Expat: Women's True Tales of Life Abroad (Adventura Books)
Tourists merely visit, but expatriates get to live in another  culture. Some of the women represented in this collection of 22  "tales" have lived abroad as students, teachers, or aid workers,  while others either pursued career opportunities or fulfilled a  romantic fascination with a particular country or culture.  Motivation aside, almost all have chosen to relate experiences  of vulnerability and unease and a nostalgia for the culturally  familiar. An expat living in appliance-deprived China recounts  her craving for and courageous attempt at roasting a chicken,  while another in Prague relates the challenge of finding fresh  produce in order to cook a chicken stir-fry. Yet another, in the  south of France, homesick for Thanksgiving turkey, describes the  troubles she had concocting such a dinner for acquaintances.  Others are disheartened to discover that not all Australians  have an abiding love for Yanks, that not everyone in Greece,  Borneo, or Japan speaks English, and that most cultures have  distinctive cues or codes that the foreigner will inevitably  misinterpret. Most of the reporting is of disillusionment and  cultural dissonance-cautionary tales for all who believe the  global village is America. Recommended for public  libraries.Lonnie Weatherby, McGill Univ. Lib., MontrealCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.