Expat Women November Home Page

Hi Everyone, We hope you have enjoyed a wonderful week! Please check out our new Expat Women November Home Page, featuring:

Success Story
Carol Bellamy
World Learning
Carol Bellamy assumed the leadership of World Learning in May 2005, having completed ten years as executive director of UNICEF, the children’s agency of the United Nations. Prior to joining UNICEF, Carol was Director of the United States Peace Corps...

Business Idea
Anupa Horvil
anupa
Born in London, of Indian background and with an intense love of colour, Anupa Horvil is the brainchild behind anupa – a luxury brand currently making its mark in Vietnam. Anupa, which means "unique" in Skanskrit, conceptualizes and individually designs all her products…

Children's Travel
The Little Travelers
Angelina Hart
We talk to Angelina Hart, mother of gorgeous girls Chantelle and Nakia who star in The Little Travelers – a wonderful set of DVDs that literally take the audience along with Chantelle and Nakia in their adventures abroad in Japan, Bali and The British Isles...

Changing Careers
A Career Change Abroad
Amanda van Mulligen
Tackling a career change is a challenge at the best of times, but setting off on a new career path as an expatriate can be even more daunting. Amanda van Mulligen talks to four women who have faced tough career choices abroad...

Expat Confession
My Teenagers Are Not Adapting
ExpatWomen Girlfriend
Hello, I need some advice about my two children, 16 and 14 years of age. Ever since we have moved to Germany last year, my children have transformed into withdrawn, negative children who blame me for taking them away from their friends back home…

Family Matters
Family Matters Survey Results
ExpatExpert.com & AMJ Campbell International
With an impressive 655 workable survey responses, Robin Pascoe’s survey shares some very interesting results about how internationally mobile families view the support they receive during their relocations… (When these results first came out, we mentioned them on this blog and linked you to Robin's site. We have now posted the results on our own site and wanted to showcase them on our Home Page for November.)

Not An Expat Women Member Yet?
Please sign up today, to make sure that you receive our November Member's newsletter next week. We would love to have you in our online community.

Thank you very much and wishing you a fabulous November!

Great News For Expat Women In The UAE

Hi Everyone, If you are an expat living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), we have great news: the main internet service provider in the UAE (name best not mentioned) has finally unblocked our main Expat Women website. Hurray! :-)

We apologize that it has taken so long to negotiate and we hope everyone in the UAE (using this internet provider) will visit our global site ExpatWomen.com again soon. Thanks for your support!

Want To Be A Travel Guide Contributor? Writers in Latin America

Hello Everyone, If you are in Latin America and looking to share your travel experiences, help other travelers and get published in travel guidebooks, take a look at a site we learned of this week: V!VA Travel Guides. Based in Ecuador, they produce online travel guides, focussing currently on Latin America. Their site receives more than 100,000 unique users per month - which is very impressive.

Freelance Writing Opportunities
"For budding or talented writers, you have opportunities to write about Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Mexico! If you’re traveling to, live in, or are interested to hear more about the opportunities that we have in these countries, please send your resume and a short writing sample to us at V!VA here. Or to see more opportunities to get involved, click here."

Photography Contest
"V!VA is currently looking for photos for our upcoming Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Mexico guidebooks... read details here."

333 Most Loved Travel Experiences
"V!VA is currently accepting submissions (written pieces and photos) for the web version of our recently published V!VA World: 333 Most Loved Travel Experiences. The V!VA List series is a way for travelers to share travel experiences and have their stories and photographs published in our award-winning books. Unlike traditional guide books which list all of the "must-sees" and "must-dos" of a place, V!VA World is seeking out the most exhilarating individual experiences, written in such a way that readers will feel the passion and excitement of a place without ever leaving their living rooms!"

Travel Writing Tips from V!VA:

• "Do inform and entertain - be creative, fresh, original and inspiring


• Do set the scene


• Do provide references for factual information - and fact check using 3 different, reliable sources


• Do use a friendly tone


• Do turn in good copy


• Do keep it clean


• Don't write anything potentially libelous


• Don't be repetitive


• Don't be overly flowery with descriptions


• Don't plagiarize the work of others"

Good luck aspiring travel writers. Watch out Lorraine Caputo.

