MOVING ABROAD? REPEAT THIS MANTRA FOR EXPAT SUCCESS EVERYDAY …
The thrill of living and working everyday in a foreign culture can be a life-changing event: for better or for worse.
End of summer is often the time that individuals and families take advantage of the opportunity to relocate abroad. For a number of reasons, international relocation typically occurs toward the end of the summer holiday season. So I thought it might be helpful to review some important tips to insure that this major life event is the magical and beneficial experience it should be, and not the reason for a major life mistake, which it sadly sometimes is. The thrill of living and working everyday in a foreign culture can quickly morph into a major trauma, if you aren’t prepared for the many often unexpected challenges of adjusting to cultural differences. So here’s a quick acrostic that you can use as a mantra for EXPAT SUCCESS to help you over the rough spots as you prepare for your international relocation:
E: ELIMINATE all pre-judgments about the culture you will be moving into: any pre-judgments you have that are correct will not be problematic, and any you have that are in fact incorrect (and there are probably many more than you realize) will likely trip you up sooner than later. Best to eliminate them, and replace them with cultural facts about the country you are relocating into, facts you can glean from good cultural training.
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