So welcome! Hope you have as much fun with this, as we plan to writing it.

Let me kick off with a quick intro. I am Madame Expat, quirky mother of three, with an absent hubbie that works away in the week. Very keen to share some expat stories with you.

Yes, you read it right, if you found us through twitter. I have lived through 18 moves in 20 years.

Still a little shaky I must say. The last move having only been 5 months ago and the dust has still yet to settle… In that time we’ve been in 5 countries…

Don’t want to spoil it all but the plan is to share with you some quirky anecdotes we’ve laughed at, cried at, along the way. Would I do it all again? Almost… Maybe I would do things slightly differently but I’d still want to live in all the countries and have this rich life of experiences.

So, I’ve put the mark in the sand. Now to pulling up the best expat tales to share.

What’s your favourite tale you’d share from your experiences?

A bientot!

Madame Expat x

3. Do not expect to replicate your current lifestyle. Look for what is there, not for what isnʼt.

“Wherever you go, there you are.”  A psychologist friend of mine told me that one time, and I think it is 100% true.  I’m not for sure international school teachers are moving from school to school and country to country to replicate their current lifestyle, many times they are trying to flee it!  But again and again, you typically find yourself just settling back into the same routine and actions that you have always been doing…no matter where you are living.  You do change some small things in each placement, but many routines take time to change and are hard to break.

I think what this commandment is referring to is the situation when a person is coming directly from their life in their home country.  Then for sure you should not expect to replicate your current lifestyle.  It is easier than it sounds though.  It happens to be a bit human nature to want to surround yourself with familiar things.  Many smart entrepreneurs and importers are keen to this aspect and cash-in on selling us those things in many of the cities around the world where there are international schools (e.g. brownie mix, soft brown sugar, satellite TV, chocolate chips, etc…).  These familiar things are going for a high price because those stores know that many of us international educators want them.  This is done all in attempt to replicate our past lifestyle.

After awhile though you find things in the local stores and shops that start to create your CURRENT lifestyle in your new host country.  Many of those new aspects because an even better addition to your lifestyle than the old ones!  I definitely miss things that were part of my lifestyle in my last placement, but certain things are just not replicable outside of that placement (cleaning lady, having a driver, going out to eat every day, etc…).  With that being said, you will certainly find other things in your new placement that will become a part of your new lifestyle.

Successful international school educators are good at being open minded to trying new things in the host country.  It means taking chances and taking opportunities to try new things and to do things in a new way.  It also means leaving some old routines of yours behind, or at least “on-hold” for awhile.

One thing I enjoy about my new lifestyle abroad is going grocery shopping almost everyday, versus going 1-2 times a week in the United States for example.  I also enjoy walking to the grocery store versus taking your car.  There are many other aspects of an international school teacher’s new lifestyle abroad that would be hard to leave behind if we were all to move back to our home countries!

It is a forum/social networking/information gathering website designed for the international school teaching community.

Parts of the website I like:

International Schools
How can one increase their chances of getting a job?
Get married… and to someone who’s not only good looking, but also teaches! No really, if you happen to be what is referred to as a teaching couple, then you are indeed much more marketable. If a professional club were to sign a striker and get a defender in the mix… Schools do indeed kill two birds with one stone when hiring couples. Also, for many schools in cities where housing is an issue, they simply can’t afford to provide single teachers with their own housing.

As much as I don’t like to constantly hear people and schools say this, it just might actually be true.  A school does “save” money by hiring a teaching couple, and they do kill two birds with one stone.  I don’t really believe though that married couples are more “stable”  I’ve seen many couples leave after 2 years (even 1 year one time) at schools I’ve worked at.  One reason they leave early is because they find out their salary is sometimes not covering all their expenses (I’m referring to a school on the Mediterranean for example).  Sometimes, one member of the couple is not completely satisfied working at the school because the school really wanted to only hire their partner and have placed the other member in a position they don’t 100% enjoy or find fulfilling.

What you really love about your host country
I really appreciate this section because it highlights the positive aspects of our lives as international school teachers, something International School Community strives to do as well.  No matter where you are living in the world, there are always things that you enjoy and reminding yourself of those things is a very good idea sometimes (especially when you go through all the different stages of culture shock).  Here is an excerpt of one of the member’s reasons for why they like living in Cyprus:

- I can drive forty minutes from my house in one direction and be in the beach. I can drive forty minutes in another and be in snow.
- Large, luscious lemon trees in my yard
- Ottoman, Greco-Roman, and Venetian architecture

Check out the rest of the website here.

As any Global Nomad will tell you, it can be hard to share stories of living abroad with friends and family back home.

International Schools Review discusses when and how to share your tales without alienating your loved ones.