#expat interview

Meet a #Expat – From #Nigeria to #Sweden: #Interview with Expat Barnabas from #Stockholm, Sweden: Asking him about why he moved to Sweden, what he wished he knew before he moved and much more.

Interview with Author & Expat – Barnabas

  What made you decide to move to Sweden?

Actually, this question is still interesting to me after 12 years. Coming to Sweden wasn’t a predetermined choice of mine, the initial plan was to relocate to my uncle in Spain. But God had other plans for me, as a christian you learn to understand how He works. As human beings on earth we can only propose and…

Vladimir Popovic – Brazilian Jiu Jitsu/Judo Coach in Kuwait 

My name is Vladimir Popovic, I am from Serbia, 28 years old. I am an athlete/coach, used to train and compete in judo for more than 10 years (black belt rank), last 6, 7 years I am training and competing in Brazilian jiu jitsu (brown belt rank), won many competitions in region both in Judo and BJJ, haven’t competed abroad in bigger competitions. 

I graduated at Faculty of Sport Science and…

Interview of the month June 2017

While supporting expats with integration, their confidence and languages, I share these interviews, revealing personal stories, tips and advice.

Moving countries is such a change, and how to feel ‘’at Home’’ can be challenging. Let’s see what we can learn from this month’s interviewee.

I introduce you to Carmita Prieto

Interview with Carmita Prieto

Original country: Venezuela

Expat countries: Qatar

Current country: Qatar on the move to Spain

  Your story in a nutshell

I’m Venezuelan, was born in Maracaibo, the country’s second biggest city.

I began to consider emigrating around 1994-95, but for one or another reason I didn’t emigrate until 2007, when due to the political conditions in my country, I knew my days in my job in PDVSA were counted.

Actually, I soon realized my only option was to find a job overseas, so I set a plan and whenever I had some spare time, I went online in the search for a job.

I begun to have job interviews making really short trips to attend them and within 4 months I accepted a position in the Corporate Environment and Sustainable Development department of Qatar Petroleum, Qatar’s national oil and gas company.

I sold everything, including my comfortable apartment in one of the best areas of Maracaibo, and in September 10th 2007, I left, knowing that coming back was a remote option and hoping that Qatar would become a new home for me.

In 2014 I decided to change careers, got trained as Personal Performance Coach and I retired from 40 years of engineering career to devote myself to help others create the life they want to live and have been working as a coach since September 2015.

Currently I’m planning to move to Spain within few months and start a new chapter there.

I’m a creative being who loves supporting others unlock their potential, but also singing, dancing, painting, baking, having rich conversations and sharing good quality time with family and friends.

I am a single mum, with a beautiful daughter, who’s also an expat and lives in Qatar with her husband and my two beautiful grandsons.

  Biggest challenges

My biggest challenge was to adjust to a culture, where women just recently are taking a more protagonist role. Having a position at corporate level it took me a while to gain the respect of colleagues who were not in use with a woman telling them what to do, how and when to do it. But my experience and knowledge helped me gain the battle and the procedures, guidelines and systems I implemented helped the company to considerably reduce the lapses to obtain environmental permits for their projects.

In Venezuela women and men in the oil and gas industry work together as equal to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives, this approach to team work doesn’t exist in QP where people has a tribal mindset and applies it at corporate level too.

It was also hard for me, as an independent woman to navigate some day to day things like shopping furniture and other stuff, as it is unusual that a woman alone does this kind of chores.

  Did you integrate and adjust smoothly? What went well and what was hard?

I integrated to the latino community living in Doha quite easily at first. However, on time, I took distance from them and as I had just few friends out of this community, I became a little isolated. Also, as I was one of the few working women in the community, it made it harder to make friends.

One of the best things that happened to me was that a through a common friend I met a loving, caring and generous couple, who are my friends even now and who helped me navigate Doha at the settling period. Without their support, settling would have been a lot harder. After I arrived, I began to write a blog about my experiences in Qatar (venezolanaenqatar.blogspot) and through it lots of other Spanish speaking people contacted me for guidance and I get to meet and have friendship with some of them, paying forward the support I received, I also support them on their settling process.

