The Expert Expatriate: Table of Contents and Excerpts

The Expert Expatriate: Your Guide to Successful Relocation Abroad is a 264-page trade paperback, with ten chapters as well as a Foreword by Alma (Mrs. Colin) Powell, Introduction, Conclusion, Sample Moving Plan and Resources section.

The table of contents and excerpts from each of the ten chapters are presented below. For additional information please email author@expatguide.info.

Chapter 1: Getting the Information and Support You Need
Chapter 2: Learning the Local Language
Chapter 3: Managing Your Move
Chapter 4: Confronting a New Culture
Chapter 5: Moving Children Overseas
Chapter 6: Moving Pets Overseas
Chapter 7: Adapting to Your New Environment
Chapter 8: Special Issues of Overseas Life
Chapter 9: Special Issues for Spouses Abroad
Chapter 10: A Solid Home Base and a Smooth Reentry

Chapter 1: Getting the Information and Support You Need

Getting Started: The Basics
Other Sources of Information and Support
Living Conditions in Your New Country
An Exploratory Trip
The Importance of a Sponsor
Thoughts to Remember

Excerpt from Chapter 1:

No matter who advises you, keep in mind these three guidelines:

1. Ask people in a position to know. For example, if you want to know about spouse employment opportunities, ask a spouse who is already working locally. If you are asking about household supplies to bring along, ask the member of the family who does the shopping.

2. Always ask more than one person. People may be misinformed, or they may simply have different perspectives. One expatriate may tell you that a particular school is wonderful, for example, while another has nothing but horror stories to relate.

3. Ask open-ended questions. Since you are researching an environment that is new to you, probe for information with questions such as:

What do you wish you had known before you arrived?
What would you suggest I bring with me?
Where can I go for more information?
What would you do if you were in my situation?
Who else should I talk to?

Chapter 2: Learning the Local Language

Convincing Your Organization to Support Language Training
How Much Training Do You Need?
Training Options
Taking Advantage of Your Learning Style
Tips to Maximize Your Success
If You're Still Not Making Progress
If You Arrive Without Language Skills

Excerpt from Chapter 2:

No matter what method you choose to learn a language, you can maximize your results by following a few general guidelines. The most important is to take every opportunity to practice and reinforce what you are learning. Like piano playing and ice skating, language learning requires constant practice. Almost no one can learn vocabulary words or grammar rules by looking at them. They must be practiced again and again and used in conversation to convince the brain that they are important and worth keeping.

Reinforcing the same material in a number of different ways is especially effective. In a language class, you will probably read a textbook, listen to your teacher, complete some writing exercises, and do some speaking. There are also other ways you might consider to reinforce the material that you are learning:

Reading aloud to yourself, a partner or a tape recorder.
Recording your teacher in class (with permission) and using the tape for extra practice.
Copying text passages and lists of vocabulary words to help fix them in your memory.
Testing yourself with flash cards.
Making use of spare moments by carrying a textbook or small notebook with you wherever you go, so that you can practice vocabulary or memorize dialogues.
Posting notes, poems or sayings with vocabulary words around your home. Especially if everyone in the household is learning the language, it can be fun to label things.
Thinking up associations. It's easy to remember the Czech word for hello (ahoy) if you think of sailors greeting each other. Ask your teacher about associations other students have used, or make up your own.
Using physical props. Get creative about using props to help you learn vocabulary. Using senses such as touch and taste will help fix the words in your memory. For example, you might touch something cold and say the word for that sensation in your new language. Consider using props to help you learn the names of colors, foods, articles of clothing, and so forth.

Chapter 3: Managing Your Move

Planning Ahead
Timing Your Packout
Organizing Your Finances and Paperwork
Pack the Piano? Store the Skis?
"Honey, They Packed the Passports!": Preparing for Packout Day
Don't Forget to Say Goodbye

Excerpt from Chapter 3:

Because your household shipment might take weeks or even months to arrive, you may have a choice between (1) having the movers come early and "camping" for a while in your old location, or (2) scheduling your packout at the last minute and "roughing it" longer in your new country.

