One of my personal paradoxes abroad: While living in a highly collectivistic society, learning to enjoy being alone. In Mexico people have very large social networks and within that condition I somehow learned to like my own company. I wasn´t able to find that kind of inner peace in my individualistic home country, I had […]
Browsing the archives for the cultural adjustment tag
29 Oct 12
A Look Behind the Scenes of Foreign Cultures
Insecurities, irritations, misunderstandings, doubts, frustrations, hurt feelings… just to name a few of the negative emotions that expats might experience when diving into new cultures and customs. Those emotions are based on first and superficial impressions. Cultures exist out of different layers and the difficulties we come across are usually related to concealed aspects of […]
21 Aug 12
A Little Guide to Cultural Adjustment
It´s impossible to ignore the responsibility of expatriates to adapt to the host country. There are expats that barely face problems with adjusting to new cultures, while others find out the hard way that they aren´t cut out to live across borders. The majority of expats (including myself), however, go through a learning process enhancing […]
8 Aug 12
A Refreshing Perspective on Saying Goodbye
Family and friends top the list of things that expats miss most about home. Leaving loved ones behind when moving abroad is tough and can feel like sacrifice in exchange for a different life. Saying goodbye is, however, more than throwing a farewell party for your close relationships. It is a process involving everyone and […]
22 Jul 12
Adjusting to a New Culture: Culture Shock and Other Stages
During my first year of expatriation in Mexico, I gradually started to feel the urge to find out how adapting to a new culture exactly works. My instincts told me that it was way more complicated than I thought. I knew I had been through several phases but I didn´t really grasp it yet. I […]
- Hi there! I´m Marleen and this is my safe haven on the Web. I´m Dutch but I live in Guadalajara, Mexico. Here I share my adventures of living in a foreign country. Hopefully it inspires you to develop your own Evolution Abroad.
Archives
- December 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
Categories
-
Recent Posts
Blogs You´ll Love:
Other Expats & Travelers
Global Expat Networks