Comments for Adventures in Expat Land

Comment on Career Break? Yes Please! by LAJ

LAJ — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:32:29 +0000

Thanks Emma. What I like about Jeff’s video is that he sincerely wants people to make conscious decisions to plan and prepare for a career break rather than heading off into the great unknown without a plan or safety net. The latter is great for ~~some~~ few, but most of us need a little more structure to our escapes. BTW, it’s never too late to try something new

Comment on To Show That They Existed by LAJ

LAJ — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:29:49 +0000

Thank you so much Hanelene. We’re taking it a day at a time, hoping that surgery in the weeks ahead will help. We all have people who have come before us, with us, after us who matter to us. Letting them know that is important.

Comment on Career Break? Yes Please! by Emma Lewis

Emma Lewis — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:07:12 +0000

I don’t know this program, but this is very interesting! I will certainly take a look at his website. Having just retired myself, I can look back now and see that many people I know (and indeed myself) would benefit from a “career break.” It could, of course, easily lead to another career!

Comment on To Show That They Existed by Hanelene

Hanelene — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:40:18 +0000

Love this… we do all try to matter somehow, and by putting out pieces of your soul like this, you live on in everyone you inspire – even if unconsciously.

Prayers and best wishes for your father’s recovery.

Comment on Career Break? Yes Please! by LAJ

LAJ — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:32:34 +0000

You’re very welcome, Jeff. The concept of a ‘gap year’ between high school and university, or university and the working world, or high school and the working world, has been slowly gaining ground. Gone are the days when a person dedicated his/her working life to one employer. Why not take an adulthood sabbatical to refresh and recharge, possibly even change directions? Love your concept, love the execution.

Comment on Career Break? Yes Please! by Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:52:55 +0000

I am so humbled that you wrote about us and spread the word. Thank you! We’re really working to create a culture change that says that it’s OK to take a break. We’ve seen progress, but there’s still so much more to do. All the best to everyone in Expatland!

Comment on Career Break? Yes Please! by LAJ

LAJ — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:49:45 +0000

My pleasure. I love TDN’s Random Nomad interviews and Jeff’s ‘Because life is out there’ tagline, so it was a no-brainer for me. A very cool life he’s carved out for himself. Thanks

Comment on Career Break? Yes Please! by ML Awanohara

ML Awanohara — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:33:36 +0000

Wow, wow, wow! Thanks, Linda, so much for this shout-out! And I quite agree, especially after having done 40+ Random Nomad interviews, Jeff Jung is one special guy! An inspiration to us all, but especially to those who’ve given years of their lives to jobs of any kind (doesn’t have to be corporate, can also be nonprofit, educational, or government) and know what it’s like to experience burn-out. Since there’s no such thing as a “sabbatical” unless you’re lucky enough to be a tenured academic, you may just have to take the bull by the horns and create one for yourself.

But most of us just dream about that… Jeff is someone who’s actually done it, and supports others to give it a try. A big yay for him, plus I sense, from the menu he offers us in the interview, he likes to enjoy a good meal with friends — which shows he has a soul!

Thank you again for featuring him (and us). xxxooo

Comment on To Show That They Existed by LAJ

LAJ — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:39:04 +0000

You’re right, Heather. I recently learned that Husband’s previous boss, a lovely man, dropped dead suddenly just a couple months into what was to be an active retirement. So sad…

Comment on To Show That They Existed by Heather

Heather — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:36:38 +0000

Helping and connecting to the people around us, closest to us… that is a great reminder in considering our lives and our work. Thinking of you and your family…

Comment on Mijn Bediende (My Clerk) by LAJ

LAJ — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:27:34 +0000

Thank you Martijn, and congratulations on speaking all those languages, it is very impressive. By sharing borders with several countries and close to many more, it’s no wonder why the Dutch education system certainly puts an emphasis on learning other languages. I also think that perhaps you, like my favorite AH clerk, like the challenge of making each customer have a good experience; by seeing each customer interaction as a personal challenge, it’s one way to break up the monotony that can come with many jobs. I’m glad you commented, bedankt.