As tempting as it may seem to maintain your normal routine as long as possible, we strongly suggest that you pack out early if possible. Many expatriates move into temporary furnished housing for the days or weeks after packout. Living without your belongings is much easier in your home country, where you already know how to handle the details of life and have a support network in place. If you are shipping a car, sending it early can help minimize the time you spend after arrival without transportation or with an expensive rental car.

Packing out early also offers another advantage: it provides a breathing space between the hectic period of sorting your belongings and the move itself. As an expatriate in Italy notes:

I've learned this the hard way. I will never again pack out and leave the country in the same week. You need at least a week in between to say goodbye to friends and places and to wrap up a million little details.

Chapter 4: Confronting a New Culture

Cross-Cultural Communication: Bridging the Gap
Building Cross-Cultural Skills
Common Cultural Differences
Attitudes and Values
The Rewards of Confronting a New Culture

Excerpt from Chapter 4:

Business interactions and negotiations may be handled in a very different manner in your host country from what you expect. Negotiations may depend more on the development of a relationship of trust or the exchange of favors than on the presentation of an attractive business proposal.

In many societies, it is considered rude to say no outright. If you come from a more direct culture, you may find yourself exasperated by endless postponements and evasions, while the other party just wishes you would take the hint and drop the whole matter!

A cultural unwillingness to say no can also quickly lead to factual misunderstandings. When Patricia taught English to Japanese students, she had to remind herself not to ask them whether they understood the lesson -- they would invariably say yes to be polite. The only way to find out if they really understood was to have them demonstrate what they had learned.

Chapter 5: Moving Children Overseas

Informing Children About the Move
Schooling Options
Helping Children Learn the Language
Preparing for the Move
Moving with Children of Various Ages
Last Days, First Days
Making a Success of It
Coming Home

Excerpt from Chapter 5:

Although the decision to move overseas was probably made without your children's input, if children feel that they have some control over the process and believe that their opinions are respected, they are less likely to feel helpless, resentful and angry about the move. Here are some ways that you might consider to involve your children:

Hold periodic family meetings to review the progress of move preparations. Encourage children to ask questions and state their opinions.
Involve your children in as many decisions as possible, taking their ages into account. For instance, they can help choose some of the things you are buying to take to the new home. If your itinerary includes a vacation or other stop on the way to your new country, let your children help decide how the family should spend that time.
If you need to get rid of some household goods before the move, involve your children in the process. They can help with a yard sale or box up giveaways for charity. Recognize, however, that most children have a hard time letting go of their own possessions, especially when they are facing the upheaval of a move. Try to refrain from a major purge of their belongings around the time of a move.

Chapter 6: Moving Pets Overseas

Proper Preplanning Prevents Perturbed Pets
Pet Entry Requirements and Quarantine Restrictions
Prior to Air Travel
Concerns about Older Pets
Pets in Hotels
Living in the Third World with Pets

Excerpt from Chapter 6:

Regardless of what requirements and restrictions apply to taking your pet abroad, a checkup with your veterinarian is always a good idea. Before you arrive at the vet's office, your research on pet entry requirements should be complete. Tell the vet exactly what is required, and he or she can examine your pet accordingly, vaccinate if necessary, and prepare the papers you need.

In addition to getting papers in order, a pretravel checkup with a vet is a good idea to determine if there are any hidden problems that can jeopardize your pet's health after you leave. This is particularly important if you are going to a country where veterinary care is marginal or nonexistent.

Use this time to ask your vet any questions you have regarding your pet's travel. Tranquilizing, withholding food prior to travel, and obtaining medicines to take with you are a few of the topics you may want to discuss. Although we have included basic information on these issues in the discussion that follows, you will want to ask your vet what is best for your individual pet.

Chapter 7: Adapting to Your New Environment

The Ups and Downs of Adjustment
Coping with a "Crash Landing"
Confronting Poverty and Suffering
The Five Components of Adjustment
A Quick Checkup: Have You Adjusted?
If You're Still Not Adjusting
"Home" at Last

Excerpt from Chapter 7:

Moving to a new country is something like moving a complicated machine to a new location. Moving a machine may involve disconnecting a large number of cables and hoses, and then properly reconnecting each of them again. If you forget or wrongly connect even one, the machine won't work. For people, much of the difficulty of adjusting to a new country arises from being "unplugged" from one environment but not yet fully "reconnected" in a new one.

