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Dec29
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or, Finding a Church Overseas
If you're a church-going practitioner of religion, you'll want to locate a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, center, or whatever, at your new home overseas. Most metropolitan areas abroad have English-language religious services. You can contact other expats before you go, to see if they can offer information.
Some churches, like the Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), have a world-wide presence and homogeneity of practice and doctrine. Finding a Mormon church at your destination is as easy as visiting the website and putting in the name of the city into the "Meetinghouse locator". For others, a central missionary office might offer help.
I once attended a unique Sunday School class in Germany. The teacher was German, but also spoke French and English. The class was made up of travelers and foreigners, like myself, who spoke French, English, and Spanish. The lesson was taught mostly in German. Questions were asked in several languages, and answers were given in several languages and translated by class members where necessary. Each read the Bible passages in his/her native tongue. It was like the Day of Pentecost!
Actually, attending religious services in the local language is a good way to measure progress in the language. When you can finally enjoy the sermon and participate in Sunday School, you can congratulate yourself.
I welcome your comments on finding and participating in religious services abroad.
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Dec28
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The Associated Press has circulated yet another heart-warming story about Iraqi children who were brought to the U.S. for life-saving medical treatment. It made page A12 of my local paper. It also provided one answer to the question I posed...
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Dec27
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I want to offer a few tips to help you learn a foreign language. Employers, feel free to pass these on to personnel going abroad, but not in lieu of language training.
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As a follow-up to yesterday's entry about kids abroad, I thought I should say a few things about foreign sports. First, as an element of local culture, sporting events shouldn't be missed. Whether it's dragon boat racing, or goat grabs,...
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Dec26
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Studies show that children who spend significant time in foreign lands and cultures are affected for years thereafter.
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Visa law isn't cut and dried. A vice consul sits as a judge and relies heavily on the term "convinced". In a country troubled by domestic uncertainties, the vice consul starts the day with the ingrained assumption that most of the applicants do not want to use their visitor's visa for a short, legal visit.
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Dec23
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Christmas time in Abu Dhabi: the national colors of the United Arab Emirates are red, green and black, and the national day is in early December. The 8th, if I remember correctly. So in about the middle of November, the...
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Dec20
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It's easy for a prosperous, healthy expat to take pity on the tragic cases that one finds abroad. Can something be done? Yes, always. You can mount a valiant and massive effort, as my friend did, or you can find charities that reach overseas. There are many. I invite representatives to tell us about the good works being done overseas.
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Sometimes monumental things happen back home while we are away. In other words, life goes on without us. This is especially hard for funerals and family reunions, but we also miss birthdays, weddings, and other major events. Sometimes, like with the death of a mother, we are pulled back home. I guess my point is that there are some things that we simply should not miss, no matter how far away we live.
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Dec19
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When does an expat athlete become an immigrant? Thousands of foreign athletes have become famous in the NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball, and other sports in the U.S., while some Americans have done so in Japan, Europe, and elsewhere. Most seem to stay abroad after retirement. Am I wrong? Also, which expats have used sports fame to benefit their native soil?
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Who wasn't moved to see the extraordinary efforts of Iraqis in the United States and elsewhere (out of Iraq) to vote for their new government?
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Dec15
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I know what it takes to learn a foreign language, and I know how vital it is to be able to communicate in the local language. I also know that many organizations, government and private sector, do an inadequate job of preparing their employees (and the families of the employees) to survive in a foreign language setting.
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I want to hear from companies that send personnel overseas, as well as from the personnel themselves. I would like to discover the most praiseworthy programs for preparing employees for life and service overseas and hear their lessons learned.
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When a child is born to you while overseas, questions come up regarding citizenship and birth records. There are things you need to know, and there are things you need to do. Let's take an initial look.
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Dec14
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I don't expect the readers to share my views. I welcome all intelligent contributions. And KMM gives me liberty to engage in dialogue as I deem fit, to keep or edit (delete) comments, and other such command decisions. I know KMM is looking for writer/editors, and I encourage those interested to contact them.
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I want to share a personal story to alert you to things you might encounter during your stay abroad that you will find new and odd. It involves the Abu Dhabi water system.
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A passport is a document issued by a government to allow the bearer to "pass" the "port" of entry of another country. It is evidence that the issuing country recognizes and validates the bearer of the passport. And while you may pay a hefty fee to get a passport, it isn't yours; it belongs to the government.
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Visas are permissions granted to enter a country. They are normally stamped or glued into your passport by a consul, vice consul, or consular agent in the embassy or consulate of the issuing country. They usually tell how long they are valid for, how many entries they allow (single or multiple), and what your "status" is, such as diplomat, tourist, or on business.
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If you're heading overseas for an extended stay, you will want to have a good strategy for converting your money into the local currency. (I'm assuming that you will not be paid in the local currency, which is standard practice for international companies.) It's important to learn before you go where to keep your money and how you'll get it once in your foreign home.
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Dec13
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While it doesn't state a bias, an article distributed today by the Associated Press lays out the numbers in such a way as to paint immigrants as a dangerous swarm. I want to look closely at what the numbers say and interpret them with a more lenient, and less provocative slant.
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Dec12
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I heard that President Bush's proposal that guest worker status be offered to laborers now in the U.S. illegally has been removed from an immigration reform bill now in the House of Representatives. I hope it isn't true. The main argument against it thus far is that it rewards those who are already here illegally. Opponents say they should be forced to return to their country of origin (that being Mexico in most cases) to register there. That line of reasoning makes no sense to me.
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America is, for the most part, a place of law and order. If there are lines painted to show which way to go, we stay within the lines. If the street has a line down the middle, we don't often go over that line. For the American abroad, following that habit may lead to great frustrations.
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I not only need to encourage cultural training for folks entering a new culture, but I need to begin describing some of the things you'll find "out there". Let's start with personal space.
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Dec 7
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I'm interested in finding out about places where American congregate and live abroad. I'm looking for firsthand accounts of why these places are popular and what they offer.
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Ambrose Bierce, one of the most brilliant (and some say, twisted) satirists in American literature, is famed in fiction as "El Gringo", an elderly curmudgeon who wandered into Pancho Villa's territory in Northern Mexico and was never heard from again. Most sources place his death in Mexico in 1914, but the truth is that no hard evidence places Bierce in Mexico. It's possible that he never got there at all.
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Dec 5
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Mormon missionaries are connected to excellent support networks including communications, cultural events, and local community connections. Whether or not you agree with their teachings or their methods, I recommend them as valuable contacts and friends while living overseas.
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I'm sorry to share even a portion of our grief with you on a topic that you might not want to consider, but then, my brother never thought he'd be dealing with it now.
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Dec 1
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You might find it necessary to go to your local Embassy or consulate. It isn't likely to be pleasant. Modern embassies are fortresses.
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It is always a good idea to register with the Embassy, even if you'll only be in the country a short time.
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While at an international conference in Muscat in about 1999, the head of our delegation suffered a mild heart attack. As the only Arabic speaker in the group, it fell to me to accompany him to the hospital, get him admitted, and keep the rest of the delegation apprised of his condition. All things considered, except for the threat to the life of a colleague, it was a positive experience.
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While in Israel in 1989, I was struck by a car and suffered two fractured vertebrae. I was told I came very close to becoming paralyzed. The story of the medical care I received in Israel should serve as a warning to other expats there, and perhaps in other areas with similar nationalized healthcare systems.
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My son was born in Abu Dhabi of the UAE in 1987, and they already had excellent medical facilities at that time.
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