Do You Know Of More Expat Clubs?

Hi Everyone, We are looking for more expat clubs/associations to add to our country pages. Can you please take a few minutes to check your current location (or your former expat locations) here and let us know of any expat clubs/associations that we have missed? (Submit relevant links here)

Many, many thanks in advance for your generous help, Andrea.

Multilingual Living Magazine

Hello Everyone, If you are raising a bilingual/multilingual family, I highly recommend Multilingual Living Magazine. I have just finished reading their September/October 2008 issue and it is excellent!

The latest issue (put out by the dedicated Corey Heller in the US and Alice Lapuerta in Austria) includes these topics and more:

• Multilingualism in Kindergarten
• Parenting in an Adopted Mother Tongue
• Do Media Help or Hinder Bilingualism
• Immigration and Language
• 12 Common Myths and Misconceptions about Bilingual Children
• Interview with author Barbara Zurer Pearson: Raising A Bilingual Child

It also includes lots of fun 'tid-bits' as well, for example:

(1) "Did you know that there are only four words in the English language that end in 'dous'? Tremendous, horrendous, stupendous and hazardous"

(2) "Language is the means of getting an idea from my brain into yours without surgery" Mark Amidon

(3) "Oredr of the ltteers: Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch procejt at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosnt mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter."

The online bi-monthly magazine (set to be quarterly in 2009) is currently only US$12 per year. You can grab your free sample edition here. Submissions and enquiries are welcome here.

Well done Corey and Alice. Regards, Andrea.

Researcher Interested In Bilingual Families

Hi Everyone, If you are a parent trying to raise a bilingual family, Hidy Basta is looking for you...

"Hello, my name is Hidy. I am a bilingual mom who is trying to raise a bilingual family. I am also a doctoral student in the English Department at the University of Washington in Seattle (United States). I am currently working on my doctoral research project and am seeking input from bilingual families about the advice they receive regarding raising their children bilingually. I am especially interested in the following:

• The reasons a family decides to be bilingual/multilingual;
• The strategies used by parents and children to learn more than one language;
• The way children react to strategies or develop their own;
• The success and challenges a family experiences; and
• The advice a family receives regarding their decision or their strategies.

The only requirement for participation is that you have made a decision at some point in time to raise your children so that they can speak more than one language. There are several ways you could participate in this study:

1. You can fill out an online survey that takes 30-40 minutes;
2. If you live in the Seattle area, I would like to invite you to a group interview (60-80 minutes) with other parents. Snacks and refreshments will be provided;
3. You can participate in an on-line group interview via Skype. In addition, if you have kept a journal, blog or diary entries about your family's experience, you can choose to copy whatever selections you would like to share in the study.

If you are interested in participating in any way, please e-mail me for more information. Thank you!"

Geneva Exhibition: Art & Human Rights

Hello again Everyone, Just a quick shout-out for Charlotta Hayes, from Artists United Against FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) - a volunteer group aiming to use art exhibitions to raise money for organisations working actively to try to stop FGM in Africa.

If you are living in Geneva, you might like to support the group's first exhibition. The opening is tonight, Thursday 23 October, 5pm - 9pm. The opening of the second half of the exhibition is next Thursday, 30 October, same time. Everyone welcome. Thanks.

Heard of CareerJet?

Hello Everyone, Forgive us if you already know about this site, but we only learned of it today...

If you are looking for work abroad, or just in your own backyard, take a look at CareerJet - it is amazing. This fantastic online resource is an employment search engine, that scours 62,358 websites (and this probably grows daily) to display more than 14 million job vacancies, in more than 50 countries around the world, translating the results into 20 languages.

We hope this site proves valuable to you and your networks. Good luck if you are currently job-hunting!

Professional Women's Network in Turkey

Hi Everyone, If you are Istanbul, you might be interested in the new International Professional Women of Istanbul Network (IPWIN) launched this month by the International Women of Istanbul.

"We are interested to hear from women who are working in Istanbul, whether it be in a business environment, in the services sector, the not-for-profit sector, in government or in the academic field. We also welcome women who may have just moved to Istanbul and not sure what direction their career should take or women who have been on a career break through children, choice or circumstance.