  Where you find inspiration from

I find inspiration from other women and men that have done what was required to reach their dreams, from the huge potential within each human being, from the wonders of nature and the human being, from the transformations I witness in clients, family and friends and from my own evolution and transformation through the years.

  What is your current business?  Currently I’m developing my practice as Coach, Speaker and Writer, inspiring, empowering and supporting people to realize their talents, get clarity on what they want, create the life they want to live and regain their joy, sense of meaning and connection and satisfaction.

  Was it difficult to start your business in a foreign country?  In the case of my practice as Coach, it has been difficult, as this kind of practice is not well recognized and accepted yet in the country and rules and regulations aren’t clearly defined. However, I always took this into account and decided to work mostly with international clients. What has been difficult is getting to know online marketing tricks and ways.

  How you stay motivated

Revisiting my vision, reading it, updating it and having a daily mindset practice.

  Useful resources for expats

I’d say that connecting with international groups such as Internations or in your case expatsHaarlem might be a good way to connect with other expats. Searching in Facebook for local groups is also useful.

If your host country has a different culture, respecting their views and norms is a way of showing them your respect and gaining their respect too.

  What are your words of Wisdom?

As an expat, try to learn as much as you can about your host country culture, so you can gain love and respect for their manners and traditions.

As a human being, don’t let that your current circumstances define who you are and your future, find the way to give them a purpose and put them to work on your favor by being clear of what you want in the short, medium and long term for you and your life.

  What is the worst that happened to you as an expat?

Being harassed by men who don’t understand the value, power and freedom a woman has and the respect she deserves.

About Cultural differences or misunderstanding: In my country, you can have male and female friends and it isn’t unusual to take a coffee or go for lunch with a male friend, so at the beginning I was friendly with some men but it turned out that when they invited me for a coffee, almost as soon as we order the coffee they came out with some sex proposals.

I learnt that men that were friendly with me, were in fact looking for “opportunities” for intimacy and advised by my boss, I began to use a fake wedding ring when doing chores and some shopping around the city.

  Please tell us your important TIP(s) when moving to a new country

Don’t accumulate things, the simpler your live the easier your relocation will be.

Learn about the culture, manners and traditions of your host country, you can’t appreciate and love what you don’t know.

Save as much as you can, global economy is changing and having a job is not stable.

Make a plan to make the best from your assignment as an expat.

Have friends from different nationalities, that will enrich your life in all ways.

Don’t compare yours and your host country.

Open your heart and your mind to learn and experience new traditions, flavors and ideas.

If you are a home stay wife/mum, find a passion to devote your time to, otherwise, you might end having shopping as your new hobby.

If you’ll be a home stay wife/mum in your new destination, consider identifying your talents, abilities and passions and your opportunities to create a portable career you can take with you to your next destination.

Interview of the month April 2017

While supporting people with integration and languages, I interview expats each month, revealing personal stories, tips and advice.  How is the life of an expat, and how can one feel ‘’at Home’’ abroad. Challenging,  or not? This month I introduce you to Joanne Wyatt.

Interview with Joanne

Original country: London, England

Expat countries: New Zealand, Australia

Current country:  Netherlands

  Your story in a nutshell

I’m from London. In 2004 I went on a world trip to South America and New Zealand. While in New Zealand I fell in love with a very cute Dutch guy which resulted in me moving to the Netherlands in 2007.  Now we are married and live in Haarlem. I have my own business as a beautician which I love. My hobbies include running, yoga, healthy cooking and seeing friends.

  Biggest challenges

My biggest challenge by far was learning the language. When I first moved here, I lived in the East of Holland  and I didn’t speak any Dutch which made it impossible to find work as there are no international companies. I could only find work as a cleaner.  Moving to the West of the country made it easier to find work but the language was still a challenge. It is not an easy language to learn anyway, but Dutch people speak such great English and are happy to speak it, that it is easy to be lazy and not learn it. I know people who have lived here for years and still only know a few words.

However, even though you can get by with not speaking the language, it can still be restricting if you want to develop yourself. E.g., limited courses are in English.

Riding a bike was also a challenge!

