Expat Women May 2010 Home Page

Hi Everyone, We have just uploaded our Expat Women May 2010 home page. Please take a look, share it with your friends and tweet about it for us. Thank you!

Success Story
Lynda Armstrong OBE FEI
Technical VP, Shell International
Lynda Armstrong OBE FEI, awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003, has worked for Shell for more than 35 years in a variety of assignments around the world. Lynda’s current position is Technical Vice President with Shell International, based in the Netherlands...
Read more…

Business Idea
Masha Malka
Success Coaching
Masha Malka is a former Soviet refugee who has gone from living life with little clarity and focus to becoming a successful entrepreneur, best-selling author, international speaker and a mentor to many. She is a resident coach for the national radio station Talk Radio Europe in Spain and has done over 200 radio interviews...
Read more…

Motivational
Embracing the Pain and Power of Change
Nona Jordan
Living overseas can be a constant barrage of new and exciting experiences. However, even the most savvy and confident of women can get thrown off balance during the unexpected changes that life throws their way, resulting in painful body aches and/or emotions...
Read more…

Expat Confession
My Kids Are My All
Expat Women Girlfriend
I am a lawyer who gave up my own very successful practice to move abroad with my husband over 14 years ago. My husband travels extensively for work and I am worried that I am too attached to my children... my days revolve around my kids entirely and I willingly turn down social functions...
Read more…

Starting A Business
Got A Million Dollar Dream?
Learn From Tamara Monosoff
Former expat Tamara Monosoff is a mother and businesswoman who knows all about making dreams come true. Tamara made her own dreams come true when she invented and successfully sold her product in thousands of stores nationwide. She has also made the dreams of thousands of other mothers come true...
Read more…

Worldwide ERC® Event 
Insights From Asia Pacific Conference
Andrea Martins
Have you ever made a last-minute decision to attend a conference and then found yourself having such a wonderful time you wondered why you had never attended before? Well, that happened to me recently at the Worldwide ERC® conference in Hong Kong...
Read more…

Not A Member Yet?
Just a reminder that our blog is separate from our main site, so if you are reading this blog post online or you are only subscribed to our blog, you will not automatically receive our Expat Women monthly newsletters. To receive our newsletter this month (which will hopefully be sent next week) and to go in the running to win our monthly prize of a complete set of Explorer Publishing's Mini-Guides, please sign up today to our main site ExpatWomen.com, and also receive your link to our free e-book of Winning Stories!

Amazon Kindle Competition
We will be closing this competition today, 5pm NY time.  The winner be announced on this blog next week.

Thank you very much and have a fabulous May!  Andrea

Twitter Updates For Relocation & Conferences: What Have You Missed?

Hi Everyone, If you are interested in conference and/or relocation industry updates, here are some of my recent tweets (nearly all are not already on this blog) that might interest you:

Latest Cartus survey reveals new global relocation trends http://bit.ly/cr6c5v

WITI's Women and Technology Summit, San Jose, CA, 12-14 Sept 2010 http://bit.ly/clxECs

Brookfields' annual Global #Relocation Trends Survey released http://bit.ly/9YKJNL

Top 10 Global #Immigration Mistakes and How Companies Can Avoid Them - Free Webinar http://bit.ly/d6EeDU

43rd Atlas® Corporate Relocation Survey results: Less people willing to relocate. More short-termers http://bit.ly/bMDzqK @Atlas_Van_Lines

Forum for Expatriate Management holding Global Mobility Summit & Awards Dinner, New York, 4 Oct 2010 www.bit.ly/c0xcT7

Forum for Expatriate Management holding Global Mobility Summit & Awards Dinner, London, 15 Nov 2010 http://bit.ly/92ypX2

The sold-out EuRA Conference in Palma this week has been postponed until April due to ash havoc http://bit.ly/aW7w8x

Some of the speakers lined up for the first Fearless #Woman Summit in Atlanta, June 16-17 http://bit.ly/aeupgX