IPWIN will be a place where professional women in Istanbul can come and share stories and experiences, tips and information. We would like to see it as both a professional and social network."

If you are not an expat in Istanbul, but know someone who is, please help the group by 'spreading the word'. Many thanks.

700 Expat Women Blogs

Hi Everyone, Today we are very excited to welcome our 700th blog to our Expat Women Blog Directory. This section of our site has become a tremendous resource for women relocating, feeling isolated abroad or just wanting to learn/share overseas experiences, and we thank everyone who has contributed their blog to date.

If you would like to submit your genuine expat women blog (and yes, we do check every single blog is genuine and consistent with our expat women criteria), please click here - it's easy.

If you would like to read the 20 most recent blogs added, we invite you to get inspired here. Thanks.

Empowered Career Woman

Hi Everyone, If you are/were/or want to be a career woman in any shape or form, you might like to check out a blog entitled Empowered Career Woman, written by Adrienne Graham (American).

It's not an expat blog and I don't personally know Adrienne (from memory, I learnt about her blog when she left a message a long time ago on this blog), but for a while now I have been impressed both with the effort that she puts into her blog and her effort to encourage women to 'network for success'.

Some of my favourite recent blogposts that you might enjoy include:

(1) Working Remotely (which includes 16 great tips);

(2) Women Don't Need Separate Business Magazines, Do They? (a discussion sparked from her experience with the relatively new Forbes Life Executive Women magazine); and

(3) Book Excerpt: Go Ahead, Talk to Strangers (excerpts from Chapter 5's A Closed Mouth Don't Get Fed: Asking For What You Want of her upcoming book, Go Ahead, Talk to Strangers: The Modern Girl's Guide to Fearless Networking).

Keep up the great work, Adrienne, Andrea.

Bookstore Guide - Europe

Hi Everyone, If you are in Europe, and you love books, check out Sonja and Ivan's Bookstore Guide: An Amateur Guide to Book Shopping Throughout Europe. The blog has some great links already, and if they keep it up, this blog could really blossom into a wonderful and comprehensive resource for finding books throughout Europe.

Sonja & Ivan: "The idea of writing a guide to bookstores all around Europe was conceived while we were on a vacation in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Having a passion for reading and traveling, we have encountered various bookstores throughout Europe and thus have decided to make this blog and write about our findings. If you happen to find yourself in, let's say Amsterdam or Berlin or any other city, we hope that this Bookstore Guide will help you find the books you are looking for so make sure you stop and browse for some of your favorite books in these bookstores."

Bits and Pieces

Hi Everyone, I hope you enjoyed your weekend. Here are some interesting bits and pieces that have crossed my desk lately:

(1) Blog sub-title that I loved on Grace's An American Mom In London: "Temporarily or indefinitely? Depends on the kind of day I've had". Can any expats relate to this? ;-)

(3) An interesting article, Centered Leadership: How Talented Women Thrive, in the McKinsey Quarterly, sent to me by Lindsey Jones at ACDI/VOCA.

(4) A range of HR (Human Resources) Summits coming up in 08/09 in the Australia-Asia region, listed on the Key Media site.

(5) EuRA Relocation conference for anyone involved in the relocation industry: Vienna, 22 - 24 April 2009.

(6) Expat and Relocation Conference, Oman, Al Buston Palace, 17-18 January, 2009. More details will come later on Jo Parfitt's blog.

(6) Film: 600 - by James Z. Feng. The film is based on the loneliness of longer-term expats living in China, and that sense of "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" (aka U2's song). The film was shot in Shanghai in 2007 and has recently been accepted into some major US and international film festivals, after some awards at a successful China festival 2007 showing. Synopsis:

"After coming to Shanghai on a college-graduation trip with two college buddies, Terrence decides to stay. All the partying, beautiful girls, and good food convinced Terrence this was the place to be. Supporting himself through odd jobs and teaching English, Terrence is having the time of his life.

We fast-forward seven years and Terrence is still an English teacher in Shanghai without much of a career. At the crossroads of his life, Terrence is having a midlife crisis and debating future options about returning home or staying in Shanghai. He questions the purpose of life and starts soul searching with the help of alcohol and delusional fantasies while wandering around town looking for the answer to his dilemma."

