Hi Everyone, I hope you having a wonderful week! Here are some expat links I have tweeted recently that might interest you...
Can You Live On Social Media Alone? These Two Travelers Swap Cities To Find Out
http://tnw.co/z1zxZK
Expat Belgian Guy Finds Tasmania (Australia) An Unlikely Market, But An Excellent Source Of Ingredients For Chocolate House
http://on.ft.com/yOjcCH
Notes On No Longer Feeling Like An Expat
http://bit.ly/A3oARm
Thinking Of Volunteering To Build Houses In Cambodia? Read Robin Pascoe's (aka Expat Expert's) Report
http://bit.ly/xNEJrK
Big in Japan: A Look At Some Of The Most Popular Western Exports To The Land Of The Rising Sun
http://tgr.ph/zRChuB
When Expats Become Trapped Abroad
http://bit.ly/yW89zK
U.S. Proposing Wide Ranging Plan To Curb Expat Tax Dodgers
http://on.wsj.com/z6SiH0
Expats Flock to India Seeking Jobs, Excitement
http://nyti.ms/yuTEN8
Our Friend Adrienne Graham (aka @talentdiva) Has Turned Her Popular Article "No, You Can't Pick My Brain, It Costs Too Much" Into A Book - Check It Out
http://bit.ly/xjbUFJ
A Powerful Video (For Parents Everywhere, Not Just Expat Parents)...
Photos, Smart Phones And Social Media - A Terrifying NBC Report (2010) - And How You Can Change Your Phone's Settings
http://bit.ly/xCrdOD
New U.S. State Department Warning Maps Out Unsafe Areas Of Mexico
http://lat.ms/xoNhqF
Reminder: Competition for UAE Residents:
"Could You Be The Next Ultimate UAE Explorer?"
http://bit.ly/w1DWFM
Reminder: Expat Partners Wanted To Complete Questionnaire/Research On Career Choices/ Aspirations Whilst Overseas
http://fb.me/1jXycz62D
Reminder: Expat Women In Dubai And Abu Dhabi, UAE: Interested In Part-Time Work With SIRVA Relocation?
http://bit.ly/zwKYbb
And our quote of the week...
“We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.”
Whitney Houston
***
To follow me in 'real time' and keep up with even more great expat links on Twitter, please click here.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Missed Some Great Expat Links on Twitter? (Feb 15-16 edition)
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Insights from Robin Pascoe, who Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Her First Book for Expats
Hi Everyone, Our wonderful friend Robin Pascoe, well known for her books about expat living, recently celebrated her 20th anniversary of the publication of her first book for expats (congrats Robin!). She reflected on this milestone on Facebook recently, and kindly gave us permission to republish her insights here for your easy reading...
From Robin Pascoe on 12 January 2012:
"I’m always telling people not to ignore important milestones in their lives, but did I mention I rarely take my own advice?
It’s the 20th anniversary of the publication of my first book for expats, indeed an anniversary of the first expat book that told wives it was OK to be angry and resentful of their husbands and to wonder, who the hell am I anyway?
Originally published in 1992 as “The Wife’s Guide to Successful Living Abroad”, in 1993 as “Culture Shock: A Wife’s Guide" but finally, under my own Expatriate Press, re-issued and updated in 2009 and given the title I wanted for it all along, “A Broad Abroad”, it was so much fun to put into words and print what so many women were feeling but no one was saying!
So today, in acknowledging this important milestone in my life (you always remember your first!) here are five great memories I associate with this book:
Of the many rejections I received when sending out the manuscript, my favourite that made me laugh out loud was from a Hong Kong publisher who wrote to me and said: “Expat wives have servants. Why do they need a book?”
The night the publisher in Singapore called me. We were living in Beijing and it had been months since I had sent them the manuscript. The managing editor apologized for just finding it, but she wanted it. I cheekily suggested there should be a follow up book for parents and the editor said, “start writing that now.”
My Chinese cook (yes, ok, I had a cook) came to where I was sitting at the phone, completely unravelled with joy, carrying a tray with a double shot of scotch and a cigarette for me. (No cook, no smoking and actually, no drinking anymore since I lost my fear of flying and no longer need to be fuelled by vodka).
The day the books arrived in Beijing I had a choice: I could go to the airport and be the first to open the boxes containing my new baby. Or I could attend a piano recital of my first baby (an 8-year-old Lilly). I chose my daughter and never regretted it.
My first speaking tour: Husband Rodney said, “You should go to promote the book in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore since you have friends in all three places who would be sure to help you.”