School Choice appoints Global Mobility expert Timothy Dwyer as new COO http://bit.ly/crhoj9 Read our i/v with CEO Liz http://bit.ly/aeaHPX

Did you go to the FIGT Conference in March? If yes, you might yourself in @crossingculture 's photos http://bit.ly/ch0cmZ

Mark your calendar: Next FIGT conference: Mar 17-19, 2011, Washington, DC. Subscribe for updates http://www.figt.org RT @crossingculture

Effective Parenting Conference Dubai 24 April Our friend Becky Grappo speaking: 'How To Get Kids To Think About T'row' http://bit.ly/ab8AfH

PwC's 'Talent mobility 2020: The Next Generation of International Assignments' expects 50% more expats http://bit.ly/aBDZEY RT @expatsguide

Info evening Paris (18 May) http://bit.ly/bB8MHh about Women's International Networking (W.I.N.) conference (6-9 Oct) Paris

Please click here if you would like to follow me in 'real time' on Twitter.  Thanks.  Andrea. :-)

Expat Women: Do You Have A Story To Share?

Hi Everyone, Do you have an expat story to share about an experience you have had abroad?  If so, we would l-o-v-e to hear from you, because every month we select a winning story to showcase in our monthly newsletter and we are always in need of great stories!  See our Read The Stories section here. Submit your story here.  Thank you!  Andrea

Twitter Updates For Writers: What Have You Missed?

Hi Everyone, If you are interested in 'all things writing' but you are not following me on Twitter, here are some writers' tidbits (not mentioned already in this blog) that I have tweeted recently, that you might enjoy...

Are you a mother and a writer? 6 writing opportunities for you http://bit.ly/cAE7jN Thanks to @HOHWWriter

12 steps to your Amazon bestseller - Tips from Stephanie Hale on @JoParfitt's blog http://bit.ly/cVdb4U

Opportunity for writers age 18-34 to be a Glimpse Correspondent for National Geographic http://bit.ly/aaDjiH via @WriterAbroad

London Book Fair went ahead, but attendance down 20%, numerous exhibitor stands empty & Tony Blair event cancelled http://bit.ly/csxF5e

Book Expo America (BEA) coming up next month! May 25 - 27 New York Headlined by Barbra Streisand http://bit.ly/a155b4

2010 Expat & Work Abroad Writing Contest Winners http://bit.ly/bMuwM6 Special congrats: Expat Women member Wendy Hollands (runner-up)!

Want to sell your books? Best 5 tips from book promo seminar in London last weekend thanks to @JoParfitt http://bit.ly/aozFzh (scroll down)

Writing and/or just about to publish a book? Read Anna M.Clark's experience on literary agent blog @rachellegardner http://bit.ly/cMH6hu

Excellent interview with expat author of Career In Your Suitcase @joparfitt about publishing and marketing your books http://bit.ly/bRuBl

Huffington Post List of 50 best book people on Twitter! RT @Thandelike @riverheadbooks http://ow.ly/1wvmV

Writers’ workshops around the world http://bit.ly/ddBcyp RT @Thandelike

How to judge, and sell, a book by its cover http://bit.ly/8YAGGA RT @JoParfitt

If you would like to follow me in 'real time' on Twitter, please click here. Thanks, Andrea.

Got A Million Dollar Dream?

Hi Everyone, Next week we are featuring on our Expat Women May home page an interview with Mom Invented®'s Tamara Monosoff about her new book, Your Million Dollar Dream (affiliate link). 

