Expat Women February Home Page

Hi Everyone, February 1 falls over the weekend, so we have uploaded our February Home Page a little early. Please take a look:

Success Story
Susan Au Allen
USPAACC Education Foundation
In 1999, Susan was named one of 25 most influential Asians in America. In 2008, she was named as one of US’s top Diversity Advocates, among notables such as President William Clinton, President Jimmy Carter and Oprah Winfrey...
Read more…

Business Idea
Robina Oliver
Curvas Peligrosas
If you have ever prayed for a gorgeous bathing suit to wear by your hotel pool, then Robina Oliver is a woman who is answering prayers like yours. Robina’s dangerously curvy business in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, has become an instant hit amongst tourists and locals...
Read more…

Perfectionism
Is Perfectionism Condemning You To A Life Of Immaculate Mediocrity?
Margie Warrell
Do not get me wrong, I have no bone to pick with perfectionists; particularly not those who might find themselves operating on my heart, building my home or fixing my car’s brakes but...
Read more…

Freelancing
My-So Called Freelance Life
Michelle Goodman
Join experienced freelancer, Michelle Goodman, as she talks to us about what to do and what not to do in the world of freelancing (including tips for established freelancers)...
Read more…

Expat Teens
Youth Compass
Thomas Speckhardt
If you are looking for new ideas about how to give some positive direction to your global nomad teen, join us as we talk to Thomas Speckhardt, the Executive Director of Youth Compass – a community youth organisation led by volunteers and staff...
Read more…

ExpatWomen Confession
I Think I Am An Alcoholic
ExpatWomen Girlfriend
I live in Athens, Greece, and I think I am an alcoholic. I am spending more and more nights drinking. I find myself choosing unimportant evening social functions (through my job with the foreign service here) over getting home and spending time with my family...
Read more…

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

Thanks and best wishes for your weekend! Andrea.

Calling All Canadians

Hi Everyone, If you are a Canadian, especially if you are an adult TCK or you have children who one day will be adult TCKs (Third Culture Kids), Robin Pascoe has asked us to pass this urgent message on to you:

"Did you know that the new Canadian citizenship rules which go into effect April 17 state that:

"...children born in another country after the new law comes into effect will not be Canadian citizens by birth if they were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent who was also born outside Canada to a Canadian parent.”

To read more, and to take action, please visit my blog post today. Thanks!"

Seen 'The Mom Song'?

Hi Everyone, Someone sent me 'The Mom Song' today. If you're a mom/mum, and you have not seen it before, take a look - it's an opera song and it's fun.

Included below is the one sent to me, posted on You Tube last month.

I found another one on YouTube, posted one year ago, but the picture is not as clear, so I recommend watching the one below (or linked here, if you are reading this via email alert.)

Mothers, enjoy! Andrea

We Need Your Expat Stories

Hello Everyone, Please grab a bit of time this month to submit your stories of expat living.

ExpatWomen.com has received more than 200 story submissions since we launched two years ago, but for some reason, we do not have any stories yet this month. Has everyone been on holidays?

Great! Then you should have plenty of adventures to share. (Smile)

If you are not sure what we are looking for, take a read of some of the great stories we have from expat women like you already, or take a quick read of our story guidelines.

If you have already submitted a story, fabulous, you know how to do it, so please submit again.

We are still planning to use the best stories to turn into a book one day. So please, help us out, share your experiences... and maybe someday, your name and story will be in our book!

Thanks and best wishes, happy writing, Andrea.

Divorce Abroad

Hi Everyone, It is no surprise that expat divorce abroad is a hot topic. We get regular emails about this and we also see regular comments and articles on this topic elsewhere. Sad, but true.

If your relationship has not broken up abroad, chances are, you know someone's whose has. If you/they are looking for some recent information about divorce abroad, try some of these articles:

(1) Expat Confession: Divorce Abroad - this was one of the most-clicked-on features last October when it featured;

(2) Divorce Overseas: 10 Steps To Protect Your Children, by Frank Arndt, which is featured on our home page this month.

Marilyn Stowe has actually added some additional opinion to the bottom of this article since we first posted it, including:

"I also do not see why the employer who requires the move abroad, shouldn’t pay for such an agreement to be put in place, in the same way as the employment contract."

(3) We have also just published Divorce and You on our site, thanks to Divorce Coach Nicola Baume. Nicola's three-step article recovery article helps at home and abroad;

And/or try these articles that we saw on our Google Alert last week:

(4) Expat Divorce 'Simple' Says Leading Law Firm - Woolley & Co.; &

(5) Did Becoming A Shanghai Expat Ruin Your Marriage? - on Shanghaiist.com. If you are in Shanghai and have been through an expat break-up, Karen Mazurkewich is looking for you...