Me? “You mean: alone???”
Never mind that he pushed me out of the nest and my comfort zone, it was in Tokyo that I attended a lecture given by Dave Pollock whose Third Culture Kid bible was still years away from publication. I gave Dave a copy of my new book (since he’s quoted in it) and when he got up to speak to the school audience, the first words out of his mouth were: “I have just been given a book that I know everyone in this room will want to read.” A great friendship and mentorship was born. Like so many people, I still miss him.
Weeks after that first tour: I was sitting at the dining room table in Beijing with my then 3-year-old-son Jay reading a three week old Hong Kong paper, the South China Morning Post. Scanning the book page, I was, as the Brits say, gobsmacked.
“Mommy has the #1 bestseller in Hong Kong, Jay. Eat your carrots.” It was the beginning of leading a life I didn’t participate in (or know about) most of the time.
I realize I could probably write a hundred great stories associated with this book but won’t bore everyone to death. However, I have saved one last great memory that I cherish the most: The countless women who came up to me during my years on the road and said, “Thank you for writing this, Robin.”
Remarkably, the book (and all of the ones which followed) are still selling after all these years!
Find yourself in my books, as I used to say..."
Note: Robin retired from expat writing last year, but her books and videos are still available on her website, ExpatExpert.com.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Missed Some More Great Expat Links on Twitter? (30 May 2011)
PS. If you missed the Expat Links blog post a few days ago (for 26-27 May), just click here. Thanks.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Missed Some Great Expat Links on Twitter?
Hi Everyone, Here are some expat-related articles and links that I have tweeted about recently, that might interest you:
Top 10 Tips for a Successful Expat Assignment
Should You Move Abroad or Will It Destroy Your Family?
And this one... which is not expat-specific (unless you are in Bermuda), but which I loved all the same... For 40+ years, guy says "I Love You" to commuters each work morning in Bermuda :-)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Robin Pascoe's Expat Blogella:The Rest of My Life
Hi Everyone, If you have ever read books written specifically for expats, there is a good chance that you have read one of Robin Pascoe's books. Robin is well-known for her witty expat books and I know many of you enjoy reading what Robin gets up to. Many of you have also met Robin when she was on the international speaking circuit, championing 'the expat family' for so many years.
Trying to retire from the speaking circuit, last year Robin launched a Successful Living Abroad series of 20 online video lectures, that you can enjoy for free here. And now, Robin has taken a leap of faith and launched her own Expat Blogella: The Rest of My Life.
Robin's new blogella is expat fiction (although when you read the characters, you realize that Robin has based her fiction on people you have probably met in your expat travels, so whilst it is fiction in terms of Robin's family life, it is quite close to the truth for many expats who have either survived or witnessed the heartbreak of infidelity and/or divorce abroad - and for that reason, it certainly makes a good read).
So far, Robin has posted six installments on The Rest of My Life - the blog of her new fictional character, Joelly Schuster. If you are interested, you can read them all here, or if you'd just like a sample, you can read the first installment below. (Thanks Robin for granting us permission to re-post it.)
Happy Friday/weekend reading! Andrea
Installment One
"I have to begin somewhere, so why not today when I have been 53-years-old for just over twenty-four hours? Yesterday wasn’t the greatest birthday I have ever celebrated but it wasn’t the worst either. My lovely daughter took me out to a fancy restaurant because she didn’t want me to be alone.
She’s worried about her old mother in this new life which no longer includes her father since he recently ditched me, in Beijing of all places. Naturally, it was for a woman half his age and younger than our daughter.
There is a reason clichés were invented. Bumper stickers too, like “Shit Happens”. They can be incredibly useful for summing up one’s life.
Maybe I could write bumper stickers instead of a taking a job as a barista at the Starbucks in the market. God knows I have served enough coffee in my life. I keep threatening to become a professional milk whipper because I’m now completely broke and it would seem, unemployable because of my age and a blank CV.
My daughter isn’t the only one fretting about what I am going to do now with the rest of my life (yes, it is the perfect title for this blog if I do say so myself). My son Brian isn’t exactly thrilled about his mother’s new and extremely reduced circumstances.
Barely out of college, the poor guy has his whole working life ahead of him (once he figures out what he wants to work at) but already he’s been offering his mother the money he has been saving up for a car. What a good son I raised. But I’ll crawl to the supermarket before I will let him give me his hard-earned money.