Interestingly, I have been a fan of Tamara's ever since I went through my 'inventing ideas' stage several years ago.  About a month ago, I came across her name again online and started following her on Twitter.  She followed me back and sent a direct message with some great feedback about ExpatWomen.com and told me that she used to be an expat in Hong Kong.  Then a couple of weeks later when she talked about her upcoming book on Twitter, I asked for a review copy and whallah (!)... Tamara sent me the only PDF copy she has sent to anyone... and it was at that moment that I was thinking that Twitter really was a powerful connecting medium. :-)

Tamara's New Book

In short, Tamara's Your Million Dollar Dream is an excellent book for any new business person.  It talks about finding the 'right' business for you.  It talks about matching your personality with your business.  It covers (US-focused, but useful for any country) funding/financing.  And it spends a few chapters on email marketing, blogs, social media and social networking (aimed at business owners just starting to explore these marketing channels, rather than the already-savvy social media mavens).  It has some wonderful success stories scattered throughout as examples.  Plus, it includes some fabulous motivational quotes (which are now hanging on my wall).

Why Tell You Now?

We are sharing a little of our May feature early because we want to help Tamara to get on the Amazon bestseller list on April 28...

If you are interested in buying her new book, please think about buying it on April 28 US time rather than sometime next month, because April 28 is the day she is celebrating her book launch by giving way lots of bonus extras for anyone who buys the book from Amazon.com, as well as being the day she is trying to get on the Amazon bestseller list.

Many thanks!  Andrea

Tamara's Bio

"Tamara Monosoff is an American mother and businesswoman who knows all about making dreams come true. Tamara made her own dreams come true when she invented and successfully sold her award-winning TP Saver® product in thousands of stores nationwide. She has also made the dreams of thousands of other mothers come true through her company Mom Invented® and her best-selling books The Mom Inventors Handbook: How To Turn Your Great Idea into the Next Big Thing; Secrets of Millionaire Moms: Learn How They Turned Great Ideas into Booming Businesses; and The One Page Business Plan for Women in Business (co-authored with Jim Horan).

Since May 2004, Tamara and her products have been featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, The New Yorker, Time, People, US News & World Report, Oprah and Fortune Small Business magazines. Tamara has appeared on ABC’s The View, NBC’s Today Show, NBC’s Nightly News, ABC’s Good Morning America Weekend, The Bloomberg Report, BusinessWeek TV, CNN News live, CNNfn, CNNSaturday, CNNMoney, CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, CNBC’s The Wall Street Journal Report, AOL, ABC News Now, The WB Network, Inside Edition as well as over 100 local TV media outlets across America.

Prior to founding Mom Invented®, Tamara worked in Washington D.C. in the Clinton Administration where she served as Senior Communications Associate for the President's Initiative on Race at the White House, Education Director for the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, and Chief of Staff for the Office of Vocational and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education. She also worked as an expat in Hong Kong."

Tamara has received several business awards and is a frequent speaker on Entrepreneurship and Women and Leadership. She has a Masters (MA) and Doctorate Degree (Ed.D.) from the University of San Francisco, and a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara."  ExpatWomen.com

Stay tuned for Tamara's interview on our May home page and in our May newsletter.  (Please sign up here for our newsletters if you are not already a member of our main Expat Women site.  Thanks.)

Expat Parents - Does Your Child Have A Relocation Adjustment Story?

Hi Everyone, One of my favourite Expat Women business entrepreneur interviewees, Rev. Macarena Rose (read her interview with us here) is looking for expat parents to share their child's adjustment stories please, for a book that she is writing...

"Are you willing to share your child's story about what it was like to move abroad?  Did your child have a funny story about how they acclimated to their new home? Was it a tough adjustment?  What was 'new' to them? If yes, I would love to hear from you here.  Many, many thanks!  Macarena"

Hurry... Amazon Kindle Competition Ending

Hi Everyone, Just one final blog reminder that our Amazon Kindle competition (win one for you and one for your friend!) closes April 30.  If you have not told all your expat women friends to join, please do so today.  Thanks for your support!  Andrea

W.I.N. Conference in Paris This October

Hi Everyone, It is very exciting that the 2010 W.I.N. (Women's International Networking) conference will be in Paris, France!

