Monday, February 01, 2010
Transitions Abroad Expatriate Travel Writing Contest
TransitionsAbroad.com is inviting expat writers to enter its 2010 Expatriate Travel Writing Contest.

Professionals, freelancers and aspiring writers are invited to write articles which describe their experience living abroad. Often an experience abroad may be extended by working or studying in the host country. Living, working, and studying abroad are often inextricable so judges are interested in these aspects as well.

The site is an unbelievable resources for expats and writers alike. If you want more info on the contest go directly to this link and good luck!

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FAWCO Conference March 11-14 2010 in Boston
In other news involving the Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas , members from clubs around the world will be gathering in Boston in mid-March.

Representatives from the FAWCO clubs meet annually to discuss and adopt resolutions which will direct FAWCO’s activities for the coming year on issues such as overseas voting, dual-citizenship, environmental concerns, literacy, women’s health, and human rights. The FAWCO Foundation announces its Education Award and Development Grant recipients at the meeting.

The conference also offers practical training sessions in organizational development and leadership, which the delegates may use to strengthen their own organizations.

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Clements International 2010 Expat Youth Scholarship
The deadline for entries has been set for May 2010 for this year's Clements International Expat Youth Scholarship. Winners will be announced in mid-September.

The contest, for third culture kids to write about and come up with multi-media presentations about their young mobile lives, once again has as its theme "Life in a Flying House" which inspired some amazing contributions last year.

You can download all the information--and rewards--for entering the contest at this link.

Some of the entries last year made fascinating reading (you can find them on the site) and certainly made it difficult to judge a winner, that was for sure, as last year I had that honour along with representatives from the Foreign Service Youth Foundation and the Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas.

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Sunday, January 17, 2010
"The Unofficial Diplomat: A Memoir"
Nothing made me happier than when Joanne Grady Huskey succeeded in publishing her extraordinary story and experiences as the wife of an American diplomat in China, India and Kenya. "The Unofficial Diplomat: A Memoir" (New Academia Publishing) released in late 2009 was truly twenty years in the making.

I met Joanne when we were both posted in Beijing, China in the early 1990s. But I arrived a year after that country's political turning point of 1989 and the crackdown in Tiananmen Square. Joanne, however, was right in the thick of it and writes superbly about the events people only saw from CNN. She offers perspective literally from the ground level. I also was fortunate to carry on some of her work with the Beijing International Volunteers, which she created to assist with disabled Chinese orphans (many of whom had the sole disability of being girl-babies.) The first time I saw the youngsters performing in wheel chairs was extraordinarily moving, and it was all due to Joanne's fine work (her own background is in dancing) and committment to them.

From China, Joanne and her family moved to India (where she started a cross-cultural business and what eventually became the American School of Chennai where coincidentally, I lectured in 2008!) and to Kenya, where she once again got caught up in political events when the American Embassy in Nairobi was bombed. As a writer (and not Joanne's stalker!) I would say these kinds of circumstances lead to great reportage but Joanne never exploits her experiences, but rather informs and enlightens the reader of both world events in the larger view, and daily life for a diplomatic spouse in more intimate day-to-day living matters.

Not only does she advance 'the cause' by educating those who think diplomatic and expat wives are just along for the ride as 'expensive luggage' (the designation I used to cheekily write on my landing cards when I was a not-terribly-diplomatic-Canadian foreign service spouse), but she is an extremely intelligent writer who asked a lot of question, and always engaged fully in the culture of her host countries. She tried to be an agent of change, unofficially of course.

Naturally, I couldn't resist sending off a few questions to Joanne by e-mail so she could give readers of ExpatExpert a bit more insight into how the book came about:

EE: Joanne, you've talked about writing this book for years! What finally made you sit down and just do it?

JGH: The fifteenth anniversary of the U.S. Embassy bombing in Nairobi, and the twentieth anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen Square in China came within less than a year. Commemorating these two major historical events was finally the impetus for getting my book out. I felt that the Chinese government had all but succeeded in sweeping the truth of Tiananmen under the rug, and many young people in China and elsewhere had no idea what happened there. I felt it was important to yet again tell the story of what happened in June 1989 in China, so people will know the truth. Equally important was the story of the Embassy bombing in Kenya. For many Americans, Africa is far away and the bombing of the US Embassy there hardly registered. I believe it was a critical turning point in the efforts of Al Queda to terrorize Americans, and again, I wanted the truth of the event to be known. Beyond that, it was the encouragement of my friends, you included, Robin, that pushed me to finally complete the book.

EE: Of so many highlights of your career as an unofficial diplomat, can you name your absolute favourite (or most satisfying) moment?

JGH: There have been many satisfying moments -- seeing my business in India grow, seeing the children in the American School in India happily studying, but perhaps one of the most satisfying moments was seeing Theresa Karanja, a Kenyan victim of the Embassy bombing, whose rehabilitation I had funded, come back after many months of rehabilitation in South Africa. When she left Kenya she had given up on life, when she returned, she beamed with hope and determination. It was a moment of healing for her and for me, Kenyan and American, both victims of that atrocity joined together to prove that the terrorists would not succeed.

EE: Do you think other 'unofficial diplomats' get the credit they deserve? If yes, by who?? If no, why not?

JGH: Absolutely not! So many people do amazing things that make this earth a better place and never get any recognition or credit for what they do. The supporting family members of diplomats, business people, journalists, and others living overseas often are never applauded for all that they do. I wrote this book partly to make a statement that the "unofficial diplomats" often do as much, or more, than the "official" ones to promote international understanding and peace. I hope that message comes across in the book, loud and clear.