I have had my fair share of accidents on the bike. I have cycled into a shop window. I have been hit by a car while cycling to work and almost knocked down by a bus!!

  Overcoming fear

To begin with, I lacked so much confidence doing anything because I felt ashamed for not speaking Dutch and felt that my Dutch was not good enough for people to understand. Slowly (very slowly!) I improved but I had to learn to not worry about making mistakes or not being understood.

  Working practices and benefits in your adopted country

I love how well organized everything is over here. How clean it is, how well maintained everything is. How well the people are looked after (you very rarely see homeless people, or people begging on the streets). Everything works. It is stark contrast to what I see when I go back to London.

  Did you integrate and adjust smoothly? What went well and what was hard?

Adjusting was easy. As soon as we moved to Haarlem, I felt completely at home. It was easy to settle in, particularly once I found work. Of course, having a Dutch partner also helps. However, integrating socially has been less easy. All of the friends I have made are expats. I haven’t made many Dutch friends.

  Where do you find inspiration from?

I’m always inspired by other expats or people who have travelled. I love to hear their stories. I believe these experiences broaden the mind, makes people less judgmental, more empathetic.

  Was it difficult to start your business  in a foreign country?

I have my own beautician business, Kiri Beauty.  I did my Beauty Therapy course here in the Netherlands, that was tough as it was all in Dutch. Setting up the business was not so difficult to start with but it takes a lot of effort to build up a loyal client base. And I’m still learning every day about running my own business. And doing everything in another language can be very exhausting at times.

  How do you stay motivated?

Set goals! I truly believe that the best way to stay motivated is to set yourself goals and be focused on achieving them.

  What are your words of Wisdom?

Don’t forget that you are living in another country with another culture and particular nuances and that needs to be respected. I have met expats who are always complaining about Dutch directness, or the poor service in restaurants, or what time the Dutch each their dinner. You have to accept that things will be different to what you are used to. If you don’t, you will never be content.

  Your Plans for the future

Short term plan is to grow my business.

Long term plan is to move to Spain. I feel like Haarlem is my home but both my husband and I would like to experience living somewhere else – where the sun shines. We think that somewhere will be Spain and would love to spend a few years (or more) living there.

  Final words or anything else you wish to share

Appreciate your experience and enjoy every minute of it. I always feel so lucky and grateful to have had the opportunity to move to another country.

Please tell us your important TIP(s) when moving to a new country

Learn the language! In order to integrate, settle, develop yourself, and generally make life easier and enjoy it, you have to learn the language.

Javea Costa Blanca Expat Interview Lasse Eriksson

What is your name?  Lasse Eriksson How old are you?  50 Where were you born?  Sodertalje/Sweden Were do you live now?  Javea How long have you lived in Spain and this area specifically?  4,5 years Are you living alone or with your family?  Family How often do you visit your home country?  once every 2 years maybe Retired or working (If retired…

Javea Costa Blanca Expat Interview Please fill in our questionaire

  Huge numbers of people consider moving to Spain, and more specifically Javea and the surrounding towns, every year. For many reasons most of these possible relocators will not make the move.

Giving ‘real life’ personal opinions is perhaps the best way for people to get a true idea about what living in the area is actually like on a day to day basis. (more…)

Interview of the month January 2017

In my goal to support people moving abroad, I enjoy taking interviews, revealing personal stories and advise. Why do you seek to move abroad? What are the challenges and opportunities you may encounter? This month we are traveling from Mexico, with Yasbenia.

Interview with Yasbenia

Original country: Mexico

Current country:  Norway

  Your story in a nutshell

I’m from Mexico city and I moved to Norway in 2009 because I was with a Norwegian guy. I’ve been living in a city called Stavanger for 8 years and I am now officially a Norwegian and Mexican citizen.

I feel very happy to say that I come from a beautiful country, and that a wonderful country like Norway has become my second home. I’m in general a quiet person but very social and always excited to see new places and learn new things. Listening to music, going to concerts, traveling and cooking are the activities I enjoy the most. I studied Business Management many years ago in Mexico City, but I have worked in very different places and positions throughout the years.