If you have not been to a W.I.N. conference, I can personally attest that they are warm, friendly, open, inviting and full of great networking opportunities with wonderful women from all different countries... although that said, more women based in Europe seem to attend than women based elsewhere, but that is a natural consequence of the conferences always being held in Europe... and as the Seinfeld saying goes... "not that there's anything wrong with that!" :-)

If you are looking for inspiration, I encourage you to consider going this year to W.I.N. in Paris, October 6 - 8 (9).

Registration opens May 1st.

If you are looking to inspire, hurry and submit your proposal to speak at the conference! They typically involve 120 - 150 speakers, workshop leaders and coaches - again testimony to their 'open' philosophy, which I applaud them for. Deadline for speaking proposals is 10 May. Speakers will not be paid, but will only need to pay the discounted price of 795 Euros to attend the conference. To see who spoke last year, just click here.


W.I.N. Conference: Realizing Visions, with Clarity, Enthusiasm and Care

"The W.I.N. 2010 global leadership conference is the 13th in a series of visionary leadership events that inspire thousands of women, enhance their careers and improve business practices. Be a part of it:

Learn- from world-class speakers about current trends, politics, humanity, and work-life balance

Discover- the importance of giving and receiving support to realize your vision

Be Inspired- by stories from successful professional women working around the world

Gain- new personal and professional skills through our 40 outstanding workshops

Create- Business connections and alliances within a dynamic international network

During the three-day interactive forum, we will explore the authentic journey and the importance of how you do all you do as a way towards realizing your vision. As we discover clarity, truth, beauty and how your enthusiasm can help mobilize others. Panel sessions and workshops are complemented by social and professional networking events and free one-on-one coaching sessions."


Super Spring Offer
Save over 200 Euros off regular registration prices from May 1 -10:
Standard Ticket 1000 Euros (Applies to all professional participants (entrepreneurs, consultants, corporations etc).
Subsidized ticket 700 Euros (For women in transition, students, pensioners, NGO members, individuals.)
*No additional discounts apply

Normal Early Bird Discount
11 May – 31 June
Standard Ticket 1295 Euros
Subsidized Ticket 995 Euros
*Ask for a 100 Euro Expat Women discount

Full Rates
1 July – 20 September
Standard Ticket 1595 Euros
Subsidized Ticket 1095 Euros
*Ask for a 100 Euro Expat Women discount

For more details, please click here.

Have fun everyone who goes! Andrea

'I Am Not A Tourist' 2010 Expat Fairs in Madrid, Brussels and Amsterdam

Hi Everyone, If you are an expat (or soon-to-be-expat) in Spain, Belgium or the Netherlands, I encourage you to check out Expatica's 'I Am Not A Tourist' Fairs coming up this year...

The first will be in Brussels, Belgium, on Sunday 6 June at the Espace53 (Autoworld). Free tickets here.

Next, they are running their very first Madrid-based Fair on Saturday 12 June at the Hilton Madrid Airport Hotel. Free tickets here.

Then on Sunday 10 October, they will run their 7th annual 'I Am Not A Tourist' Fair in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, at the Beurs van Berlage. (I went last year and it was lots of fun!) Free tickets will be available in a month or so.

Last but not least, they are running a second Fair in Brussels, Belgium, same venue as in June, on Sunday 17 October. Free tickets.

Expatica, who now cover eight countries (the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg) on their website - with a ninth on the way soon - know a lot about what it is like to be an expat, so if you are in (or moving to) any of their Fair locations, mark your diaries and go along to see what they have gathered for you!

Looking For Expat Women Entrepreneurs Whose Businesses Turn Over US$1 Million

Hello Everyone, We are on the hunt for more expat women entrepreneurs whose businesses turn over US$1 million or more, to interview in our Success Stories section,

If you can think of anyone who meets the criteria, please drop us a line and point us in the right direction. I am sure there are lots more successful expat women out there and we would love to profile them!

