Rona Hart - Preparing for Your Move Abroad: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

eISBN: 978-1-85733-650-4

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the
British Library

Copyright 2012 Kuperard

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission in writing from the publishers.

Culture Smart! is a registered trademark of Bravo Ltd

First published in Great Britain 2012
by Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Ltd
59 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DS
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8446 2440 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8446 2441
www.culturesmart.co.uk
Inquiries:

Editor Geoffrey Chesler
Design Bobby Birchall

Printed in Singapore

Cover images and illustration on iStockphoto

v3.1

RONA HART is an academic researcher, trainer, and counselor. She has a doctorate from Kings College London in Education (Social Psychology) and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Group Facilitation and Counseling (TELEM).

After completing her Ph.D. on immigration, relocation, and cross-cultural experience, she developed a series of techniques and interventions, based on the principles of Positive Psychology, that are designed to facilitate major life transitions and desired transformations. Later she established a successful company offering relocation training and counseling services.

Dr. Hart is an expert in the psychology of change. She has devoted her career to empowering people, helping them to shift unproductive thoughts and behaviors into successful patterns that allow them to generate positive outcomes and transform their lives.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this book is intended for educational purposes, and should not replace consultation with a relocation professional such as a relocation trainer, solicitor, tax advisor, or psychologist.

The content of the book is intended to be used as an adjunct to a rational and responsible relocation program, and the author and publisher are in no way liable for any misuse of the material.

Welcome to Preparing For Your Move Abroadyour personal relocation training program!

International relocation is, unquestionably, one of the most exciting and rewarding ventures you will ever embark upon. It is also one of the most challenging, and, indeed, life-changing experiences. Every aspect of your life will be affected by this move.

The sunny side of relocation is well known. For some, it may well be a path to survival. For many, it is a quest for progress: better jobs or educational opportunities, an improved lifestyle, new relationships, and new dreams and goals to accomplish.

The cloudy side of relocation has also been acknowledged. No matter how successful the move turns out to be, most people who relocate experience pressures and challenges that tax them, both physically and emotionally.

This book is a complete relocation guide that brings the practical details of the relocation journey together with the cultural and psychological aspects. It provides you with more than knowledge: it provides a success plana series of easy to follow, step-by-step guides that will help you to prepare for and manage the tasks and challenges involved in your move abroad effectively.

My goal in writing this book is to turn challenges into opportunities for growth. I believe the more knowledge you have, and the more prepared and better equipped you are to address the challenges of your relocation, the more effective and successful you will be in confronting and responding to these challenges. The book provides a tried and tested set of tools that will enable you to go through your journey with clarity, confidence, and peace of mind, and make your transition fruitful, efficient, and rewarding.

Learning to manage change will make you a better qualified professional, equipped with a cross-cultural mindset that will enable you to understand and manage difference anywhere in the world. This book shows you how.

Preparing For Your Move Abroad is organized along a typical relocation timeline. It takes you from the very first stage of your relocationthe decision to moveto your integration into the host society, and through each and every stage in between.

The first part of the book is about preparation. It lays down a strategy for efficient and timely decision making, planning, and preparation, that is practical and easy to follow.

The second part concentrates on the cultural aspect of your move. It discusses what culture is, explains the cross-cultural adaptation process and why crossing cultures provokes culture shock, and offers you a framework for cross-cultural learning.

The third part concentrates on the transition period of your relocation journey, from the shipment of your belongings to the relocation day.

The fourth part looks into the settling-in and adjustment period, and takes you, step by step, through the process of reorganizing your life.

The fifth part provides you with essential knowledge about culture shock: what is it, why it occurs, what triggers it, and its phases and symptoms.

Finally, the sixth part reviews the adaptation to integration phases, and offers a knowledge base and powerful strategies for bridging the cultural divide.

In short, Preparing For Your Move Abroad offers:

A strong knowledge base on each and every phase of the relocation journey.

A strategy to manage the issues at hand.

Psychological preparation.

An action plan, presented through exercises, action steps, check lists, and many easy-to-use tools.

Follow these signposts to help you navigate your way through the book:

Essential knowledge and useful tips

Exercises

Action steps (presented as check lists)

The book is intended for three groups of people:

Settlers: those of you who are relocating with the intention of settling permanently in your destination country.

Sojourners: those who are relocating abroad for a period of a year or more with the intention of returning to your homelands in due course (such as expatriates, academics on sabbatical, overseas students, volunteers, and others).

Relocation professionals: if you are a relocation agent, a counselor, a trainer, a psychologist, or a social worker, working with people who have relocated or who are planning to relocate, you can use this guide as a source of ideas to work with individuals or groups.