Brian is so angry with his father right now, but what else is new? He’s been mad at him his entire life because he was simply never there. He was always on a business trip or working late for whatever oil company was controlling our lives at the time, always too tired if he was home on a weekend to coach any of Brian’s school teams.
I suppose I’ll have to get to that story at some point in this cyber diary with its clever title chosen precisely because I haven’t got a ******* clue what to do with the rest of my sorry little life.
Am I even allowed swearing on a blog? Too damn bad if I’m not supposed to since I’ve already been at it. My son isn’t the only one with anger issues obviously or so says the shrink I lined up before I even arrived in Ottawa.
Wait, am I supposed to even say where I’m living? Is there an instruction manual anywhere other than Blogging for Dummies which I saw in the bookstore? And does there happen to be a version for menopausal idiots who can barely remember to finish a sentence?
Please leave a comment and a link, dear reader. All one of you and that does not include you, Deborah (that’s my daughter). You don’t count. It’s your fault for even talking me into this in the first place."
Monday, January 17, 2011
Missed Some Great Expat Links on Twitter?
Hi Everyone, Here are some expat-related articles and links that I have tweeted about recently, that might interest you:
Expat Survey says it's the leisure time, not the money, that's better abroad
http://bit.ly/c0ZWTh
Top 10 Places for Women Expats
http://bit.ly/bVyQ5S
Loved new video promo for book by expat trailing man Alan Paul who reinvented himself in China
http://youtu.be/tAth-nW9L5U
Top International Women to Follow on Twitter
http://ht.ly/3hb9K
Why Should Expat Families Abroad Care About the Boarding School or College/University Visit?http://bit.ly/d1b00t
Ex-Career Expat Wives - Your thoughts?
http://wp.me/ptOFQ-mG
Expat study suggests that providing too much support may actually hinder workplace performance
http://bit.ly/crMypE
Got $500k to $1million to invest in the U.S. economy to fast track your U.S. citizenship?
http://ow.ly/2ZCjJ
Well-known author of expat books, Robin Pascoe, releases new repatriate "blogella"
http://t.co/55kLAqV
Article Writing: Interview with Expat Writing Coach Jo Parfitt
http://bit.ly/gtss5h
Want To Know Who's Speaking At The 2011 FIGT Conference?
http://www.figt.org/2011_Conference_Schedule
Moving to London, Geneva, Zurich, Hong Kong, Singapore or Dubai?
Check out http://www.lookseecity.com/ - they just won industry award
Expat Wives: Blog Post for You
http://bit.ly/fJ1xEl
British expat woman in Turkey raising funds to help train families still recovering from earthquake of 1999
http://bit.ly/hrMW4K
Expats: Online Magazine for Parents Raising Little Global Citizens
http://incultureparent.com/
Expat Issues: Cauldrons of Cultural Complexity, Deal-Breaking Weather, Fashion Faux-Pas
http://bit.ly/a7NcCN
Expat Women moving to the U.S.? Check out Girlfriend Circles to meet new friends in your area
http://bit.ly/hlwUbC
Funny: Expats Helping to Re-Write Chinglish Signs In Shanghai
http://bit.ly/fzG7BF
Expats: Looking For The 'Good Life' in France?
http://bit.ly/fesy7F
and WAIF (Women Alone in France)
http://bit.ly/gEl4qe
Expat Secrets: Great Week of Posts about Damaging Expat Behaviors from Expat Coach Marie Brice
http://ow.ly/3n8IF
Do expats really have a better life abroad?
http://bit.ly/hRneCK
Does abuse occur in expat communities?
http://bit.ly/gxdWtQ
Congrats to Winners: Expatriate Management and Mobility Awards
http://bit.ly/gU3362
**
To follow me in 'real time' and keep up with even more great expat links on Twitter, please click here.
To sign up and receive our monthly, motivational Expat Women newsletters, please click here.
Thanks for your support and have a great week!
Andrea
Twitter handle: @andreaexpat
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Successful Living Abroad: Expat Expert Robin Pascoe's Video Lectures Now Online
Hello Everyone, I am excited to announce today that at last, those of you who were not fortunate enough to enjoy Robin Pascoe's lectures in person during her international speaking tours, you can now enjoy online video lectures from Robin, absolutely free!
Just click here (...and no, unlike many sites, there is no compulsory sign-up to be able to view the lectures). You are free to come and go from the lectures at any time.