Comment on Mijn Bediende (My Clerk) by Martijn

Martijn — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:09:41 +0000

An explanation for this phenomenon lies in the fact that a relatively large percentage of store clerks in the major cities in the Netherlands are actualy university students. Compared to other jobs, the wage is worth the at times mind-numbing work one has to perform. Consequently, these overskilled clerks may have an understanding of mutiple languages. The fact that they are able to excercise these skills during their labour provides a kind of mental relief; by practicing their foreign languages, their brains are briefly reactivated. The surprise, appraisal and gratitude they receive from the foreigner who has just been aided in his or her own tongue, also provides more satisfaction than a compliment from their boss could ever produce. I know this because I’m familiar with the feeling; I adress my customers in Dutch, French, German, English and Italian.

Sincerely,

A studying clerk

Comment on Politics, Near and Far by LAJ

LAJ — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:38:59 +0000

Hear hear! The interconnectedness is there whether one realizes (or wants) it or not.

Comment on Politics, Near and Far by ML Awanohara

ML Awanohara — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:24:54 +0000

Yes, Europe is certainly where the action is right now. To think, Obama’s reelection could depend to a large extent on what happens there — a factor completely beyond his control! But that’s politics nowadays. Though nations still matter, no nation is an island either…

Comment on To Show That They Existed by LAJ

LAJ — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:43:13 +0000

What an inspirational thing to say, Carrie, thank you. Hope you had a lovely MD with your own wonderful mum

Comment on To Show That They Existed by Carrie

Carrie — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:11:13 +0000

Beautiful Linda, absolutely beautiful. Touched my heart. Sending healing thoughts to you and your family.

Comment on To Show That They Existed by LAJ

LAJ — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:34:58 +0000

Why thank you Maria, that means a lot.

Comment on Politics, Near and Far by LAJ

LAJ — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:34:26 +0000

Hey ML, thanks so much for sharing the DN post about Anu and background context. I just read it and found myself nodding in agreement with many of the things you wrote about your (and Anu’s) evolution of political feelings. I’m sorry that I didn’t see your post when you first published it because I would have jumped in! I like about Anu and Camden is their dedication to remaining deeply involved in ‘home country’ issues; there’s something to be said for being a clear voice of well-informed reason (even if from afar) when anyone ‘on the ground’ locally is viewed with suspicion as politically and/or economically motivated.

As you noted in your DN post, as expats we are often called upon to explain if not defend the positions of our governments and populace. What I’ve learned over and over again is that people do things for complicated reasons; I prefer surrounding myself with people who keep wondering what those reasons are and why they exist than those who drift off into ‘lack of interest land’.

I woke this morning to Merkel’s party taking a hit in their largest province, weakening her base as the tough budget enforcer of the EU; it is going to get far more exciting/painful across Europe in the days ahead. Just as with the Arab Spring, the Europe Spring will force those of us trying to keep up with developments to dig deeper and think more broadly on issues, reasons and repercussions…

Comment on To Show That They Existed by Maria

Maria — Sun, 13 May 2012 23:20:26 +0000

You’ve made the world a better place just by writing this thoughtful post. Elegantly said, Linda.

Comment on Politics, Near and Far by ML Awanohara

ML Awanohara — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:35:17 +0000

Very interesting post, Linda. I tried to start a debate about expats & politics just under a year ago at The Displaced Nation with a post about a Finnish journalist, Anu Partanen. She is now based in Brooklyn but had written an op-ed for the New York Times on the Finnish elections, which had seen the rise of the True Finn party (a nationalist, socially conservative, Euro-skeptic force). Anu watches and cares very deeply about her home country politics.

In the comments section, I forwarded one of my pet theories, which is that most expats live in a political vacuum (yourself and the other expats cited here being the exceptions that prove the rule!). After a while, they reach the point where they don’t vote at home and also don’t ask about the host country’s politics (adhering to the old adage that it’s best to stay off the topics of religion and politics).

Anu rejected this, saying that with the Internet it’s possible to live anywhere and be involved in politics.

Notably, I had engaged in a variation of this debate before with the young Aussie Camden Luxford on the Matador site. Camden is an expat in South America and is doing a politics degree remotely.

(I tried to get Camden to “come in” to the Anu-led discussion, but she was busy at the time.)

Anyway, Camden feels that as a citizen of one of the world’s “middle” powers, she can do more good as a global citizen than as an active participant in her home-country politics.

I, however, disputed the idea that a “global citizen” can do too much unless they are an extraordinary individual with powerful language, writing and negotiation skills — perhaps someone like Anu would qualify. Nations still matter, imho.

Anyway, I just wish I’d known you back then — along with the rest of the individuals you’ve named in this post. The debate would have been so much richer…

Next time!