If there is one thing that most Expats like myself tend to dread it's Holidays. All your family are usually thousands of miles away, the airlines have jacked up their prices in celebration of the holiday and you have to content yourself with a long distance phone call at exhorbitant rates to stay in touch with loved ones; add to this the fact that all your local friends will be busy with their families and it can make for a pretty lonely holiday for expats.
I've been living abroad for several decades now so I'm a bit of an old hand at this by now and so we always invite other expats over for dinner for the holidays, as they're in the same situation. Everybody gets to share the company of others, a good meal is enjoyed in the company of new friends and the conversation is never dull. Expats tend to live outside the box by their very nature and it is rare to find an expat who is a wall flower, it usually makes for a rousing good time.
Easter Dinner was at my house yesterday, with 10 expats in attendance - 2 Canadians, 2 Americans, 1 Aussie, 1 German and 1 Brit / Afrikaner couple with their two teenage children who have lived in so many countries that they are really citizens of the world. The wine flowed, the conversation never lagged and every bit of the spread I put on was heartily devoured by the time I tucked them into cabs and sent them home last night.
Now that's a Happy Easter,
Eric
