All alone and far from home - Keep Your Life, Family and Career Intact While Living Abroad - page 66

Drawing a clear line between work and social settings is essential. You can list the social
occasions you have recently attended and determine at which of these you could have been
less formal and taken off your mask. Then, when similar situations come up in the future,
you can make a conscious decision as to whether to play your usual role or to be yourself.
Furthermore, you can create opportunities by meeting people on a one-to-one basis, where
you put away business and share personal interests.
R EMOVE THOSE MASKS !
Within the small expatriate community people tend to worry that word will get around if
they let down their guard. Such an attitude only encourages people to put on masks. Wheth-
er you are a Lonely Housewife or Single Woman, a Drifter, a Lonely Working Woman or
Man, the problem is usually one and the same.
You have to recognize there could be others out there just like you, needing friends. You
must allow yourself to reach out and openly express your difficulties in finding friends. By
doing so, you will inspire others who hide behind masks to come forward and acknowledge
their needs as well. Until people can express and admit the problem, they will continue to
hide behind masks and remain lonely and frustrated.