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Expat Blog Awards 2012 Winners: Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia
Winners
Welcome to the Expat Blog Awards 2012 winners' page for the following countries: Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia.
If you have won an award please see your listing for your new badge!
Chile  | |
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Bearshapedsphere (gold) I am Eileen Smith. ExBrooklynite, current living in Santiaguina (Santiago, Chile dweller). We say: "Stuff-specific streets", voting in Chile, dolls, finding cheddar cheese in Santiago, there’s no end of lively fascinating posts, accompanied by colourful photos. |
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Don't Call Me Gringa (silver) I'm Emily. Half Brit, half American, 100% Californian, I now live in Santiago, Chile with my husband and dog. We say: You want to find Bogota’s craziest restaurant, take a bike tour round the city, visit Valparaiso or find out what it’s like to move home or work in a start-up or large company? There’s all this and more in this entertainingly written blog with abundant photos. |
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A Mama in Chile (bronze) A blog about life as a British expat mother in Chile. In 2008 she left her quaint English village and moved 7000 miles to be with her partner in Chile. One fan says: Fantastic blog by a fantastic girl! |
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Cachando Chile (honour) Margaret, an American expat who lives in Chile, writes for outsiders who are trying to understand Chilean culture as well as for Chileans who are trying to understand the foreigners who are trying to understand them. We say: Margaret translates her blog’s title as “Getting Chile”. And it really does, despite the relatively few recent posts. Check out her serious advice, for instance on local healthcare, help in understanding Chilean slang and Insider tips, as well as her humerous posts like those on "Piñerisms" in Reflections on Chilean Culture and the really funny English translations of food and drink. All this plus a fantastic photo of tall poplar trees! |
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China  | |
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Hai from Shanghai (gold) Yet Another Ex-Pat Blog: links, photos, observations & more about Shanghai, China, Chinese people, and living with Chinese people in Shanghai, China One fan says: Hilarious Blog, witty and razor sharp observations! If you share in the often redonkulous adventures of a an expat in China, this is your go-to blog for laughs! |
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Totally Impractical - Living in Shanghai (silver) A totally impractical guide to living and traveling in China (and bits of the rest of the world) from someone who has been doing it far too long for convincing sanity. One fan says: It may be totally impractical, but this is also a totally fabulous blog. Cats, mops, food and - most importantly - great storytelling. I love it. |
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Donuts to Dumplings (bronze) Dumplings to Donuts is a blog by 2 small town kids who fell in love with each other, traveling, and adventures. This love of the unexpected has led us to jump out of planes, eat questionable food, and relocate to China. One fan says: Kristin and Matthew have a beautiful blog. It's funny, compelling and full of stunning pictures. I believe what's best about it though is the true-to-life aspects of it. I feel their pain over pork floss. I see their joy at the reunion with Snowball. I understand their longing for things American while working to become citizens of Shanghai, too. It's beautiful and bittersweet. It makes me want to venture out and be a citizen of the world as well. |
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Two Suitcases and a Tin Pot (honour) Living, eating and experiencing China as the wife of a working expat. One fan says: In my opinion, one of the funniest blogs out there! She manages to inject humour into those sad and lonely moments we all experience as expats. I have never been to China, but she makes me want to go there! Even if they spit everywhere. |
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The Middle Kingdom - Beijing Blog (honour) Thinking about moving to China? The Middle Kingdom is a Beijing blog devoted to providing truly helpful information about expat life, work and travel hacking in China. One fan says: A fantastic resource for both old china hands and people fresh off the plane. The writers successfully blend tips tricks and stories that illustrate the reality of expat life and inform the decisions of those embarking on the adventure for the first time. |
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Two Americans in China (honour) Amanda had a minor in Chinese language and always dreamed of teaching in China but never thought it would actually happen. With her husband's support, her dream and their new life began in China in August of 2010 One fan says: Absolutely top notch. Have been reading it ever since she started it. Informative and entertaining. Ugly foreigners is entertaining, while at the same time disturbing. Never thought that visitors (americans and others)could act in such a wierd way in a foreign country. Hopefully, more will read it and learn to watch their behavior when visiting a foreign country. |
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Riot Riot (honour) Personal Blog about Books, Lifestyle, Travel, Bikes and Things that Matter. Fresh out of Shanghai, China. One fan says: Love it! just the right mix of everything. Definitely a blog that every so called "expat" of our generation (who is not really feeling like one) can relate to... continue to share! |
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Colombia  | |
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Travel to Colombia Blog (gold) Travel to Colombia is the blog of a British expat living and traveling in Colombia. Tips to explore Colombia Bogota Cartagena Medellin Barranquilla... We say: So much more than a travel blog! Paul’s posts on such topics as food, street festivals, Sunday brunch recommendations, interviews with fellow expats, what to do and where to go in Colombia - including La Guajira (“it’s end of days, apocalyptic stuff that can humble the most jaded of all travellers with its sheer deserted beauty”) - and safety are combined with a myriad of facts about the Colombia of today and the past. |