From the first assistant of the Chair of a foundation and travel agent for an American airline in Mexico, to teacher assistant and document controller for an oil company in Norway.  Many people in this city have lost their job due to the oil crisis, including me, and that gave me the chance to experience even more. I worked as a tourist guide in the summer and now I collaborate closely with a friend who has started the import of Mexican food products in Stavanger. We import authentic ingredients to supply the Mexican food lovers with the most popular products and we also organize catering events where we make authentic dishes to show Norwegians what the real Mexican food is about. This is not a full time job though, so I’m an active job seeker.

  Biggest challenges

In general my biggest challenge has always been to shut that voice that tells me that I should keep things the way they are because that’s the safe way to go. My biggest challenge right now is to be able to find a job in The Netherlands while still living in Norway. If I can’t find it soon, I think my next step will be to move there and look for one.

  On overcoming fear

I was extremely shy for many years and that made me feel scared and stopped me from doing many things.  It wasn’t easy to overcome the shyness but I did, and I keep reminding myself that I can’t let fear take over my life. I think what helps the most is to constantly remind yourself of how far in life you’ve come despite of whatever bad decision you think you made in the past. We should just try to learn from that and use it to make better decisions that will make us proud of ourselves in the future.

  Working practices and benefits in your adopted country

My first job in Norway was as an assistant in an international kindergarten. My second job was as a document controller for a big oil company where most of the staff was also from different parts of the world. Working in these places gave me a great opportunity to know and understand many different cultures and see how they work.

I realized that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what your background is, when we all have the same goal and show tolerance and respect, we can make things work out.

I also had the opportunity to see the difference between the Mexican and the Norwegian working environment. In Norway there is more trust that you will do what you are supposed to without the boss worrying too much, and I feel like that makes you want to do your work even better. You wish to show that you appreciate that vote of confidence and that you won’t let neither your boss nor the company down. Management in Mexico is quite different or at least it was when I worked there. Very often you need to work outside office hours or do activities that are not part of your job description, all these without getting any extra remuneration, just to constantly prove your boss that you are reliable. I haven’t heard about situations like these in Norway.

  Did you integrate and adjust smoothly? What went well and what was hard?

I was lucky enough to find good friends from the beginning, without them everything would have been very hard. I love learning languages so learning Norwegian was something to look forward to. I believe I adjusted quite well to the Norwegian ways and weather, but the hardest part was (and still is sometimes) to understand the different dialects in Norway. Every little city has their own dialect that differs a lot from what one learns at school, and if you don’t have the chance to practice it on a daily basis, then it’s a challenge to feel completely integrated.

  Where you find inspiration from?

When I worked as a tourist guide, I had the chance to be inspired by the other guides who have been traveling to different countries. I was amazed to see how many of them just left their home country without hesitation and came to Norway because there were no jobs back home or simply because they love to experience new things. After that, I realized that if I don’t have neither a family nor a proper job here, then nothing should stop me from looking for new opportunities and experiences somewhere else.

  How you stay motivated

I think the best way is to be excited about something. My main motivation for the past months has been to learn Dutch, and the excitement of moving to a new country and meeting new friends is what gives me great motivation to work for what I wish.

  What are your words of Wisdom?

No matter how difficult your goal seems to be or how scared you are, just push yourself to take the first step and you’ll realize how suddenly you feel stronger to take the next ones.

  What is the worst that happened to you as an expat?

I consider myself lucky because nothing really bad has happened to me. I didn’t have the nicest experience being with the Norwegian guy for whom I made the decision to move here, but Norwegians in general are kind, tolerant and respectful people and I have never felt unwelcomed here.

  What is a misunderstanding (maybe funny or not funny at all) that happened to you as an expat?

Maybe the funniest part is that here people usually don’t save food for more than one day, whereas in Mexico you can keep your favorite dish in the fridge for days because it would be a shame to let something so tasty go to waste. So I always get the weirdest looks when I ask: ‘Are you really gonna throw that away?? It’s still gonna be good tomorrow!’

  Another funny thing at te beginning was having people looking at me strange when I say hello with a hug or a kiss on the cheek . It’s not just my Mexican culture but also my personality to be happy to see my friends and to want to express that affection. I’m glad they got used to it by now!

