A President for All

In just a few weeks, the national conventions for the US presidential elections will take place.  The Republican convention will be held in Tampa, Florida while the Democratic convention will take place in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Both states are key to the November election.  Recalling the electoral votes from 4 years ago, here is the  2008 Electoral Map. 

As the campaign enters the final months, no doubt the political rhetoric will  heat up and the candidates will make all kinds of campaign stops.  The presumed nominee for the Republican Party, Mitt Romney is on an international tour.  After day one, he was already stumbling.  You cannot go to some one's country and criticize them.  It just does not work like that, but he did.  He criticized the British on their ability to host the 2012 Summer Games just days before the opening ceremony.  I guess since he was the chairman of the Salt Lake City winter games, no one was in a better position to say something than he is.

Despite all of the criticism that President Obama receives, many people around the world believe that he is on their side.  The other day, I came across a picture from Niger, a country in West Africa and one of the poorest in the world.  There in a fishing village, a man was wearing a shirt that should bring any American to tears.  Here is the picture taken by Anthony Pappone, Festival on the Niger. This man may never meet President Obama, but he knows of him and seems to believe in him.  President Obama's decisions go far beyond the shores of the United States.  If people in the US want the world to respect them then they need to start respecting their own president.  It seems the rest of the world does, for Barack Obama is a president for all.

The Five-Year Hurdle

In the preceding post, I mentioned that the five-year mark is the moment of truth.  This is the moment to decide whether to stay abroad or to return home.  Most corporate assignments do not last more than five years.  There are some reasons for this.  First, the longer you are away from headquarters/home office, the more you are perceived as no longer a member of the department, team or group with whom you previously worked.  Second, you have moved from a domestic career track to an international career track.   Third, many US corporations send employers abroad just ahead of retirement, thus at the end of their assignments they are more likely to return home than stay abroad.  Fourth, the cost of an ex-pat package has become extremely expensive and corporations are looking to cut costs.

But, if the decision is to stay abroad after five years, then you will have many more new experiences.  The first five years are more about not losing contact with the home country and friends, and little about learning the nuances of the local country.  Often during the first five years, one is traveling around the region and spending only a small amount of time in the local country.  For example, I lived in United Kingdom for four years.  I believe I visited Scotland and Wales each only once.  Additionally, I did not visit many areas outside of the London area.  Now that it is ten years since I left the UK, I still have not visited any of these areas.  That was truly a missed opportunity.

A year before reaching the five-year date, my employer requested that I return to the US.  I had worked for this company 11 years and the last 4 were in the UK.  At that point, I was not ready to return to the US, so I took the decision to look for another job.  First, I moved to Paris, and then a couple years later, I came to the shores of Lac Léman and I have been here ever since. 

Living Abroad

Every year thousands of people leave their home country and move abroad.  Some go for professional reasons, and some go for personal reasons.  But if you had the choice would you leave your home country? What factors would impact your decision to go or to stay?

Moving to another country is not an easy decision and one that should not be taken lightly.  If family members are going, then situation becomes even more complex.  How will the children adjust? What schools will they attend?  What will my spouse do?  How will my spouse adjust? 

Living abroad is not for everyone, but for those who are willing to try it then it can be a remarkable  and life changing event.  Of course, there are negatives and positives about one's home country and one's new country.  Each person has to decide which is more advantageous for him or her.  One important point to note is that traveling abroad and living abroad are definitely not the same thing.  Think of traveling abroad as the summer internship, where companies roll out the red carpet.  Think of living abroad as being employed by the company. 

For the first five years one still feels more acquainted to one's home country, but once one passes the 5-year mark, one belongs more to one's new country and the international community than one's home country even if one moves from one country to another during these five years. 

In the beginning everything will be new from understanding the postal system, the transportation system, the social culture, etc.  After 5 years it will all be rather routine, but when you return to your home country the challenges begin again, you might not even know how much it cost to mail a letter or to use the local transportation. 

With all the challenges of living abroad, there are many wonderful experiences from meeting new people to seeing new places.  If you are considering living abroad embrace it and the experience will be life changing.

The Journey Begins

For some time I have debated about writing a blog.  Actually, more than two years ago, I started a blog, but it is mainly a photoblog.  Now I am endeavoring to write/develop a real blog.  Why? Recently, I have been reading blogs by others and some I really enjoy.  Some of the issues I read about are very important to me and I believe they can be developed further.  I am going to weigh in with my two cents. 

The name of the blog is "La Voyageuse" (The Traveler).  I choosed this title because in one word it decribes me.  While there will be entries on traveling, there will also be discussions on multi-cultralism, books, photography and many other dynamic topics. 

The journey starts now from the shores of Lac Léman and who knows which paths and trails it will follow.