Bakker Bugle Blog Say it three times fast. In Luxembourgish.

6 October 2010

Oh, American Press, bless your heart

Filed under: culture,europe,expat,france,mental state,news,usa — Anita @ 14:57

The US State Department released a broad travel advisory for Europe on Sunday. It cautioned Americans who are traveling to Europe to be extra vigilant. As one would expect, some of our loved ones in the US expressed concern over our safety. Suffice it to say, I have felt safe and continue to feel safe in Luxembourg. In fact, I cannot imagine a safer place to be.

But feeling safe and actually being safe are two different things. So, in the interest of learning as much as possible, I checked my usual online newspapers on Monday. The most prominent piece was in the Wall Street Journal. The article was reasonable in its tone, but the photo and video captions made be laugh. Not a “ha-ha” laugh: I was laughing at you, American newsmedia. You amuse me.
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2 April 2010

Census Sadness

Filed under: expat,usa — Anita @ 14:50

Both of us read a lot of US news, even while following the local Luxembourg headlines. So I am well aware of the upcoming US census (http://www.census.gov/), from the anger over the Super Bowl commercial , to the return rates, to the questions on the form and whether they are reasonable.

But what I didn’t realize until about a week ago: we will not be counted in the census. Intellectually, I understand the reasoning. We don’t live in the US. Why should we be counted in the US numbers? But emotionally – I don’t want to be left out! (more…)

12 March 2010

Luxembourg by the numbers: From news352.lu

Filed under: culture,europe,expat,luxembourg,news — Will @ 12:45

Anita and I stress the number of non-residents commuting into Luxembourg just about every time we talk about life in Luxembourg. To us, it seems to touch nearly every part of life here. Add to that the number of non-native residents, and you have part of what makes Luxembourg City a special place.

We’re often unclear on the numbers, particularly with respect to non-native residents. You can imagine my delight, then, when I found the following article, “Luxembourg: A City of 156 nationalities,” in 352 Luxembourg Magazine, the leading English-language weekly in Luxembourg. (more…)

8 October 2009

Bugle-Blog CLASSIC

Filed under: dublin,expat,ireland — Will @ 18:59

The Bugle does not aspire to comprehensive coverage of anything in particular. So it’s not a revelation that we didn’t get around to all of our ideas for blog posts about Ireland. When we moved from our home in Dublin, we took with us a long list of experiences that we still want to share. (more…)

18 August 2009

The most useful phrase in French

Filed under: expat,french,luxembourg,travel — Will @ 19:03

Anita is becoming famous in some circles in Luxembourg for her French!

For months, she practiced one and only one phrase in French:
Je suis desolée. Je ne parle pas français.
What does it mean, in English? “I’m sorry. I don’t speak French.”

Anita’s pronunciation is so good (and effortless) that people don’t believe her. (more…)

19 June 2009

We arrived in Luxembourg

Filed under: consumer,expat,luxembourg,mental state,travel — Will @ 12:19

We arrived before our stuff — “on holiday” for official purposes. We drove into Luxembourg with several large suitcases in the back of our Skoda estate (i.e. station-wagon). The contents of the suitcases were an inexplicable combination of stuff that I thought might be useful, stuff I forgot to send with the movers, and stuff that Anita purchased or used in the US. A security official would be sorely confused by our traveling habits.

On the way, we passed an IKEA near the border with Belgium. IKEA would come to dominate the remainder of our weekend. Belgium: for us, land of blue skies and IKEA Almost as soon as we arrived at our new apartment, we dropped our airborne burden and drove to Belgium (15 minutes away) to seek a bed for our unfurnished apartment. If we failed, we would need to spend the night in a hotel and try again the next day. (more…)

6 April 2009

To a new country, to find new adventures

Filed under: administrative,B&B,expat,ireland,mental state — Anita @ 12:51

The staff had some fun on the first of this month, but our move to Luxembourg is no April Fool.

My work will take us from Dublin to Luxembourg City later this year. We will take the Bakker Bugle with us, and our beloved readers, of course. We’re excited about the move and, in the next month or two, we’ll find out more about where and when we’ll take up residence.

Will and I will be learning a new city and new languages. You’ll read about our adventures at our new home and all over Europe. Plus, the BBB&B will be open and accepting reservations as soon as possible.

This change is no fault of Ireland, of course. We have a long list of things we love about this island and its inhabitants, and an even longer list of things we’d like to do before we go. It is simply time to take new opportunities elsewhere. Thank you, Ireland, for your hospitality, for your good graces, and for letting us be part of this exciting place.

And thank you, dear friends, for being our patient audience for the past two years. Your support means the world to us. We are so glad that we can take you with us!

21 January 2009

Friday’s Inauguration

Filed under: dublin,entertainment,expat,ireland,usa — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — Will @ 20:57

Free Sticker!
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26 November 2008

Give thanks for your butter

Filed under: culture,expat,ireland,mental state,usa — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Anita @ 16:36

There are many things that I love about living in Ireland. There are a few things that annoy or trouble me. But there is one thing that I clearly hate — the fact that butter comes in a single chunk of butter — 454 grams, to be precise. Why is it 454 grams, you ask? Because that is as close to one pound of butter as you can get in metric terms.

I could deal with a big block of butter if only there were measurements on the wrapping.
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2 November 2008

Memo to North American tourists in Europe

Filed under: expat,mental state,travel,usa — Tags: , , , , , , , — Will @ 16:57

Through a FOIA request submitted this summer, it has come to the Bugle’s attention that all American tourists travelling to Europe received the following instructions:

From: North American Tourist Authority
To: US and Canadian Citizens bound for Europe
Date: [redacted]

Dear US and/or Canadian citizens bound for Europe,

Tourists from North America have always been drawn together by the sound of their non-British accents. For decades, the Standard Greeting among these travelers was, “Where are you from?” or “Where ya from?” or some variation thereof.

As of [redacted], 2008, the new Standard Greeting is “So, what about this election, huh?” Please use this Greeting when encountering any person with a non-British accents in Foreign Countries.

An image of the letter, as received by the Bugle in response to our FOIA request, is available in PDF form.

The Bugle already sent a letter to the President of NATA with the following message:

We respectfully request that American expatriates receive timely notice of any future changes in the Standard Greeting. NATA should be aware that expatriates with American accents may be disoriented when visiting tourist sites around Europe without having prepared a Suitable Response to a new Greeting.

That is all.

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