Many thanks in advance for your help, Andrea.

3 Tips for Expat Freelance Work

Hi Everyone, Earlier today I spent a few hours looking for service providers on Elance (a site that I have used successfully in the past) - a highly-reputable site for posting jobs and searching for service providers.

Given how many emails cross my desk and/or how many blogs that come our way that are written by expat women who are freelance writers, freelance designers, freelance photographers, freelance everything, I thought I would start my search today by reviewing the profiles of expats listed.

To my absolute shock, of the 107,640 people listed on Elance as freelancers looking for work, only 84 came up in the search results for the term "expat" and only 73 for the term "expatriate" - and in both cases, many of the people showing in the results were not even expats! (I am thinking that the results grab anyone's record that has the term "expat" or "expatriate" in it, even if the term is listed in their previous work projects completed or similar).

Now, I find this mind-boggling because I am going to bet two things: first, that there are a lot more expats than this who have registered on Elance because they are looking for work; and of the 'invisible' expats looking for work on Elance, a high proportion of them would be very interested in doing work for expat-related sites. Agree?

Tip 1: If you are looking for expat freelance work, take five minutes to go now and update your profile on any freelance site on which you are registered as looking for work. Otherwise, how can expat sites or relocation-related companies find you and learn about your expat/relocation-related experience and expertise?

Tip 2: While you are updating your profile, think not just about what work you have done in the past, think carefully about what work you would like to be 'found' for and make sure these keywords are on your profile as well.

Tip 3: Here are some great links that I dug up on our site that might interest/inspire you as an expat freelancer:

Article: Working Virtually: A Great Way to Earn Additional Income, written for us last year by Jean Stone on behalf of Jobs Online

Interview with Michelle Goodman last year: Author of My So-Called Freelance Life: How To Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire

Some Freelance-Related Links: On our Jobs & Careers page

Here's wishing you success on your freelance job hunt! Andrea

EuRA Conference This Week Postponed

Hi Everyone, After tweeting last week a congratulatory note to EuRA that their conference scheduled for this week in Palma de Mallorca was sold out, I felt really bad for all involved today when they announced that their conference has been postponed now to April 2011 (in Palma), due to the ash havoc disrupting so many flights to/from/within Europe. Our thoughts go out to EuRA and to everyone planning to attend.

To compensate a little, here's a shout-out for EuRA:
"European Relocation Association (EuRA) is an industry body for Relocation Professionals in both Europe and Worldwide. EuRA launched in Brussels in May 1998 in response to the increasing demand for an industry body. The launch was the result of a year of international co-operation. To date EuRA has over 236 members worldwide."

Expat Women April 2010 Newsletter

Hi Everyone, We sent our Expat Women members' newsletter out last week, so if you are a member but did not receive our newsletter, please write to us here.

April Newsletter

In addition to our April Expat Women home page features, our newsletter included:

* The name of our Explorer Publishing mini-guide pack winner;

* Our winning story by Expat Women member Leah (an American in Croatia), entitled Studio-less in Zagreb; and

* Healing Hearts, a wonderful excerpt (thanks to Skyhorse Publishing) from Emily Liebert's new book, Facebook Fairytales.

If you are not a member of our main site, ExpatWomen.com, please join today to support us (and receive a link to download our free Expat Women e-book "Winning Stories"). This will also mean that next month your newsletter will be delivered directly to your inbox.

Thanks and have a fabulous day/evening! Andrea

Just Released: Brookfields' Annual Global Relocation Trends Survey (2010)

Hi Everyone, Hot off the press is today's publication of the annual Brookfield Global Relocation Services' (formerly GMAC Global Relocation Services') 2010 Global Relocation Trends Survey Report, which surveyed 120 multinational firms (which manage a combined worldwide employee population of 5.8 million). Key findings:

46% of multinational companies reported a decrease in the number of international assignments last year (the highest rate in the 15-year history of the survey);

Only 17% of international assignees were women (the lowest percentage in nearly a decade);

Only 47% of international assignees had families with children (an all-time low);

A mere 8% of expatriates were new hires (the lowest in the survey’s 15-year history); and

Interestingly, 35% of companies said they provide media-based or Web-based training, as alternatives to face-to-face cross-cultural training (an all-time high).

