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Ekaterina Basinkevich

opinion thoughts

Should You Visit a Loved One Who is Dying?

This is probably not the greatest title. I left it to the very end and couldn’t come up with anything better but I hope it does the job. The initial dilemma The news of the illness were surprising. They broke the last hope there was that maybe this was just a regular infection gone too far. I had a sudden wake- up moment somewhere between the regular calls and the waiting for…

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Uncategorized

What I Have Learned While Going Through Grief

I have spent the past week searching the depths of the internet for strategies for coping with grief. Quite frankly, I must admit that so far I was not able to come up with much more than letting my tears speak for the state that my mind is currently in. I may not have come up with a great approach myself, as I kept researching, reading and crying myself to sleep, and…

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living abroad

What No One Told You About Third Culture Kids

Over my years abroad I learned that children who grow up in a culture other than the one of their parents or who move around a lot internationally are called third culture kids. Living abroad is a great privilege and I am lucky to have been granted that. It seems, however, that the privilege aspect is taking center stage in any discussions on this topic. I am happy with how my life…

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Lost in Riyadh-Blog riyadh saudi arabia Travel

Riyadh Q & A: Transitioning Between Cultures

Last week my Lost in Riyadh Facebook page has reached 1000 likes! Since then I have been thinking about ways to celebrate the occasion beyond the usual thank you post. Looking through my old entries that once composed my Lost in Riyadh blog right before GDPR came along in the EU, I found a comment by a reader from back in 2014. Tonight, to celebrate my blog’s wide outreach, I would like to…

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europe Travel

Oslo on a Budget

A lot has happened since the last time this blog has seen a new post. To reward myself for the work I had put in over the last couple of months and to celebrate all the good things that have happened recently, I decided to finally add Norway to my list of visited destinations. While there is a lot of truth to Norway’s reputation of being one of the most expensive countries…

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Lost in Riyadh-Blog

Guest Post: 24 Hours as a Solo Female Traveler in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Guest Post: 24 Hours as a Solo Female Traveler in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

It has already been a surprise to me when I was contacted for the first time by a young woman living in Saudi Arabia asking for a feature of her 24 Hours as a Solo Female Traveler in Riyadh post back in 2016. The controversy of the subject of Saudi Arabia may have been one reason for the success of my blog Lost in Riyadh (see page above for all posts) even after…

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expat blog Observations photography tourism Travel

The One Time I was Adopted by a Cuban Family

Read part 1 of the story here Those who know me personally may have noticed at some point that I usually don’t drink alcohol and should I ever do so, said alcohol would form part of a cocktail. But even in the form of a cocktail, the alcohol strikes me as too strong and always makes me feel like I just had a sip of disinfectant. Not so in Havana. The Cubans,…

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expat blog Life Stories Observations photography thoughts tourism Travel

Lobsters are Just Fancy Shrimps

To make the post shorter, this is part 1 of a longer story. Read part 2 here. If I really think about it, lobster basically tastes like a fancy shrimp. Back in Riyadh, a piece of lobster the mere size of my thumb was part of a € 70 six course meal I never would have gone for myself, had it not been upon an invitation which would have been rude to…

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