I admire the expatriates who seem to be able to live out of their suitcase. They arrive in their new home, unpack the tennis racket or the golf sticks and are off to the nearest club. They become a member of the international community and network in the circle of their fellow countrymen. Piece of cake!
In reality I am sure it takes more than that. Every (international) move requires preparation, flexibility and creativity. And if all of this fails to solve the problem, a good portion of humour!
I remember when we moved to Bucharest, we were living in an area where a lot of construction was going on. This resulted in frequent power-cuts. No electricity meant no light, no water which came from a well, no heating, no internet,….
We got used to it and had always a couple of buckets of water ready, the laundry was done in the evening after working hours, and in winter we had a gas stove in case of low gas pressure.
A lot of our electrical supplies had a build-in clock. These were not connected to a central clock and were starting at 00:00 after each power-cut. It still makes me smile when thinking of my eldest son who answered my question “what time is it?” with “one hour and forty seven minutes since the last power-cut”. It is this state of mind which prevents you from getting mad or crazy.
In reality I am sure it takes more than that. Every (international) move requires preparation, flexibility and creativity. And if all of this fails to solve the problem, a good portion of humour!
I remember when we moved to Bucharest, we were living in an area where a lot of construction was going on. This resulted in frequent power-cuts. No electricity meant no light, no water which came from a well, no heating, no internet,….
We got used to it and had always a couple of buckets of water ready, the laundry was done in the evening after working hours, and in winter we had a gas stove in case of low gas pressure.
A lot of our electrical supplies had a build-in clock. These were not connected to a central clock and were starting at 00:00 after each power-cut. It still makes me smile when thinking of my eldest son who answered my question “what time is it?” with “one hour and forty seven minutes since the last power-cut”. It is this state of mind which prevents you from getting mad or crazy.
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