Are expatriate partners working abroad? Only 9% percent of expatriate partners were employed both before and during assignments (another all-time low, as the historical average is 14%).

What about 'the family'? Still, the most commonly cited reason for candidates turning down assignments were family concerns, partner’s career, and employee career aspirations. Family concerns also topped the list of reasons for early return from an assignment.

What did they find out about expatriate versus non-expatriate employees? Expatriates received promotions more quickly (33%), but expatriates also changed employers more often (28%).

Where are most people being sent? The United States, China, then the United Kingdom.

Where is it the most challenging? Again, China, India and Russia, for expatriates. India (replacing China this year), for corporate international assignment policy and program managers.

Where do assignments fail the most? China, India and then (yes, this is not a typo) the United States.

What happens to repatriates? "Increasingly, expatriates are leaving companies during the first year after repatriation – 38 percent this year compared to 35 percent in 2009 (the 15-year historical average is 22 percent). This is due to the fact that employees were unable to find jobs at these companies upon their return due to the weak economy and some cases were laid-off."

This report is always an excellent compilation of mobility industry trends. If you work in the mobility industry and you do not already receive a full copy of this annual report, you can request one here.

To register for Brookfield's free webinar presenting their findings of the survey on Tuesday 20 April, please click here. Thanks. Andrea.

Upcoming Worldwide ERC® Events

Hi Everyone, If you work in the mobility field, you might be interested in some of the upcoming Worldwide ERC® Events on offer...

Global Mobility Specialist (GMS™) Training
May 17-19, 2010
Orlando, Florida

National Relocation Conference
May 19-21, 2010
Orlando, Florida

Global Mobility Specialist (GMS™) Training
June 7-9, 2010
Frankfurt, Germany

Global Workforce Summit: Focus on Europe, Middle East & Africa
June 10-11, 2010
Frankfurt, Germany

Global Mobility Specialist (GMS™) Training
October 25-27, 2010
Seattle, Washington

National Relocation Conference
May 18-20, 2011
Las Vegas, Nevada

Global Workforce Symposium
October 12-14, 2011
Denver, Colorado

For more details, please visit the Worldwide ERC® website. Thanks.

7 Habits Of A Happy Expat

Hi Everyone, Margarita Gokun Silver has contributed a new article to our site that might interest you, or someone you know, entitled 7 Habits of a Happy Expat.

Margarita is the Founder of the Global Coach Center, a coaching firm that specializes in Cross-Cultural Coaching and Training for expatriates, multinational managers, global leaders, and those involved in multicultural relationships, either at work or at home. She runs the Ask A Cross-Cultural And Expatriate Coach LinkedIn group and is a regular contributor to a variety of other expat groups and sites.

If you would like to contribute an article to Expat Women, ideally of 1000 words or more, I invite you to please review what we already have on our main site, then to send your great ideas here. Thanks. Andrea.

Great Interview With CRAVE's Melody Biringer

Hi Everyone, I wanted to share with you this great Seattle Woman Magazine interview with the highly personable Melody Biringer, who I had the pleasure of meeting last October when we were both visiting Amsterdam.

Melody started The CRAVE Company, whose catchphrase is "An Urban Girl's Guide To All That You Crave", back in 2001, releasing the first CRAVEguide in Seattle in 2002.

She now has fifteen CRAVEguides on her site, including two for Canada and one for The Netherlands. She runs CRAVEparties and CRAVEbusiness - and knowing Melody, she probably runs a lot more.

