Our guestblogger Abu Muhammed from Saudi Arabia muses upon stress caused by ongoing culture shock and, paradoxically, by the slow pace of life in his new home. I heard an acquaintance of a friend of mine was told to leave the KSA because at the age of 33, he had developed a heart condition. He’d [...]
Filed under: Adventures Abroad, Culture Shock, Guest Author on March 12th, 2013 | No Comments »
In this brief interview, Heiko Saeger, former expat and CEO of the recently launched NPO KOMUNIKI, tells us more about his project, the importance of intercultural competence, and the (pro bono) e-training modules that his organization provides. 1) What is the KOMUNIKI Project all about? The KOMUNIKI PROJECT is an international team of experts who [...]
Filed under: Culture Shock, Expat Interviews, Intercultural Differences, InterNations Recommends on February 21st, 2013 | No Comments »
Gisele from Switzerland moves to Uganda for work and ends up falling in love with one of her colleagues. Here is her story on dealing with the cultural differences, especially between men and women, in Africa. I never expected to fall in love during my two year assignment in Uganda. I went there with the [...]
Filed under: Adventures Abroad, Culture Shock, Expat Families & Relationships, Expat Women, Intercultural Differences on January 28th, 2012 | No Comments »
It has often happened to me when living in various countries that I missed out on jokes or told jokes myself that were met with blank stares. When I was younger I always thought that humor transcends all boundaries and that certain things are just funny to everyone, regardless of their origin. However as I [...]
Filed under: Intercultural Differences on December 15th, 2011 | No Comments »
Lynette from Wales moved to Hong Kong for work and shares her initial impression and surprise upon arriving in the “fragrant harbor”. When I initially moved to Hong Kong I thought I was going to be living in a completely different country. I expected different architecture, obviously different food, different nature, basically everything to be [...]
Filed under: Adventures Abroad, Culture Shock, Intercultural Differences on December 9th, 2011 | No Comments »
Zachary from Maine who lived abroad in Istanbul for seven years and has just moved back to the States discusses the vicious circle of always missing that which he cannot have. After having lived in Istanbul for seven years I find myself really missing the intimacy of the little corner store. It takes me hours [...]
Filed under: Culture Shock, Intercultural Differences, Repatriation on November 14th, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Annie from Eindhoven in the Netherlands, moved to Miami, Florida for her new job. She expresses her culture shock regarding the people and the work atmosphere. I remember how I used to not be able to wait to get out of Eindhoven. In school we would always talk about going to America or some other [...]
Filed under: Culture Shock, Intercultural Differences, International Workdays on November 11th, 2011 | 3 Comments »
Expat Celia from Australia expresses an interesting view on how she sees some people in Germany, and wonders why it is that in this beautiful country, people never seem content or satisfied with their lives. Cultural differences come in many shapes and sizes! Language, food, mannerisms, etiquette, etc. What I had never considered before is [...]
Filed under: Intercultural Differences on November 10th, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Tanja from Germany moved to Mexico and entered the dating scene. She found it very difficult to figure men out – in whichever culture she ended up – especially as dating is never straightforward anywhere. She gives us a glimpse of what dating in Mexico was like. I find that dating abroad is always more [...]
Filed under: Culture Shock, Expat Families & Relationships, Intercultural Differences on October 26th, 2011 | 6 Comments »
George from Vancouver has just come back from his nine month expat assignment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and shares his experiences in the working environment. He tells us about the different aspects of doing business in Saudi Arabia and what things he had difficulty with most. When I moved to Riyadh I was well aware [...]
Filed under: Culture Shock, Intercultural Differences, International Workdays on October 24th, 2011 | 5 Comments »