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Channel: Maria – I was an expat wife
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Tips for the male accompanying spouse

Moving overseas is all about change: new country, new customs, new job, new language. It’s a lot to handle all at once. When the lifestyle changes include trading in a career for full-time parenting,...

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What is culture shock?

Culture shock is the state of disorientation that results from exposure to an unfamiliar culture. (Repatriating expats are affected by a variant known as reverse culture shock.) Its symptoms are both...

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Border buddies

Canada and the United States share the longest undefended* border in the world: 8,891 kilometres long (that’s 5,525 miles, for our American friends.) We’ve been good neighbours for what seems like...

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The sneaky symptoms of culture shock

Culture shock is the state of disorientation that results from contact with a foreign culture. Most expats experience it to some degree, which is not surprising: if culture is defined as the shared...

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How to manage culture shock

The physical and psychosocial symptoms of culture shock vary from expat to expat, as does the extent to which each person is affected. The good news is that there are several strategies to diminish the...

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The sharp shock of returning home

Many expatriates, living in far-flung corners of the globe, long for home. Paralyzed by culture shock and reeling from homesickness, they imagine how wonderful it would be to return to the familiar...

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Why rituals are important for expat families

Our Charlie Brown tree, 2006. When I was little, my brother and I would carefully lay our stockings at the foot of our beds on Christmas Eve. Christmas stockings had a very specific purpose in our...

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Battling re-entry shock

Your move overseas probably came with a generous helping of culture shock as you tried to come to terms with your new environment. Fortunately, the intensity of culture shock can be lessened by...

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What’s a Third Culture Kid?

Children who’ve spent a considerable portion of their formative years in foreign cultures are known as Third Culture Kids (TCKs). The term “third culture” refers to the lifestyle of global mobility and...

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Another year over

So how was your year? For me, 2012 was a resounding “not bad, not bad at all.” Most importantly, my girls thrived. Elder Daughter started university and fell in love. Younger Daughter also fell in love...

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I think I just failed the Canadian citizenship test (redneck style)

Nope, never seen one. Jeff Foxworthy is an American comedian who rose to fame with his “you might be a redneck” shtick. (Example: If you own a home that’s mobile and 5 cars that aren’t, you might be a...

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

I woke up late this morning after a busy night (dog, chocolates, vomiting — long story) and discovered that at some point over the past few hours, nominations were announced for the Academy Awards....

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Why being a Third Culture Kid sucks (sometimes)

An international lifestyle involves a balancing act between gains and losses. While Third Culture Kids reap the benefits of expat life — including exotic travel, linguistic competence, and cultural...

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What is cross-cultural training and how does it work?

Cross-cultural training (also known as intercultural training) is a multi-faceted approach to increasing the knowledge and skills required to adjust to new culture. Brookfield Global Relocation...

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Cross-cultural training is essential for expat spouses

During a foreign assignment, the challenges faced by expatriate managers are different from those of their spouses. The manager spends a significant portion of each day within the shelter of an...

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The 7 habits of highly effective (expat) people

When Stephen R. Covey, whose monster bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was first published in 1989, died last summer, there was such an outpouring of grief that I wondered what all the...

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The 7 habits of highly effective expats (redux)

On Monday I presented my interpretation of Stephen Covey’s seven habits as seen through the lens of expatriation. Today all I’m borrowing from Mr. Covey is that iconic title. (This post actually...

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How the world views Canadians

Oh yeah… we’re wild. Totally. LOL LOL LOL.

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Culture and context: the hand-holding conundrum

Here’s another little gem that came my way via Twitter: a thought-provoking video about overcoming knee-jerk reactions (“challenging your inner Stone Age brain”) in unfamiliar cultural settings....

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The language(s) of love (or not)

Imagine, somewhere in this globalized world, two men sitting on a park bench. Soon they’re talking about their lives, and one of them starts to reminisce about his lost love. Can you follow the story?...

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