Problems of moving - Keep Your Life, Family and Career Intact While Living Abroad - page 8

calls, e-mails, posting little gifts, and occasional visits can keep friendships alive. Your at-
titude can overcome the problem of distance.
Members of transient families need to be aware of whether they are in any way sabot-
aging each other's personal growth. It is important for them to give space to each other and
encourage outside contacts. These new friendships will also speed up acculturation.
When such families decide to reach out they will likely find others experiencing similar
needs. Nothing will better erase the myth that “we are all alone.”
Transient Family Syndrome is not necessarily experienced by all transient families. Yet
often an individual or family may not recognize its impact until suddenly it strikes them
what they're missing. It is important for people to acknowledge their own feelings and note
whether other family members' needs are not fulfilled because of frequent relocations.
E VERY MOVE IS DIFFERENT
No one is immune from the adjustment and stress that come with moving abroad, whether
for the first or the fifteenth time. Having experienced relocation once does not make the
next move trouble-free. The logistics of moving to a second, third, or fourth overseas as-
signment will take on a patina of of routine, but it may come as a shock to undergo the
inevitable stages of acculturation yet again, to once more find oneself a newcomer, to re-
orient oneself to the quirks and subtleties of social and business interactions within a new
culture, even if it is just the country next door.
Every move is different, depending on one's life stage or circumstance. Crossing borders
after marriage or divorce, or after having children, carries many different contexts, respons-
ibilities and obstacles than a prior relocation when one was young and single or married but
childless. A move due to promotion, or starting a new job after a period of unemployment,
may distract attention from other personal, social and cultural adjustments.
The problems of moving will at least be familiar the second time around, but it is crucial
not to take for granted that less effort is needed to properly settle in. It is important that
serial expatriates remind themselves that culture shock, or acculturation, can take from six
to nine months, or for some, as long as a year and a half. There are no shortcuts. As long
as you are prepared and allow time for the adjustment stages, you are bound to be able to
manage well and enjoy a successful assignment abroad.
T HE INTERNATIONAL PERSON
Moving to another country, whether for the first or the tenth time, is never an easy experi-
ence.