Welcome to the Expat Connection

As each family rose to introduce themselves, it became obvious that we were one of the only "virgin" families living outside their home country for the first time. Most of them were old hands at moving from country to country, this being their third, fourth or fifth move. The new headmaster of the school held the record though, this was his 26th move.

We were at the "new family" orientation at Jed's school. While the kids were off in another room hanging out and getting to know each other, the parents were standing, in turn, and relaying the important stuff - who, where from, how long here, etc. It was quite a diverse group - people from English, Australia, Ireland, Finland, Nigeria, France, Belgium, India, the US and a number of locals from Japan. Despite the differences in years of expat experience, we had a few things in common- several of us were still waiting for our shipments to arrive and were staying in temporary housing, we were all excited about our new lives here and most interested in making connections with others.

For new families, people here by themselves or spouses of people here on assignment (that's me!!), it can be an isolating experience being in a country where you can't speak the language and know no one. In order to assist newcomers, the school has a great support system - even providing us with a family "buddy" to answer any questions we had. They also organize various activities, volunteer opportunites, etc.

Outside the school, there are groups that cater to the expat world - all with the express purpose of bringing people together. I have been brave (very brave) and have gone to a few of the get-togethers. The first is a group called Stitch n'Bitch, a group for people who knit and crochet. We met in a restaurant, had some food, and then pulled out our projects and just sat around talking (no bitching that night). There was someone from Australia, Japan and several of us from the US. It was a nice way to spend an evening. The old timers were quick to give pointers to us newbies and a good time was had by all. Here is my finished project:



Last week I went to dinner with four other woman, one of whom had started a dining club for once a month dinners. We met at an Italian restaurant, had great pizza and talked and talked. All of the other women had been here for several years and it was interesting to hear their perspective after all this time.

This is not to say that I don't think of my friends back home all the time. And miss you all terribly. But the good news is when you ALL come and visit (and you better), I will be able to show you a really good time given the education I am getting from all of these fabulous ex-pats!!!