  Your Plans for the future

I’m currently looking for a job in North Holland, South Holland or Utrecht. I think The Netherlands is a beautiful country with an amazing history, beautiful cities, and hopefully full of possibilities. Although I would need a job where I can use English as a main language, I’m already studying Dutch and I hope to become fluent soon. I want to be able to integrate to the Dutch society faster than I did to the Norwegian one.

  Please tell us your important TIP(s) when moving to a new country

Now that I wish to live in a new country, I realized the things that I should have done in Norway to adapt faster.

I should have not been shy to make mistakes when speaking Norwegian,

I should have tried to make even more Norwegian friends and try to join more social activities to get more familiar with my community since the beginning.

It took me a long time to do all these things in Norway simply because I was shy and thought Norwegians would criticize me. If I’m lucky to get a job in The Netherlands, I’m happy to know that I have more knowledge to be able to make my life easier and that’s why I’m already doing my best to learn the language and understand the culture before moving there.

  Thank you very much!

Interview of the month November 2016

Arriving in a new country is such a change, and  how to feel ‘’at Home’’ can be a challenge. How can an expat integrate easily?

In my goal to support people with confidence and languages, I hear many real-life stories.  Through these interviews, I hope you find inspiration to fulfill your goal!

Interview with Lana

Original country: Philippines

Expat countries: Indonesia

Current country:  Netherlands

  Your story in a nutshell

I came to the Netherlands for love. My husband is born and raised in the Netherlands and I was working in Indonesia at the time when we met in person (we’re a product of the internet age and ICQ has brought us together!).  When I was in Indonesia, I worked as a staff development specialist for an international preschool, training their teachers on child development topics.

The decision to move here was purely for family. I wanted the kids to have roots and to be settled in an environment that they can call home. So, work was not a priority at that time. I became immersed in the world of parenting and I love it.  I love the opportunity that I am given to be present for my kids for much of their early childhood.

I still do consultancy projects for international NGOs or schools but for the past two years after my diagnosis with breast cancer my focus has been to reconnect with myself. The treatments and the health scare have somehow forced me to re-learn how to take care of myself, what it means to be engaged in life and how I can share the insights I learned with my family.

Nowadays I give engagement coaching to my clients. Most of them are women entrepreneurs like me who are juggling the life of business and family and who would like to be given space for their ideas and help with accountability.

  Biggest challenges

My biggest challenge was going through an illness in a land where most of my support group (aka my family) are not around. I am fortunate enough to be surrounded though with women who gave me presence, provided support for my family and cheered me along the way.

  Overcoming fear

Naturally, being ill with cancer brought in a flurry of fears. One that we dealt with on a daily basis as a family is on the fear of death.

How we approached this is much like how we approached life. We made it something tangible for the kids, we made it a natural discourse at home. This is where the idea of why it is important to define one’s family culture came in. Because we found ourselves (me and my husband) peeling through cultural and familial practices that we got from others and started working on what is important for us as a family.

  Where you find inspiration from?

I find inspiration mostly from my children. They are such a big reflection of who we are as parents and individuals. There are times that I can see myself strongly with my daughter that gives me a sense of pride and at times make me wince with regret (the “oh she most likely got that from me!”)

  How do you stay motivated?

How I stay motivated is through intentionality. I became more intentional with the people I surround myself in. These are the people that propel me to move forward in life, to be the best possible expression of me. Rohn said, we are the average of the five people that we meet. I like to capitalize on that by having people around me that nurtures my relational, spiritual, and mental growth.

  What are your words of Wisdom?

One of the women that highly inspired me is Michelle Ghilotti Mandel specially with her words “own the energy you bring in the room”. I have kept that to heart and sets it as my daily intention of owning the energy I bring in with my interactions. Be it with my family, my friends, my clients or the people or places I am in. It’s my definition of being present in life.

  Please tell us your important TIPS when moving to ANY new country

For those just coming here and settling in, what I can share is the importance to Surround yourself with people who can lift you up. Life in a new country with new people becomes somehow easier and more enriching when you have friends that you can call your family.

Thank you very much!