Melody is not an expat woman but she is an inspiring one. Read right to the bottom of her interview and you will see her most important entrepreneurial lessons - learned from starting over 20 businesses.

Go Melody!

Interdean's PanEuropean Mobility Challenges Report 2010

Hi Everyone, Relocation company Interdean recently published their commissioned PanEuropean Mobility Challenges Report in which the following five themes emerged from the 137 surveyed companies (operating international relocation programmes out of Europe):

1. Cost control is king;
2. Keeping up to date with tax compliance is a priority;
3. Talent management is of most importance to large relocators;
4. Repatriation management is critical in Scandanavia; and
5. KPIs are still key to relocation programmes.

The 36-page report also provides individual results for: the UK; France; Germany; Switzerland; Benelux; Iberia; Scandanavia; and Central Europe. It also compares large versus small relocators.

To read the full report, please click here. Thanks.

Twitter Updates: What Have You Missed?

Hi Everyone, Here are some of the tidbits (not mentioned in this blog) that I have tweeted about recently, that might be of interest:

Fabulous list of Social Media events coming up! (Multiple countries) Thanks @mashable http://bit.ly/a1vgrT

Gilman Scholarships deadline 6 April! For US undergrad students planning to study abroad http://ow.ly/1uKlU
RT @goinglobal @ConnectStateGov

The 14th annual WebAwards are now open. Awards given in 96 industry categories. Entries close May 25.
http://www.webaward.org/

Hats off to @talentdiva for switching directions at 40. Already her radio show has 5000 listeners and her mag due soon!
http://bit.ly/dCNaDM

1 in 10 British pensioners are #expats? Maybe more?
http://bit.ly/c6fDzo

Travelling in the U.S.? Find wireless options for U.S. airports
http://ow.ly/1uOPA
RT @goinglobal

Loved this cartoon about Twitter on Social Media Examiner
http://bit.ly/9kqT8v

10 Social Media Metrics Your Company Should Monitor
http://bit.ly/aQU6Id
via @addthis

If you would like to follow me in 'real time' on Twitter, please click here. Thanks, Andrea.

Expat Expert Blog: Would You Like To Contribute?

Hi Everyone, An update on our friend and a mentor to many expatriate families, Robin Pascoe, who was recently honoured with Jo Parfitt as a "Trailblazer" at the March FIGT Conference.

Robin has given closure to her piano blog this week, having figured out now the next step in her career/life (...stay tuned...) and she has also put a call out for guest contributors to her Expat Expert blog.

If you are interested, here are Robin's guidelines:

"1. ExpatExpert.com is devoted to the needs of the expat family and in particular the accompanying partner and children. Your content must have some semblence of a family component to it, OK?

2. Postings should be no longer than 500 words tops, shorter would be even better.

3. It's perfectly all right to re-blog (is that like re-gift, or re-tweet?) something you have already written on your own blog...

4.....and absolutely give me the URL of your own blog, website, Facebook fan page, whatever. I am here to promote you as well as your writing so I need all the relevant info in order to do that. If there is a picture, even better! I think even I can manage to upload a photo.

5. It would be super (but not necessary) to conclude your posting with a provocative question or just simple question that might inspire some discussion. I'd like to encourage readers to 'talk amongst themselves.'

6. How-to-do-this: Go to my contact page and write to me about your idea for a submission. Together, we will take it from there."

Robin's site and blog are very well-read and respected in the expat/mobility field. So, if you have something valuable to contribute, you might benefit from some nice exposure. :-)

Survey About Cultural Adaptation: Can You Help Jessie?

Hi Everyone, Jessie Wilson is looking for survey respondents please to her survey about how individuals adapt to living in new cultural environments. If you can help, either click the survey link, email Jessie or email her research supervisor, Professor Colleen Ward.

Many thanks, on behalf of Jessie Wilson, PhD Candidate, Centre for Applied Cross-Cultural Research School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, NZ.