It took us two weeks to get through but a small proportion of the expat myths that many of us hear, question, challenge and perhaps defend. We are all sane enough to know that we should pay no attention and that there is little truth in them however we also know that if we hear [...]
Archive for the ‘Expat myths’ Category
Myth madness
Posted in Expat myths on July 4, 2010 | 2 Comments »
At least you must never get bored…
Posted in Expat myths on July 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
At first glance it is easy to laugh and dismiss this myth but it runs a lot deeper than we might imagine. According to answers.com, Boredom is an emotional state experienced during periods lacking activity or when individuals are uninterested in the opportunities surrounding them. We know our location is full of these amazing opportunities, [...]
Always, never, everybody, exactly…
Posted in Expat myths on July 2, 2010 | 2 Comments »
When I see or hear one of those words added to an expat helpful ‘comment’, the hackles on my back rise. OK, that was a bit of a colloquial comment – it concerns me somewhat! I can’t tell you how many times I have had a call or an email from someone freaking out because [...]
They are our best and brightest employees…
Posted in Expat myths on July 1, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
… they can handle anything! Many of our partners have been chosen for their specific role in the organization because they are highly skilled, competent individuals who excel in their positions. So much so that they need to be shipped to another country to do a job that the majority of the locals are as [...]
Once you get over culture shock…
Posted in Expat myths on June 30, 2010 | 2 Comments »
The notion that culture shock has a beginning a middle and an end is rather comical. This supposes that there are finite elements in something that is so complex we simply cannot encompass it in definitions. Culture shock starts with a visual experience that stirs our aesthetic capabilities one way or the other – we [...]
Moving kids all over the world is bad for them
Posted in Expat myths on June 29, 2010 | 3 Comments »
At a recent conference I went to, they told us that around 50% of Obama’s administration were TCKs – Third Culture Kids – or kids who had spent a good portion of their lives living and/or being educated in a country that was not where they or their parents were born. Even more interesting is [...]
Expats live an exotic lifestyle
Posted in Expat myths on June 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Once in Asia, an employee – thankfully from another company – told me that when he died, he wanted to come back as an expat spouse and live an exotic and cushy life. Ever the master of a straight face I replied… ‘Yeah, this week I have fired my maid for stealing from us, tried [...]
Once an expat, always an expat
Posted in Expat myths on June 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This double-edged sword is something many of us both fear and secretly believe. We all know that once a habit is established, it is difficult to change it, but does this apply to being a global nomad too? In every course I have ever taught, I tell my students that in order to learn and [...]
Career on hold – you’ll get used to it…
Posted in Expat myths, tagged expat, expat career, expat purpose on June 25, 2010 | 4 Comments »
‘Accompanying spouses who have left careers behind to become expats always adjust – it just takes time’. This is perhaps the myth that cuts the deepest for so many expats I know. Not so long ago, spouses who accompanied their partners were known as ‘trailing spouses’. If we create a visual picture of this person [...]
What are they complaining about, it is a first world country!
Posted in Expat myths on June 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The notion that every person on earth would choose to live in a country simply because it is a first world country is an interesting one. Personally there are several developing countries that I would rather live in than many first world ones but perhaps that is just me. Just as each individual on this [...]
