Missed Some Great Expat Links on Twitter? (April 26-27 edition)

Hi Everyone, I hope you have enjoyed a fabulous week! Here are some expat links I have tweeted recently that might interest you...

How Expat British Cook Rachel Khoo Got A Taste For Life In Paris
http://tgr.ph/IlnRVk

Clements Worldwide Announces Global Launch of its 4th Annual Expat Youth Scholarship
http://bit.ly/JuI9qM

5 Ways To Stay In Your Expat Bubble Abroad
http://bit.ly/INAYgq

Finding Love When You Least Expect It: An Expat's Story
http://bit.ly/IllKB6

Get Up Close Personal With "Expats" Author Chris Pavone
http://bit.ly/HSmzkz

Tips For Integrating Successfully Into A New Way Of Life Abroad
http://bit.ly/HJ1u6a

Can You Help An Honours Student With Her Survey?
Expatriate Stress & Coping With An Overseas Assignment
http://bit.ly/IBRrPu

Win An Entire AirAsia Plane Flight (Sydney to Kuala Lumpur) For You & 302 Friends
http://bit.ly/HwVbGw

5 Lessons Learned at 2012's FIGT Conference
http://bit.ly/HsnPof

April's Worldwide ERC Mobility Magazine
http://bit.ly/H5KhVs

Architect's Plan To Connect NY Buildings Via Bridges In The Sky
http://bit.ly/H5HOtZ

8 Mistakes Expats Make That Can Leave Them Feeling Disconnected
http://dld.bz/aXpF6

Repatriates Needed To Help @suziefinnie With Online Survey
http://svy.mk/HcBCBB

And a quote for the week... "Most people don't have you on their mind. Move forward and stop analyzing what you think they are thinking." by @teracarissa via @talentdiva

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To follow me in 'real time' and keep up with even more great expat links on Twitter, please click here.

If you reading this blog post online and you are not already an Expat Women member, please sign up here for if/when we restart our monthly, motivational newsletters.

Thanks for your support and I wish you a sensational day/evening! Andrea @andreaexpat

Fifty Percent Of New Expats Leave China Early

Hi Everyone, There was an interesting article of this title by Lara Farrar in the China Daily/Asia News Network recently. It starts...

"Almost half of new expatriates leave China early because they have difficulty adjusting to the lifestyle, a consultancy firm said.

China Transition Institute (CTI) president David Israel-Rosen said most foreigners are unprepared for what life will be like when they arrive in China. "It is moving from the West to the East," he said. "It is not like moving from Chicago to Denver."

"If you look at the literature, between 30 percent and 50 percent of expats go home early. The failure rates are astonishing."

Alan Kahn, vice president of marketing and communications for United Family Healthcare, said identity loss and depression are more widespread than many people realize.

"These are very real issues and they do have a significant impact," Kahn said. "It is very hard to ever fit in fully and that can cause lots of serious problems," he said."

Click here to read more.

Have You Been Repatriated With Your Current Employer In The Last Two Years?

Hi Everyone, If you are a professional female who has been repatriated with your current employer in the last two years, please consider helping Marcia Viera, a Master of Psychology student at the University of Western Australia, who is conducting a survey which needs more female responses.

"I am currently conducting some research into the repatriation process due to the high level of adjustment problems and turnover associated with repatriation after an international assignment...

I am hoping you may help me by distributing a link to a 20 minute online survey to your subscribers, requesting their confidential participation. I am particularly contacting you due to the high number of male responses and I am hoping to improve my research by getting a greater balance of gender amongst my participants. Thank you very much."

Researcher:
Marcia Vieira
Master of Psychology Student
vieirm01@student.uwa.edu.au
Ph: +61 407 507 373

Supervisor:
Professor John Cordery
Business School
john.cordery@uwa.edu.au
Ph: +61 8 6488 2006

Work Opportunity For Expatriates Or Repatriates In The United States

Hi Everyone, If you are currently an expatriate or repatriate in the United States, are you interested in the opportunity to work as a Destination Services Consultant for Coppergate International?

Kerrie Wiseman, Managing Director of Coppergate International, is currently looking for either expatriates living in the United States who could draw on their personal experience of relocating to help others move into their current location or for American Citizens who have relocated overseas and returned to the US.