Yes, Joanne, it does come through loud and clear! The book can be ordered through amazon.com at this link.

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Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Time to Sign up for Families in Global Transition
Registration is open now for Families in Global Transition in Houston March 4-6th. I simply cannot say enough good things about this conference.

If you are working with expatriate families, you can't afford to miss this annual meeting. The content will overwhelm you!

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Friday, December 18, 2009
Robin Pascoe's books all now available in e-book format!
My holiday present to myself: I've just worked my brains out to convert all of my titles into e-book format as well as still offering the real deal (print, that is!) Oh what a technological headache this was: but for people who don't want to wait for shipping, customs etc etc, you can download any one of my titles now from Powell's on line bookstore. They can be downloaded from anywhere in the world! Hurray!

They are all in Adobe e-book format and require you download for free Adobe Digital Editions. But the format is also compatible with Sony E-reader for those who get one for Christmas.

Still left is Amazon.com's Kindle....but that will have to wait until Amazon.com decides to let publishers other than American ones get on board. Right now, as a Canadian publisher, I'm shut out from Kindle along with publishers from every other country in the world!

But if you find out this holiday season that you are being posted, or are considering it, you can read all about it by downloading any of my books.

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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Should I Stay or Go?
I love the subtitle of this new book from journalist Paul Allen who runs the website ExpatLiving101. It's: "The Truth About Moving Abroad and Whether it's Right for You."

I love it because over the years, I have met so many people who have such unrealistic expectations about a global relocation. This e-book will open up many people's eyes to the realities, good and bad, of an international move.

Citing recent surveys and numerous other resources, anyone thinking about taking the giant leap will not be doing it into the complete unknown as the reader can find a reference to every aspect of the move. My pal Jo Parfitt writes a great introduction as well!

For those of you who know someone contemplating a move but uncertain if it's the right decision, it can be ordered off Paul's website which also provides tons more information about the contents of the book.

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Sabbaticals 101: A Practical Guide for Academics and Their Families
You have to love the inter-connected world we live in. When Nancy Matthews, the author of this wonderfully pratical how-to book for academics Sabbaticals 101 first contacted me, we discovered she not only was a fellow Canadian, but her hometown family doctor was the former partner of my brother the doctor! Only in Canada...

Nancy and her husband David are currently living her words: on sabbatical in New Zealand since September and as she put it, taking all her own advice from paperwork before and after, to taking the kids, to taking a break! As she writes in her introduction, "After five overseas sabbaticals and exchanges, I've found what works--and what doesn't." She shares all that knowledge in a very readable, accessible way. Think of it as a road map.

While aimed at an academic market, the book is extremely useful to any family pulling up stakes for a year as Nancy combines her own stories with extremely useful advice. Still time to order a copy as a Christmas present for anyone you know taking a sabbatical in 2010!

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Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Expat life and social media sites
I am feeling incredibly 20th century lately as I continue to navigate (with the help of a lot of advil) the Internet for all the information and support now offered--in the 21st century--via social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (the ones I do know). Of course there are also expat social media sites, many of them to be found in my links section.

The reason I mention this, besides the obvious that social media is not going away, is that for expats, it's almost impossible to find everything that is out there and these sites are all guideposts. People post links to such interesting articles you may never have found on your own. And, on Facebook, there are speciality expat pages (including my own for this site) and on LinkedIn there are expatriate 'chat' groups (shall I call them 'wall groups')?

In other words, so many more ways to feel connected, find like-minded souls, and find excellent information straight from people living the life!

One cautionary word though (the same advice I give when I'm lecturing) is that while these are all marvellous tools for the reasons I just gave above, remember that living abroad means making new friends in the 'here and now', not just in cyberspace. So be careful how much time you spend ignoring the new culture outside your door in favour of the one on your screen!

And finally, limit your teenagers time with friends 'at the last place'. A good tip for parents (another idea picked up along the way on a lecture tour) to control your teen's time on line: turn off the wireless router in your house at 11pm. Works like a charm!

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The new "Expat Harem" website
The dynamic women behind the book and the website Expat Harem have re-launched the site as a 'neocultural hub for global citizens and identity adventurers'. That's a mouthful to be sure but the new version of the site allows for guest posters and links to other cultural sites. Definitely worth having a look!

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Friday, October 02, 2009
Important lecture series on domestic violence abroad
Paula Lucas of the American Domestic Violence Crisis Line (tel: 866-USWOMEN) will spend this month and next launching the first phase of her organization's Global Campaign to Empower Americans Abused Abroad.

Lucas will be presenting in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Paris & Geneva on dates (and more information and the educational lecture series) to be listed here.

I contacted Paula to find out who is helping her on this very important and much-needed initiative.

"The Ending Violence Against Women & Children Task Force of FAWCO has been our partner in organizing these events," said Lucas. "FAWCO (and that's the Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas) in general, AARO and ACA have also been very helpful getting the venues donated. The funding came from the Oak Foundation of Switzerland with air transportation from the USA to London provided by Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Lucas will be presenting at both the morning information sessions and afternoon volunteer outreach ambassador trainings. They will also have someone from each Embassy presenting on what they can do to assist American victims of domestic violence and a member of the Ending Violence Against Women & Children Task Force will speak.

Support Paula's fine work.

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AMJ Campbell International