Semi-retired from the speaking circuit, but never one to sit too still, Robin has teamed up with a (fellow Canadian) professional cinematographer to present these nearly 20 (approximately 3-minute) lectures, perfect for trailing spouses and/or expat families living the global nomad life abroad.
If you have not yet read Robin's books, this is a great opportunity to see what Robin and her books are all about. Thanks again Robin, for providing another high-value resource for our expat community!
Warmest wishes for your day/evening, Andrea.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
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. :-)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
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!"
Monday, January 19, 2009
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
For more detailed information about the tour schedule, please visit Robin's blog here.
Thanks in advance - and best wishes Robin, Andrea.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Robin Pascoe's Survey Summary Is Up!
Hi Everyone, Followers of this blog will know that Robin Pascoe (aka The Expat Expert) conducted a large international relocation survey earlier this year, sponsored by Canadian movers AMJ Campbell International, entitled "Family Matters!"
The survey returned an amazing 655 workable responses from expats and their family members (14 years of age and above). In addition to 30% of the respondents being male, one of the other notable aspects of the survey was its array of open-ended questions - which in turn resulted in a wealth of very open, honest, heartwarming and heartbreaking responses.
To be one of the first to see the results (as Robin has literally only put it up an hour ago), just click here. Happy reading! And well done Robin and associates!
Best wishes for your weekend, Andrea.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Highlights From Expat Expert Robin Pascoe's "Family Matters!" Survey
Hello Everyone, For those of you following our previous blogposts about Robin Pascoe's Family Matters! Survey in the expat community, here are three key highlights sent around by Robin today:
"1. The survey confirmed there is a distinct 'disconnect' in communication about relocation policy between headquarters and expat families as 64 per cent of respondents said no one - neither employee nor family members - were offered any training whatsoever. Yet, according to the latest GMAC Global Relocation Trends survey, 154 global companies reported that 84 per cent of their organizations made cross-cultural preparation available to at least one member of the family. So while it may be policy to offer training, it would appear from your responses that this news is not being communicated.
2. Marital breakdown was the highest rated factor to impact negatively on the stress of an assignment. It ranked higher than children's education, spousal resistance to move in the first place, spousal career concerns, and adjustment in general. The reasons for an assignment failure are clearly more nuanced than simply "family failure to adjust" which we hear quoted so often.
3. The number one request for inclusion in any relocation policy - well above cross-cultural training and career counseling, both of which came in almost at the bottom of the list - was "assurances of a new contact at the new destination for help settling in." Anecdotally, you informed me that in the absence of ground support in your new locales, however, other expats, through spousal organizations, schools committees, and community clubs, are stepping up to assist you."
When Robin releases her official Executive Summary of her survey findings, we will be sure to let you know. Enjoy your day!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Calling All Writers Interested In Self-Publishing, Print-On-Demand, Lightning Source & Aiming At Amazon
Hi Everyone, Have you ever heard of Aaron Shepard? He's the guy that wrote Aiming At Amazon, which Expat Expert Robin Pascoe once described as the book that changed her life, with its insights on how best to go about self-publishing via Lightning Source and then selling your book(s) on Amazon.
Well, here is some fabulous news, if you are a writer and/or interested in self-publishing...
Aaron Shepard has just announced on his blog that you can now download for free, the draft version of his upcoming revised book - Aiming At Amazon: The NEW Business Of Self-Publishing OR How To Publish Books For Profit With Print On Demand By Lightning Source And Book Marketing On Amazon.com.
The idea is that anyone downloading the book will do so with the intention of providing any applicable feedback/comments by the end of August, to help him finish the book in time for his scheduled September release.
This is a GREAT opportunity to learn from someone who really does seem to know what he's talking about, in terms of self-publishing, Lightning Source and Amazon. We read his first edition and it was EXCELLENT. So... what are you waiting for? Go for it! :-)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Reminder: FIGT Proposal Deadline September 1
Hi Everyone, You may recall that in a previous blog post in May, we let you know how to submit a proposal to speak at the next Families in Global Transition (FIGT) Conference in Houston, Texas, US, March 5-7, 2009.
Well, the powers that be at FIGT have sent around a note today, reminding everyone that the deadline for speaking proposals is September 1. So if you are keen to speak (and get exposure for your business, company or research project), get that brain into gear and start writing your proposal.
Here is the link to the submission form again. Go for it!
PS. Want to read what it is like at an FIGT conference?
2008 Report (an Expat Women Interview with FIGT Participant, Robin Pascoe)
2007 Report (by our ExpatWomen.com founders, Jill Lengré and Andrea Martins)