With flexible hours, the role is perfect for spouses accompanying their partners on assignment or anyone without full-time work commitments.

Employees for all locations within the US will be considered, as Coppergate International’s business is growing rapidly.

However, the most urgent locations are:
IL: Chicago
FL: Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Sarasota
CA: Santa Clara Valley
GA: Atlanta, Savannah and Marietta
TX: Midland, Burleson
DC: Washington DC
MA: Attleboro, Boston and Lexington
NY: New York City
PA: Pittsburgh

If you are interested, please urgently:
(1) Visit Coppergate International's site to learn more about Coppergate International’s business; then
(2) Introduce yourself to Kerrie directly; and
(3) Kindly give Kerrie an overview of your expatriate experience, together with your reasons for being interested in this exciting role.

If you are not interested, please feel free to forward this to anyone you know who might be interested.

Many thanks, best wishes and good luck! Andrea

Disclaimer: Kerrie has generously agreed to make a small donation to Expat Women for each Destination Service Consultant appointed. Thanks for your support, Kerrie!

Returning A Child To The UK's School System: Obstacles To Repatriation

Hi Everyone, Here is another good article by an expat woman, published in The Telegraph UK last week: Returning A Child To The UK's School System, by Kate McCann.

An excerpt:

"The problem that the Carters had run into was that although they were returning to their own home, the admissions system treated them as "out of area applicants". This meant they were given a lower priority than other residents, simply because the system had to take account of the "current address" listed on the application as well as the future home address given. This meant their four-year-old daughter was refused a place at a school a mere five- minute walk from home. She was allocated position number 30 on a waiting list of 30."

Then further down the article:

"There is yet another area of concern for returning families – one which Ms Fieldman calls the 'chicken and egg situation' – and it affects those looking to buy homes on their return to the UK. She says: "This is what worries most people… you have to have an address in the catchment area of the school to apply to the school and you don't want to get an address until you know you've got the school. We find an awful lot of expats almost concede defeat before leaving the shores of where they are and say, right, we are going to go into the private system.""

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

Got Friends Leaving? Coping With The Expat Departure Season

Hi Everyone, Laura J Stephens' article Coping With The Departure Season, published by The Telegraph UK last week, might resonate with those of you currently doing the round of farewell parties and wondering which friends will actually be returning after the holiday season. Have a read, if you are interested.

Want To Write For The Telegraph UK?

By the way, The Telegraph UK is a great avenue to get started as a published writer. They invite expats to send their submissions about life as an expat (up to 1,000 words) here.

...and no, there's nothing in it for us by recommending their site... other than the hope that more of you write great expat pieces that we can then talk about on this blog. :-)

Repatriate Knowledge Sharing Survey

Hi Everyone, If you are a repatriate or you work with repatriates, Stacey M. Peterson would like to invite you to participate in a research study entitled Repatriate Knowledge Sharing Environment: Measure Development, which is associated with the Florida Institute of Technology.

"In this survey, approximately two hundred people will be asked to complete a survey that asks questions about the knowledge sharing practices of their organization. It will take approximately twenty minutes to complete the questionnaire... Your individual responses are anonymous and will not be shared with anyone at your organization..."

"To be eligible for this study, you must:

(a) Work at an organization which employs repatriate employees (you do not need to be a repatriate) or conducts international business; and

(b) Be employed at your current organization for a minimum of four months."

If you are able to help Stacey, please complete the survey here. For questions, please contact Stacey Peterson by email or phone (+1-321-674 -8104). Many thanks.

Do You Know Of Any Best-Practice Repatriation Management?

Hi Everyone, I am urgently searching for best-practice companies or governments who do a really good job of managing expatriates when they return 'home'. If you know any examples of superior repatriate management, please contact me urgently.

Many thanks, Andrea.

BBC - Radio 4 - Woman's Hour: Urgently Looking For Expats Who Returned...

...home to the UK, because they did not settle well in their expat posting abroad. Ideally, an accompanying wife/partner who was posted outside of Europe. If you can help, please get in touch via either their website or via Lydia Thomas urgently.

Thanks go to Marian Weston of Swift Transitions for this tip-off.