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Colombia Travel Blog (silver) Colombia Travel Blog : An International perspective about travelling in Colombia by world travellers. We say: This is produced by a team of bloggers and is an officially recognized travel blog. The bloggers, now including two Brits, infect their readers with their love of Colombia. Paul’s "funky, slightly grungy energy of the capital, Bogota; the steamy sass of Cartegena; the Carribean beauty of Tayrona" and "jaw-dropping gorgeousness of the coffee region" made it "difficult not to fall in love with the country and its people", while Azzam says: "the country grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t let me go". As well as being a genuine showcase for Colombia, it also includes both advice on undertaking a Colombian trail and a moving description of the tragedy of Armero. |
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Little Colombian Observationist (bronze) An American girl travels to Columbia to find out if the only risk is really is wanting to stay. We say: For Stephanie, "Colombia is a crazy, complicated, diverse, stunningly beautiful place. It´s impossible not to fall in love with the country". This is clearly reflected in her enlightening blog containing, "inter alia", interviews with Colombians and other expats, sensible advice on safety, fabulous pictures of her travels within the country, a somewhat troubling account of the Mogoles medicine man’s visit and a comprehensive post on the national game of tejo, "involving explosions and lots of beer"! |
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Costa Rica  | |
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A Dull Roar (gold) Oregon ex-patriate living in Costa Rica since 2008 in La Zona Sur. Help and advice for those thinking about expatriate living in Costa Rica. Filled with real-life experiences. One fan says: A Dull Roar is an amazing and very informative blog about Costa Rica. I simply love it. He writes about everything from politics, travel to art projects. I know that when I will go to Costa Rica, and I will one day, I can leave my Lonely Planet book at home. Vote up for Casey! |
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De La Pura Vida Costa Rica (silver) I'm Erin, a graphic designer, English teacher, and US expat living in Costa Rica and loving every moment of it! This website is about my travels around Costa Rica. One fan says: Erin's blog is incredibly informative for anyone looking to move to Costa Rica...or to just laugh in general! She's hilarious and will keep you entertained while she breaks down the pros and cons of living in Costa Rica. |
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Costa Rica Calling (bronze) Retired, I'd lived in France for about twenty years after leaving the U.K. Tired of listening to the 'living the dream' nonsense, I now live in Costa Rica One fan says: ‘Costa Rica Calling’ is the class of the field. Raises the blogger bar to jet stream heights. A must read, adroitly written, hugely entertaining window on expat life amongst the hill ranch and cloud forest communities of San Jose. CRC’s widely travelled author, peels back the banana skins to captivate her loyal readership with an insightful, wryly humorous view of not just her weekly exploits, but what it takes to fully integrate with the real ‘Tico’s’ residing in this jewel of a Central Americas country. A truly masterful object lesson in expat blogging. Brilliant. |
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A New Life In Costa Rica (honour) In January 2006 we sold everything, took a leap of faith and created new lives in Costa Rica. The only sure thing in life is change. Seven years later, each day is a new beginning. One fan says: A New Life in Costa Rica is refreshing, positive and genuine. Jennifer has the most wonderful way of showing the ups and downs of real life in a foreign country, all with her infectiously positive attitude. Keep up the good work! |
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10 Degrees Above (honour) Former Peace Corps, Tanzania. Barry has the talent. Kim has the brains. We have Photography Workshops in Costa Rica at our B & B. One fan says: I love the blogs on 10 Degrees Above! Barry takes awesome pictures! He and Kim tell you the story of the subject, then have great pics to go along with it. Kim provides a lot of information on Costa Rica. They seem to have found their own little slice of Heaven, and want to share it with the world. So I will enjoy the blogs until I get there in person! |
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Croatia  | |
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Hungry Little Elephant (gold) I graduated with my Master's degree in art history in August, 2011. Disenchanted with academia, I put my dream of becoming a scholar and university professor of modern and contemporary Croatian art on hold. One fan says: It is amazing to see a foreigner discovering the very essence of the Croatian culture in a faster and a more direct way than we the Croatians would do it. It confirms Elaine is an expert in art - cause she discovers it immediately and completely wherever she goes! And she discovers what we have forgotten to discover, see or appreciate. Thanks, Elaine, for this journey to inner Croatia and a special thanks for sharing it with us! |
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Our Adventure In Croatia (silver) All the fun of buying and renovating a holiday home abroad.... (by Our Adventure in Croatia) One fan says: A fabulous blog which is well written, varied and fun to read. I also appreciate the human factor, with pleasant and cheerful replies to any comments on posts. It's almost like popping next-door for a virtual cup of tea in cyberspace! |
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View from the Riva - Split Croatia (bronze) Life in Croatia as seen by an expat who has lived overseas for 15 years We say: Mouthwatering descriptions of national delicacies accompanied by photos: look out for soparnik, a dish protected by law as a national food and the hilarious mistranslation, snapped on a silkscreened wall menu at Popaj, of tortillas with small crabs as tortillas with smallpox. There are beautiful pictures of Croatian landscapes and celebratory events – we love the very colourful photo in the post on Sudamja in Split. Indeed the category list should be broad enough to fascinate anyone keen to visit or live in Croatia; we noted the posts on baseball, probably of particular interest to those from the US! |
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