The expat stories
Expat tell their stories
- Design by Rula Clint
- Rula, a syrian born costume and fashion designer, shares how she had to reinvent her career over and over again to keep up with constant relocations around the world. Learn about Rula camaleontic ability in managing her career in the fashion industry while country-hopping after her husband with children in tow. Rula talks about her latest business adventure: creating costumes for school plays and more.
- An expat in Sumatra, a diary
- As a seasoned expat, when a transfer is announced, you tend to greet it with excitement, certain expectations and a degree of 'been there, done that’!! However, with every new transfer, there are inevitably unexpected events and scenarios that are totally beyond anyone’s control. Here Patricia blogs their first days and weeks of a new posting in Western Sumatra, which demonstrate that the need of a sense of humour is sometimes the only common factor present during the transfer of an expat!
- Trailing spouse? I would like to be a fulfilled spouse more!
- Claudia shares her experience as a trailing spouse across many countries and continents, touching the delicate issue of self-esteem and gratification of expat women who choose to leave career behind for their family’s sake. We wish her story might be an inspiration to overcome the sense of “unworthiness” some spouse feel for not pursuing a career. Claudia puts back on the map the importance of being there and how capital her contribution is to her family success. Most importantly though is her insights on the importance of the expatriate experience for anyone and how this resulted in the creation of Expatclic.
- Do not forget the kids!
- Living in a new country can be a wonderful growing experience for the whole family. The moving period however can be a trying time, especially when you have kids! Preparing your children for living abroad becomes then imperative. Val Boyko shares with you some successful strategies that will get you on the right track with the children.
- Dutch Courage
- Discover Jo Parfitt experience about settling in a new country with her family and how despite years of expatriation it was still a challenging feat, even with her many years of expatriation expertise to count on.
- Expat AND entrepreneur... is it possible?
- The entrepreneurial adventures of Wendy Kohler Boothman, creator of "TalentedWomen.com" as she describes them. The highs and lows of setting up businesses as a foreigner. A true vademecum for anyone willing to get into business.
- A global dinner network for women
- Interview with Tanja Lindermeier, founder of Global Dinner Netwok website www.global-dinner-network.com Be inspired. Be yourself
- Record number of countries delegates to 2006 Global Summit of Women in Cairo
- GlobeWomen.com is "Linking BusinessWomen Worldwide" and the latest summit has recorded the highest number of countries participating. Read about the partnering of governments with businesses to improve women's economic lives and the initiatives announced at the summit.
- A new school for expats in Houston area
- Expatriates moving to Houston rejoice, the options for schools has just gotten greater. In the south-west suburbs of Houston (Sugar Land, Texas), a new school pursuing the International Baccalaureate program has opened its doors to children of all nationalities, willing to follow an international education. Sue McMahon founder, presents the ambitious project to Paguro.
- Dual career... no pain no gain!
- A first hand experience of what works best for an expatriate in search of a job in a new town, as well as making you aware of the need to negotiate the terms with the company relocating your partner, when there is a double career expectation!
- Letting me be: how motherhood brought out my true nature
- Are you making the most of your life? A question that makes most of us pause and contemplate whether we are, in fact, making our lives the best they can be or whether we are mindlessly caught up in the repetitive motions of our daily family routines. Or, whether we are hiding from ourselves and the big world out there. Elizabeth Kruempelmann, author of "The Global Citizen: A Guide to Creating an International Life and Career", shares her personal experience.
- Research on expatriate assignment
- Twist and turn of an expatriate life that eventually have led to a portable profession. Marion Weston explains how she did it and asks you to contribute your own experience.
- The Role of Networking in Expatriate Female Entrepreneurial Activities
- An MBA research synopsis which the author, Susanna Reay, has kindly agreed to share with Paguro. "The Role of Networking in Expatriate Female Entrepreneurial Activities" research was completed for the final part of achieving an MBA with Brunel University, UK. We are sure many of you will find this topic extremely interesting and for many it will be enlightening too.
- Think like a Banker to Get the Mortgage You Want
- I was recently approached by an American client who had been turned down by a French bank for a mortgage in Paris. He was completely perplexed as to why he could not get financing – he had a steady job, good income and little debt. Believe me, it happens and more often than you would think. Tahminae Madani, from France Home explains what happened.
- Newcomers Network
- In a nutshell, how the challenges of relocating to a new place can lead to new opportunities as seen by Sue Vitnell, Founders of Newcomers Network in Melbourne.
