EXPAT: Advice on how to survive and thrive while living abroad
The challenges of living in a foreign country are numerous and can affect an individual’s professional and personal life, yet the results of living abroad can be thoroughly enriching. We’ve gathered the following thoughts and words of advice from expatriates we have helped relocate around the world for our clients, and while they are organized in a playful take on the word, “Expat,” the sentiments are genuine.
Explore your surroundings
Don’t sit at home, wishing you were somewhere else. Walk around the neighborhood: get to know what is available at the neighborhood butcher, fruit stand, or mini-mart. Eat at the local restaurants to taste the flavor of the country’s cuisine, and spend time looking at the scenery to appreciate the architecture, cityscape or country side. Assuming personal safety is not an issue; take every form of public transportation, which may include buses, subways, ferries, tuk-tuk, trams, metro, cable car, etc. You will be able to mix with the local population and experience daily life as they do.
(E)Xamine the culture
Read as much as you can before you leave for your assignment, and while in the host country, continue your education. Take language lessons to learn at least the simple key phrases, and then use them. Join a book club that focuses on reading works by local authors or highlights books about the country you are living in to gain an understanding of the history, customs, and practices of those who live there. Plan to visit museums, houses of worship; watch a theater or musical production to experience living history and be exposed to contemporary thoughts. Read the newspaper or internet blogs to become familiar with the issues that matter to the neighbors on your street, and your neighbors around the world.
Put yourself out there
Don’t expect people to seek you out – you need to demonstrate your interest in meeting people, both locals and other expatriates. Find groups of other expatriates, but don’t limit yourself to folks from your own country. You can learn so much about a culture by comparing it to what you know, and what others know. Get a job if laws permit or volunteer if work is difficult to find. Join a church, recreational club, sports team, special interest group, or travel club so that you can convene with others who share your wonder of living away from home.
Accept the differences
Embrace what is different about your birth culture and the culture where you live now. Don’t spend a lot of time complaining about what annoys you, such as how the locals eat, queue up in the bank, or drive their cars – rather spend your energy on recognizing the differences, acknowledging the diversity of what is cultural acceptable, and learning about what makes each person special. No one culture is correct about everything, so gather interesting facts, be captivated by your environment, and appreciate the experience.
Think of your future
Realize that your time abroad will probably be short and that you will endure. What seems difficult will help you grow, will change your outlook on life, and will enrich your perspective as a citizen of the world. Relish the opportunity to live somewhere else, appreciate the chance to live in another society, take pleasure in being exposed to new traditions and beliefs, and do not fear to incorporate what makes sense into your way of life. You will never be the same – and that is commendable.
Posted on 01/11/2010 in Global Mobility | Comments (0)
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