"Expats live in a parallel universe. While they are culturally fish-out-of-water they can also live glamorous lifestyles. And while it can be a great experience for some, there is also a dark side to expat life. I’d like to further explore the issue by asking the simple question: Can marriages survive the expat life?"

If you are going through a break-up abroad, we send our best wishes your way. Wishing you strength, Andrea.

Been To TravBuddy.com?

Hi Everyone, If you are an expat who enjoys looking at world maps and counting the number of places you have been to, or would like to go to, then take a look at TravBuddy.com.

We learned about it today, when approving one of the latest links on our Expat Women Blog Directory.

It's simple, but it's cool. Just sign up, then tick the places you have been to. It will then produce for you a map of the world, shading in the countries/areas that you have visited. It also tells you what percentage of the world you have been to - maybe to give you some incentive to travel more and see more. Smile.

You can also upload your end-results-map (in varying sizes) to your blog, FaceBook, MySpace account etc. Just a little fun...

Here are some official words about TravBuddy:

"TravBuddy is a site for people who love to explore the world around them. You can use TravBuddy to find travel buddies, record travel experiences in travel blogs, or share travel tips with travel reviews. You can register for free or take a tour to learn more about the site."

Good News For Expat Spouses In Malaysia

Hi Everyone, In the Permits Foundation newsletter this week, they announced that new regulations allow spouses to take paid employment in Malaysia:

"The Malaysian Immigration Department has published new regulations that allow spouses on a Dependent Pass to take paid employment after obtaining an endorsement in the passport by the Immigration Department. They no longer need their own Employment Pass or Visit Pass Temporary Employment.

A job offer is required and the employer needs to have approval from the relevant authority / agency (MIDA / MDEC / Central Bank of Malaysia / Securities Commission / Public Service Department of Malaysia).

At the same time, husbands of Employment Pass holders may now apply for a Dependant Pass. Previously, they were only eligible for a Long Term Social Visit Pass.

The application can be made in Malaysia and no fees are made for the endorsement to work, beyond the normal cost of a dependant's pass. The changes, which are effective 20 November 2008, are published at: http://www.imi.gov.my/eng/perkhidmatan/im_PegawaiDagang.asp#new"

Robin Pascoe's SE Asia Tour

Hi Everyone, If you are an expat woman in South East Asia, try and get along to one of Robin Pascoe's talks near you in February/March.

Robin Pascoe of the ExpatExpert.com is a well-known author and expert in expat family issues and has a lot of great knowledge, wisdom and wit to share.

She will be speaking in the following locations:

• Manila, The Philippines
• Jakarta, Indonesia
• Singapore
• Kuala Lumpur
• Bangkok, Thailand

Robin is being sponsored by Santa Fe Relocations, so we understand the presentations are fee-free (unless a small amount is charged by the club/association hosting it).

For more detailed information about the tour schedule, please visit Robin's blog here.

Thanks in advance - and best wishes Robin, Andrea.

FIGT Conference Speaker List

Hi Everyone, I have just read through the very impressive list of speakers at this year's upcoming Families in Global Transitions (FIGT) Conference and highly recommend that you take a look - either to convince you to attend, or to find some potentially great contacts for your business, especially if you work in one of the following fields or service one of the following clientele groups:

Relocation, TCKs (Third Culture Kids), Cross-Cultural Training, Coaching, Intercultural Studies, International Schools, Global Nomads, Personal Development, helping Military Families, Foreign Service Personnel, Linguistics, International Living and more.

There are 62 (!) speakers on the list - all of whom look like will add value to this year's conference in Houston, United States, March 5-7.

If you are planning to go to the conference, I'd love to meet you there. Just drop me a line. Thanks and best wishes, Andrea.

Happy Birthday ExpatWomen.com!

Hi Everyone, Yes, today we celebrate Expat Women's second birthday online. Thanks go out to every single one of you for your support thus far and thanks in advance for your ongoing support! Andrea

Expat Women January Newsletter

Hi Everyone, We have just finished sending out our Expat Women Members' Newsletter for January. If you are signed up and you did not receive the newsletter, please let us know here.

In addition to all of our January home page features, our newsletter showcases January's winning story, shares Rachel Farris' article Relocating Your Pet With The Right Vet and announces our monthly winner of the fabulous Explorer Publishing mini-guide pack.

Thanks and enjoy your day/evening! Andrea

Permits Foundation Global Survey Results

Hi Everyone, Breaking news... The summary report of the Permit Foundation's global survey last October is now available here.

"This survey examined the views of 3300 expatriate spouses and partners of 122 nationalities, currently accompanying international employees working in 117 host countries for over 200 employers in both the private and public sector.

