invisibilia – Friendship Season

Nikki’s favourites

Sex Education Season Three

See – Apple TV

Willow’s 15th birthday party in Copenhagen

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Nikki gives us an insight into life in Denmark without covid restrictions. Spoiler alert…there was a buffet table!

We discuss what airlines are doing to keep customers “on board” .

Nikki mentioned this article https://thepointsguy.com/guide/airline-elite-status-coronavirus/

Do you re-invent yourself with every expat move? Can you do it both professionally and personally? Or is re-invention just an expat myth.

Here’s just a few of our favourite things this week:

Modern Love Series 2

The Newsreader

The Survivor Final – Brain v Brawn

Only Murders in the Building

Just one Thing – BBC podcast

On the Verge – Netflix

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Kirsty has lost her tree, what was once a flourishing jungle appears to now be a burnt stump. Nikki on the other hand is trying to work out where the top of the tree begins. Who do you call when something significant happens?

Kirsty wanted to know what Nikki wouldn’t be leaving Hamburg without which took the conversation to Libya, Canada, Jakarta, South Africa, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Kirsty’s favourite things:

Physical

City Row

The Two Fat Expats Live Footy tipping meet up

Nikki’s favourite things:

Bosch

The Tomorrow War

Sex Life

There were broad statements, reviews and excitment about impending moves and husbands who are five days in to hotel quarantine.

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With Europe and the US opening up, but Australia shutting down who are the expats who will make it home for Christmas?

Also we talk International Schooling, when do you decide where your children will finish their schooling? How soon is too soon?

Kirsty’s three favourite things:

Australian Story – A Balancing Act

Catch of the decade

Feel Good

Nikki’s favourite things

Snowpiercer

The Bold Type

Day X – New York Times

Cheers!

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How do you keep your medical records up to date when you travel? Have you registered your Covid vaccine in your home country.

Nikki’s decluttering, Kirsty’s rowing on her brand new water rower.

Nikki is reading – The Mindful Way Through Depression – Freeing yourself from Chronic unhappiness.

She’s also dowloaded “Insight Timer” a meditation app.

Favourite things for Kirsty

Motherland

You can’t ask that

Baby Surgeons

Favourite things for Nikki

Starstruck

Younger (The Finale)

The Spill

See you next week!

The post Once an expat, always an expat? Or are you turfed out of the group when you return home? first appeared on .

Kirsty opened a can of worms in the Two Fat Expats Facebook group with a question (that with hindsight) was always going to be problematic. “How do we make International Schools more accountable?”

So how do we? We discuss in today’s episode what makes a great school. Is accrediation important? How do you measure the success of a school and what types of International schools are available?

Nikki wants to know about the most boring or cliche expat question you’ve been asked? So, where WAS your favourite place to live? 🙂

We off offer up our picks for the week.

Kirsty:

Fisk

Kitty Flannagan on Conversations

Friends reunion

Pocketcasts or Podcast Addict now that Apple has ruined their podcasting app

Nikki:

Made for Love

Behind the Podcast

Birds Eye View

And Handmaids Tale is back!

See you next week xx

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Our anonymous question this week is all about staying together when you’re physically miles apart. How do you turn those “admin” phone calls into conversations that will brighten your day rather than leave you feeling flat and discombobulated. Our anonymous Fatterati member feels like her phone calls with her partner have become more like reporting in.

We call in the experts and offer our own tips. Kirsty’s husband G has booked his flight meaning they are working on their “Communication doc” in preparation to living apart.

We also spoke to Rhoda Bangerter who has written Holding the Fort Abroad. Rhoda also suggested reading The Seven Principles for Making a Marriage Work by John Gottman.

Nikki’s three favourite things this week

Ginny and Georgia – Netflix

The Test Kitchen (but it’s complicated)

Moxie

Kirsty’s three favourite things this week

Making their mark – Amazon Prime

Tiger Woods – documentary

I made an adult (Tracey Crisp) The Adelaide Fringe

See you next week! xx

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Season Seven. Episode two.

We’ve received our second anonymous question and it’s another cracker. A member of our Fatterati feels her partner may be having an affair. What would you do? And once you decide what to do what’s the best way to do it? If it were time to separate how do you extricate yourself? We discuss how to take those initial steps if you think your marriage/partnership is in trouble and we call in the experts to walk us through it. This week we introduce you to Gillian Moody from The Divorce Club.

Nikki and I also discussed passport renewals for kids who are about to become adults and pondered whether we’d make the same pandemic decisions if we had our time again.

Nikki (once again) introduces us to some trash tv, we discuss a couple of interesting articles, and throw in some podcast recommendations . Even wondered how much info Facebook and Google actually have on you? We’ve got the link you can use to have a look.

Have a listen and tell us what you think. If you have a question you’d like us to research anonymously DM me now via our Two Fat Expats Facebook group or email me [email protected] and I’ll get onto it straight away.

Gillian Moody – The Divorce Club (Champagne Cartel)

Kirsty’s three recommendations

Why Instagram feels like Facebook

What google and facebook know about you

How to Fail: Jameela Jamil

Nikki’s three recommendations

NPR – Rough Translation – Our boxes ourselves

Axios Podcast – How it happened

Firefly lane

The post I think my husband is having an affair. first appeared on .

In the words of Vanilla Ice “Hey Fatteratti, if you gotta problem yo we’ll solve it”.

We kick off with our first anonymous question and bring in the expat experts. Dr Sean Truman from The Truman Group answers all of our mental health issues in regards to expat life.

We walk through the fat expats questions. When your children receive the feedback that their accent isn’t really theirs. Seriously.

And Nikki asks Kirsty about G’s impending return to Qatar and how she’s feeling about it all.

We’re making some bold statements with presentation preparation and a booze free February.

We talk podcasts, opinion pieces and television series.

Kirsty suggested:

It’s a Sin

The End

Nikki’s suggestions:

Bridgerton

Servant of Pod

A Moody Christmas (the Australian one)

See you next week!

Kx

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