We have found that five basic elements are necessary for true adjustment in a new place:

1. language and cultural skills,
2. a comfortable home base,
3. new friendships and support networks,
4. the ability to navigate your environment with confidence, and
5. meaningful and enjoyable activities.

Some people will be able to reconnect these "wires" more quickly than others. An employee with a satisfying job, supportive colleagues, language and cultural training, and a family to greet at the end of the day may wonder what the fuss is all about. But most expatriates -- including, most likely, the spouse of that very same employee -- will be missing several, if not all, of these essential elements when they first arrive.

Chapter 8: Special Issues of Overseas Life

Health
Physical Safety
Dealing with Domestic Help

Excerpt from Chapter 8:

If you are from a country where employing full-time help is rare, you may feel uncomfortable at first with the idea of having people working in your home. You may see it as an unnecessary luxury or an invasion of your privacy. The large gap between your income level and that of domestic workers can also cause discomfort. However, you will likely find that household help is a necessity, not a luxury, in countries where it is common. Household chores may take the entire day in the absence of labor-saving devices, convenience foods, or supermarkets.

In addition -- and this may seem odd -- if you decide not to employ help, instead of being admired by the local people for your self-sufficiency, you may be resented for denying a job opportunity to needy workers. Because expatriates usually offer above-average pay and working conditions, jobs in their households are usually considered very desirable. What seems like a pittance of a salary to you may be enough to support your staff and his or her family, and even their extended families.

Chapter 9: Special Issues for Spouses Abroad

The Paradox of the "Trailing" Spouse
Facing the Transition
Employment and Other Meaningful Activities
"Trailing Males"
Keeping Your Marriage Strong
Periods of Separation
Measuring Success: Individually and as a Team

Excerpt from Chapter 9:

While some couples manage to go abroad on equal terms (for example, as "tandem couples" in the diplomatic service or missionaries working together), in most cases, a job opportunity overseas is presented to one partner, and the other agrees to "trail" along.

If you are an accompanying spouse abroad, your situation is somewhat paradoxical. In some ways, you may find your life severely restricted. The host-country government may not permit you to get a local job. Your spouse's organization may control your housing and other aspects of your life. The local culture and conditions may place additional restrictions on your lifestyle.

In other ways, however, you may find that you have more freedom than you did at home. Higher salaries and allowances may let one spouse remain at home without financial hardship. The inexpensive household help in many countries may give you more free time than ever before. Unlike your employed partner, you may find yourself free to travel, pursue your own interests, continue your education, take up a new career, stay home with your children, help others through volunteer work, or simply make friends and enjoy your host country.

The good news is that, especially with the advent of the Internet, there are more opportunities for an accompanying spouse to find self-fulfillment overseas than ever before. The not-so-good news regards the difficulty of weathering the transition and finding a niche for yourself. The following sections address these issues. ...

Chapter 10: A Solid Home Base and a Smooth Reentry

Laying the Groundwork with Family and Friends
Ways to Keep in Touch
Keeping Up with Colleagues and Your Career
Maintaining Your Own Culture Overseas
Home Leave
Reentry Issues

Excerpt from Chapter 10:

Establishing and maintaining a solid home base while you are abroad is more important and challenging than it may seem. While you are abroad, your life will change quickly; you will travel, make new friends, and have unique new experiences.

If your family members and friends receive regular updates on your adventures -- and even better, if they visit you abroad -- they will feel like participants in your overseas experience, rather than excluded bystanders. If you remain available and interested in their lives, even though you are far away, you can stay close rather than growing apart.

"Out of sight, out of mind" can apply to your professional life as well. However, continuing to network with colleagues and keep up with your field while overseas can help keep your career on the right track, whether you are an employee sent overseas or a spouse planning to resume a job on your return.