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STARTING FROM SCRATCH INTERNATIONAL LIFE OFTEN ENTAILS THE TASK OF STARTING FROM SCRATCH. IT CAN BE COMPARED TO GARDENING. A LOT OF WORK GOES INTO PREPARING THE TERRAIN, SOWING THE SEEDS, WATERING, AND WAITING TO SEE IF THE FRUITS WILL BEAR. PHOTOGRAPHS WONDERFUL COPENHAGEN - RASMUS FLINDT PEDERSEN
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STARTING FROM SCRATCH is something I have gotten good at. I would include it to my talent stack. I am also confident that you are pretty good at it. Moving to a new host country includes building our social and professional networks. Most of the time we start when we arrive, but I would advise you to start before you arrive to have a few people you already have connected with. By preparing and thinking ahead you will lessen the feeling of loneliness in your new host destination. It is also a great feeling to be able to have someone to call and meet up with after you arrive.
HERE WE GO AGAIN Transitions are easier when you have smoothed out some of the rough patches. Reaching out to people you find interesting and inspiring both on a professional and personal level can have a big impact on self-confidence. If you aim to be active professionally, start networking ahead of time and if you play your cards right, you might even have some meetings lined up before your arrival. Throughout my life, I have started from scratch in multiple countries and I have pretty good insight as to what it takes. As an adult, it gets very difficult to do this time and time again. My most recent challenge was when we moved to Copenhagen because I had zero networks here. This goes for both my social and professional networks. So, how do I go about starting again? I decided to dive in and tackle this head-on. That meant getting very uncomfortable (at first), being vulnerable, courageous, and drinking lots and I mean lots of coffee. It is not the easiest task to reach out to people you would like to meet when you are the new bee in town. When you are new to a city and starting your networking journey it can get very intimidating very quickly. I had thoughts of “Why would any of these successful people want to meet with me?” “I will wait until I am more ready…”
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But guess what? They did meet with me and what I needed to do was silence that voice. I do believe that our mindset has an immense impact on how we present ourselves and how others view us. Next time you are off to meet a new person make sure you have taken along your positivity, a thirst for coffee, and boldness. You will be fine and you are not alone!
BE AWARE AND DARE Let us shed some light on the situation of a newly arrived International - new country, culture, language, customs, everyday life, what is obvious to us is not obvious to all. Please keep that in mind. We forget how overwhelming all these things can be when they are thrown at someone simultaneously. More often than not, I am faced with the challenges of having to explain how important it is to provide support for the spouse/ partner. Partners often feel lost in the sense that they do not have an outside professional identity or a specific clarification of their family identity (Rosenbusch and Cseh, 2012). If we top this off with not having a strong support system, community, network it can be tough to jump over such a hurdle. To help we have to work together and focus on raising awareness clearly and directly. Yes, this means looking at spouse/partner support as a long term investment. The only way to bridge the gap is by addressing the issues, implementing solutions and working together. If we all do our part, we can have great ambassadors worldwide. THE-INTL
REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE YOU FIND INTERESTING AND INSPIRING BOTH ON A PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL LEVEL CAN HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON SELF-CONFIDENCE.
KATHY BORYS SIDDIQUI FOUNDER, ACTIVE ACTION Kathy was born in Poznań, Poland and has lived in four countries and on two continents. Growing up as an immigrant and a cross cultural child she was able to discover a multicultural world that shaped her into the person she is today. As an adult she experienced life as a re-pat as well as an expat and she is not a stranger to the challenges and opportunities that life abroad offers. Just when she least expected it, she met her Danish husband and once again packed her life in boxes and set off to live the happily-ever-after life in the land of the Vikings and Hygge. Over the span of 10 years she has lived on Fyn, in Jylland and currently in Nordsjælland. Kathy has a background in Cultural Studies and also a degree in American Studies. She has been able to combine her passion and profession as a Cultural Transition and Expat Spouse and Partner Specialist at Active Action. A firm believer that if you are lacking something - create it. She is the founder of two International Mom Groups in Denmark, a running enthusiast, active lifestyle advocate, wife and mom. www.activeaction.dk kbs@activeaction.dk
OCTOBER 2019 - WWW.THE-INTL.COM