- Penny the pencil
- Eileen O'Hely was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1972. After spending the whole of the nineties at university, studying languages and astrophysics, she decided she'd had enough and went to work in the computer industry. Ostensibly employed as a technical writer, Eileen soon found that the satirical observations of her workmates which she posted on her Icky Picky of the Day mailing list were far more fun to write and reached a far wider and more appreciative audience than that of her technical manuals. So she quit her job, moved to Europe, and spent the next two years sight-seeing in summer, pretending to snowboard in winter, and writing in her spare moments. Eileen currently lives in Turin, Italy with her husband Glenn and their collection of fluffy animals." Paguro is proud to advertise her latest achievement, the children book "Penny the Pencil".
- Portable Professions
- Rebecca Law explores the traps and secret passageway of the professional life of a trailing spouse.
- Teenager expat: is changing school a nightmare or a dream come true?
- Life for an adult expat has been evaluated and described many times over, but how it is for the children? Teenagers especially, experience abrupt changes in different ways. Andrew describes what is has been like for him and gives some suggestions on how to manage the downsides of change. School change and changing schools are possibly the hardest part of a relocation for a teenager. How to avoid the blues of a school change heard from people who had done it!
- Something is happening in Italy!
- Something is happening in the world of italian companies, expatriates are more and more on the Human Resources agenda, and the proof is here, the conference "LA GESTIONE DEGLI EXPATRIATES" is taking place for the second year in Milan. Paguro is glad to provide you information about this event both in English and in Italian.
- Expat: to be or not to be?
- Beginning a new life in a different country and culture, is to work out how to get the balance right between keeping a connection with your own background and how much to expose yourself to the new culture. Susan Hall shares her own personal experience.
- Expats smart - Surviving a summer of visitors!
- For many of us expats this is the season for prolonged visits from family and friends. It's a time of anticipation, excitement and - let's be honest here - some apprehension and strain too. How can we best survive a summer of visitors? Val Boyko explains.
- Top 10 coaching tips for expat transitions
- “I am happy to share with you my coaching tips for successful expat living. These come from my years of experience as a cross cultural trainer and professional coach - and as a fellow expat they come from the heart”. Val Boyko, Global Coach.
- Are expat needs different?
- When we consider moving abroad, our first consideration is to ensure that it is a comfortable, safe and secure environment. These are basic needs that we need to fulfill. The relocation and moving services that are available to expats on assignments are also geared towards finding a house, the move and getting settled. But what about the "other" needs that we have? The intangible ones? Many of us know what it feels like to be miserable even when we are safe and financially secure! What's missing here? Val Bokio from Global Coach gives you some hints...
- Emergency Mexico
- Marlies Abreu is working as a volunteer to help the people who lost everything in the flood in the Tabasco region. Marlies reports on the situation and gives suggestions on where you may direct your donations.
- Expatriates the world over mourn Alexander Bjoroy
- Young Alexander Bjoroy was one of the victims on the Air France flight from Rio to Paris, the expatriate community the world over mourn his loss together with the family
- Expérience Algeriénne
- Florence shares her life and work experience in Algeria.
- From Hairdresser to Coiffeuse... an English Expat in France
- Sandra started her career as a hair dresser in her native England and then decided she wanted to try her hand in France. There were a few snips and snags along the way but eventually she made her way through the system and opened her very own salon in the west suburbs of Paris. For anyone wishing to consider starting a business abroad, here is her story.
- Gli esami non finiscono mai!
- Ne aggiungiamo anche quando non servono Il rientro in Italia di una famiglia italiana espatriata con figli in eta' scolare e relativa saga con il Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione
- Global Grandparenting - the challenge
- The unexpected challenges of being a "global grandparents" as seen by Peter Gosling, who shares his knowledge and soon will publish a book about Global Grandparenting, a collection of Grandparents stories from all over the world.
- How to be a Global Grandparent - Book outline
- "How to be a Global Grandparent" book outline. The book is planned for publication in 2008.
- The challenge of Global Grandparenting
- A survey on Global parenting. Your input will go towards the creation of the book "How to be a Global Grandparent".
- In search of a cure
- Denise shares her stories with us with all the predicaments she went through and the support she found in the expatriate community when she took the courageous step to live her home country in search of assistance and may be a cure for her autistic son, Tommaso
- Mexico is making progress
- Marlies latest news on Mexico catastrophic flood
- Mexico update
- Marlies Abreu has returned to Mexico City and gives her update regarding the situation in Villahermosa
- Paguro visits Malhia Kent
- Paguro organizes a visit to Malhia Kent design headquarters located in the unique "Viaduc des Arts" of Paris
- The Sun Always Shines in the Sunshine State
- Brisbane according to Ilse Broekaert
- Living in Brisbane
- Brisbane as seen through the eye of Shirley Ferguson, a serial expat who left Scotland many years ago and has been hopping around the world ever since
- Raising Bilingual Children, but how?
- Parents who prepare to move abroad often are confronted with the bilinguism issue for their children. Rosario Then de Lammerskötter is providing a forum and a collection of articles on the subject.
- Expats Share their Own Stories
- A sort criterion