You can watch the trailer here. (Warning: If you are offended by language such as f***, this trailer is not for you.)

(7) Finally, an unusual but interesting news story, in terms of what is possible with technology these days: Google Mail Goggles Prevent Drunken Emails. It's targeted at those who send emails that they shouldn't and later regret it.

Thanks and have a wonderful week, Andrea.

Research on Intercultural Couples

Hi Everyone, If you have been part of, and perhaps still are part of, an intercultural marriage or partnership, perhaps you might like to help Mary Westhoff.

Mary has been researching for her thesis "Counseling Cross-Cultural Couples" (M.A. in Counseling) at the Fernuniversitaet in Hagen, Germany. She wants to research more about the special issues faced by cross-cultural couples and what is most helpful in supporting them.

An American from Houston, Texas, Mary has lived in Germany for 39 years, married for 37 years to a German husband.

A friend of Mary's contacted Robin Pascoe (ExpatExpert.com) asking for help, and Robin contacted us. If you can't help but know someone who can, please forward this request to them too. Thank you.

Living in Paris? Sorbonne Confidential Book Launch 14 October

Hi Everyone, For anyone living in Paris who is interested in attending the official launch of the English version of Laurel Zuckerman's Sorbonne Confidential ("...or one American's attempt to become an English teacher in France"):

Venue: WH Smith
Date: Tuesday 14 October
Time: 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Reservations: Please RSVP to WH Smith here.

Who is invited? "Open to all and especially recommended for teachers and learners of English, Francophiles, and readers who enjoy humor."

The English version is not on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk yet, but you can see the French version (2007) on Amazon.fr here. Enjoy.

Expat Women October Newsletter

Hello Everyone, We have just finished sending out our Expat Women Members' Newsletter for October. If you have not signed up yet, you can read the newsletter online here.

If you are signed up and you did not receive the newsletter, please let us know here. Thanks and I wish you a wonderful day/evening, Andrea.

UK Top 50: Where Women Want To Work

Hi Everyone, The Times magazine (UK) hits news stands today announcing the Top 50 employers where women want to work, as named by WhereToWork.com (a large employer-direct company comparison jobsite, run by Aurora).

Dr Glenda Stone (previously interviewed as an Expat Women Success Story here), CEO of Aurora (who manage the annual TOP 50 initiative for The Times) said:

"Organisations in the TOP 50 are much better at figuring out innovative and diverse ways to recruit female talent and they leave no stone unturned. This however is only half the challenge because retaining good women is also essential. Thankfully organisations are getting much better at educating women about what is on offer if they do choose to work for them, how they will support their aspirations, and how this differentiates them from their competitors."

If you are interested in seeing who ranks this year, just click here.

Documentary On Expat Infidelity

Hello Everyone, If you have experienced infidelity whilst living as an expatriate and would be willing to talk about it to a journalist/ producer doing research on the subject for a Canadian documentary film, please contact Karen Mazurkewich, who wrote to us yesterday and would love to hear from you.

Karen is especially interested in: "What drives people to cheat? How do families cope?" and "What are the consequences for families, children and companies?" Thanks.

Got A Story For (A)WAY Magazine?

Hi Everyone, If you are an expat woman living outside of Belgium and you are interested in sharing your expat experience in Belgium's (A)WAY Magazine, please contact Elena Bucciero via this online contact form (please mark it for Elena's attention).

Elena says: "The idea behind this 'interview-type' piece is to tell other expats what it is like living in various countries worldwide - to give them a 'flavour' of the lifestyle, people, food, culture, etc. as well as information about all the other things which are really important to expat families - education, healthcare, accommodation, cost of living, etc."

Want to see some examples?

Just check out the Double Vision in Mexico article that Jill and I had published in (A)WAY's January/February 2008 (hard-copy) edition.

Or Ginnie Bedggood's Whoever Told You Mañana Means Tomorrow? in their May/June 2008 edition (which ExpatWomen.com member Ginnie submitted after mentioning Elena's request previously on this blog), about living in the Dominican Republic.

Thank you very much, Andrea.