It provides evidence that a lack of spouse or partner employment opportunities adversely affects global mobility of highly skilled international employees.

A few focused and simple improvements on the part of employers and governments can make a triple win for families, employers and the countries in which they work."

Very interesting reading - and definitely something you will need if you are formally presenting on topics in this arena. Happy reading!

Cross-Cultural Blunders

Hello Everyone, We came across a great article today entitled Results of Poor Cross-Cultural Awareness, written (in 2005) by Neil Payne at Kwintessential Cross-Cultural Solutions, which gives more than a dozen amusing examples of cross-cultural blunders.

Take a quick read... you might find something in it to use in one of your presentations one day, or something to laugh about in your general expat conversations, or at the very least, something to make you feel that your own cross-cultural mistakes have not been so bad after all!

International Mothers In Switzerland

Hi Everyone, If you are a mother in Switzerland and you have not yet discovered the non-profit online community Mamizeit, take a look and see if you like it. Mamizeit is a beautiful-looking site, run by Anne and Therese, that is looking for stories or childcare experiences from expat mothers in Switzerland. Help if you can.

If you are a member of an expat club or association, anywhere in the world, and we do not yet have a link to your expat club or association on our Expat Women country pages, please send us the link here and we will happily try to add the link to ExpatWomen.com. Many thanks.

Australian Expats & Repats

Hi Everyone, If you are an Australian living abroad (or recently returned home) and you have not heard of Advance, you might like to take a minute to check out their site.

It was not until Advance invited me (thanks to Sue Ellson of the Newcomers Network) to an event last month that I learnt about Advance - and I am impressed by their 11,000 (!) members, global reach and extensive industry networks.

By the way, I see on the Advance home page that a link to the Australian Woman of the Year in the UK Award, sponsored by Qantas. The inaugural winner of the award in 2008 was Glenda Stone (congratulations Glenda) who we interviewed as an Expat Women Success Story in 2007. I met Glenda at the event last month and she is lovely. If you are an Australian and would like to be in the running for 2009's award, visit the link above and good luck!

Can You Help PassportCareer.com?

Hi Everyone, A big thanks to all of the expats who have been helping Susan Musich with research for the launch of PassportCareer.com. Susan is looking for more researchers, so if you or anyone you know can help, please contact Susan directly for more information. Thanks.

Disclaimer: PassportCareer.com has agreed to provide a small donation to ExpatWomen.com for every researcher found through us, who completes an assignment for Susan. Every little bit helps!

New Locations For Which Susan Requires Expat Researchers

• Algeria
• Colombia
• El Salvador
• Egypt
• Macedonia
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Nicaragua
• Serbia
• Tunisia
• Uruguay
• Zambia

Old Locations For Which Susan Still Requires Expat Researchers

• China (Guangzhou, Nanjing, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Yangshou, Xiamen, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenyang and Xian)
• Equatorial Guinea
• Finland
• Germany (super urgent!)
• India (Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore positions)
• Ireland
• New Zealand
• Poland
• Thailand (Bangkok-based)
• United States (nearly all major US cities, except Seattle, Minneapolis, Austin, Houston, Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco)

Background

In case you have missed our previous blog posts, PassportCareer is looking for researchers to undertake a 20-25 hour research assignment, focussed on their current expat location, in return for a small honorarium per assignment. (Note: If multiple major cities are involved, the hours and honorium usually increase accordingly.)

Susan is looking for expatriates (male or female) in any of the locations listed above, who have been there for six months or more, and can commit to finishing the assignment if offered. Susan has been working in this arena for 18 years and is starting PassportCareer as on online job search support system for international professionals – primarily spouses/partners who accompany expats.

"The research includes using the country profile survey (and template) that will be provided to identify appropriate job search information relevant to expatriates who will be moving to your current country. Such information includes: web sites; business cultural information; social and business networks; resume and interview information relevant to the country in question; and other related job search material."

Winning Story: I'm Dating A Male Supermodel

Hi Everyone, Congratulations go out this month to Robin (an American in Qatar) who has again won our winning story of the month!

Robin's win this time was for her contribution I'm Dating A Male Supermodel.

Her previous win was for her first instalment of Tales of a Single Woman in the Middle East.

To read more of our Expat Women stories - and to help us out by submitting a story of your own - please visit this page. Your contributions really do make a difference.

Many thanks in advance, Andrea.

What's Your Passion?

Hi Everyone, we received an email today from Margie Warrell, an impressive Coach, Speaker and Author who would like to contribute to Expat Women.

Whilst reading Margie's site, we found a truly inspiring YouTube video about a guy named Paul Potts from Cardiff in the UK. If you have not seen it before, take 4 minutes out of your busy day to watch this. Paul is starting to take more risks to follow his passion. Are you...?