Just curious what you all think the most common mistakes foreigners are known to make when moving overseas for the first time

thanks - James

My opinion is: there are probably many specific to each country. But especially in the context of teaching EFL, I'd say it can be a mistake to too easily just accept what one person (your boss/employer, one person on a website) says.

I'd hate to say - don't trust people, but I would say - try to check multiple sources. This can be challenging the first time moving overseas, and sometimes you do just have to take one person's word for it.

Interesting topic.

I second, "Don't trust people."

Not that people are all evil...not that.

No, someone tells you something, but they are either lying or are wrong or are trying to sound more knowledgeable than they are. So you discover that some opportunity that was available to you, you blew because you didn't follow up on it. Or something that you thought was okay has landed in you, instead, in a Colombian prison.

Be leery of the cool little place that no one else has discovered to eat at. There may be a reason that no one else is there.

There are more, but I'm on the run....

D

I would imagine most foreigners suffer when they decide to be overly paranoid and aren't willing to embrace differences or acknowledge the little things going on around them. When you feel this way, you convey a subliminal message that prevents interaction from others. Be open to everything. Oh, and don't expect the locals to ever speak your native language, be it English or otherwise.

Every country has its own cautions: Here are some universal ones:

1: when you meet an expat, and he tells you all negative things, wonder why he or she is there. Its probably because they've got nowhere better to go and probably have a lover on the side they;re not talking about. Either way, take what they say with a grain of salt if all they say is bitter.

2: Sometimes things ARE are bad as the expats or experienced people say in terms of things you would rather not believe ie: Trusting or the ability of oficialdom to screw you.

For example. I have Turkish friends. They are good friends, but... when it comes to money, the turkish people in Istanbul have interesting attitudes, especially when its not theirs. They won't take you to the cheapest place, or find you the best prices.

I have grown to love Istanbul, but I know the people well enough to know when a line is being thrown at me. Be open, but when money is concerned, be cautious. This is true of a lot of places, ESPECIALLY where boyfriends/romance is concerned.

Also, here are some tried and true rules.

Never take any routine business or official transaction as routine. Prepare for it as one prepares for an athletic event. There will be sure to be obstacles in the way, and patience to be exercised. Not speaking the language fluently is a massive disadvantage, and they will take that advantage sometimes, especially in countries that are Xenophobic in nature.

No visit to an official office for a specific purpose will be just a visit, but an adventure. Look at it as such, and let the adventure continue.

Everyday things, like shopping for hardware, can be an adventure, as sometimes there are four shops to go to instead of one.

Contracting construction work can be a nightmare, and don't let anyone tell you that hiring people is cheap and effective. As a stranger, prices will mysteriously rise to match your percieved income level, and respect may very well fall.

Some advice on this level: Always take the step of getting a materials list from the contractor and going with them to buy it yourself. In that way at least you're guaranteed the goods are paid for. A friend of mine once got stuck with the bills for an entire job because the contractor deferred payment while taking the money for himself. Also, that way you can see for just what you are paying. This goes for contracting work on sewing in asia as well. Provide the cloth and materials, at the cost of YOUR time, and you will be well rewarded by having good materials used(Unless they substitute). Also, check and doublecheck all work, and it doesn;t matter if you seem a busybody. The quality of the contracted work just may not meet your standards, and they just may not care.

If you pay for a job of a certain quality, and make it known you want this quality, make sure you get it, because often the paid supervisors will not.

Oh yes... about that out of the way place to eat??

If its packed full of people, it just might be good.

Complaining about the cultural differences to a person from that country. In my country.....

Setting up a job before you go could be a blessing or a curse. Signing a contract before you go is risky.

I'll third the 'trust' thing, even on benign topics.

Another thing: Hanging out only with expats or only with locals. Figuring out how things work means learning from other expats--locals won't nessassarilz understand the hoops you have to jump through or the simple differences from home. But if you hang around too many expats and forming a critical mass of 'home' preventing you from getting in to it all. (That's my theory on the source of negative expat people.)

I have to support KatieL57's notions - and say that all experience is personal.

Don't accept what any one person has to say - it has NOTHING to do with trust, it has to do with the fact that everyone has a different experience - even in the same setting with the same events.

I have worked and enjoyed places that others hated. Gotten along with bosses that others thought were impossible, enjoyed students that others couldn't handle.

If you interviewed me about the job - you would be sold. If you interviewed the other person about the job - you would wonder why someone was trying to sell you a can of cra*p.

DO interview people about countries, jobs, schools, but don't just listen to whether they like it or not - or even why they like it or not. Listen for the content of the emotion they express - and see if it fits with where you might come from.

This idea is important, because if you intend to spend any significant time overseas you need to learn to be independent in ways that you can't imagine. And the first independence - is taking responsibility for yourself and NOT blaming anyone else for what happens in your life, job, relationships.

I've noticed a lot of people seem to forget they're not at home and don't realize that such things as free speech are not necessarily universal. I've observed classes where the teacher openly criticized the government, etc of their host country. While you can usually get away with it, it doesn't go over well. In some cases, it can get you in real trouble.

quote:

Originally posted by TedKarma:it has NOTHING to do with trust, it has to do with the fact that everyone has a different experience - even in the same setting with the same events.

It has everything to do with 'trust'. I think your definition of 'trust', Ted, might to overly specific and does not match how the rest of use are using it.

During my six years of teaching overseas I saw a number of people who went into deep culture shock and ended up being pretty nasty about the place they were in. This is not surprising, but what was a common mistake among many of them was they had not expected this because they had spent “a month” or “a semester” abroad when they were in college or high school. In a semester abroad college program you are often cocconed from the outside world and are “not alone” like you are when you live by yourself outside of a college program. So I would say a common mistake is people thinking “they won’t have culture shock because they have done it before” when they really haven’t.

One common mistake, in my opinion, is assuming you won't be there that long so there's no point in learning the language. I've often moved to a country 'for a few months' and lo and behold, left after a few years. My life would have been vastly different and less pleasant had I not made some effort to learn a bit of language.

Another common mistake is forgetting that frames of reference are different and there your 'right' may well be someone else's 'wrong'. You especially hear this around issues of human rights, democracy... I certainly know what I believe in and will promote those beliefs when I feel I can, but I will try to remember that others feel they are as right as I feel...

I think the biggest mistake is to not pack a lot of patience. When you move to a new country, you are like a child again, learning how to navigate in the grown up world. Things are now done in different and baffling ways, and as an expat you have to learn the ropes and not get frustrated. You must become comfortable with the fact you don’t know how things work and just plug away.

I often see people irritated about the fact they cannot apply western, and more specifically American, standards of promptness and customer service to daily interactions in other countries. I was like that myself. But one must accept this is NOT the US: things are slower, often illogical or baffling, usually inefficient, and the customer is not king, merely a participant. If you relax, slow down, and go with the flow, the mysteries of opening a bank account or finding an apartment or procuring insurance become manageable.

Don't get involved in local politics! You don't understand the game, no matter how smart you think you are, and you'll just be used as a pawn.

Don't try to save the world. Seriously. It's patronizing. I lived overseas, in a poorer area, and it was amazing how many people would visit and by the third day start telling locals exactly what they needed to do to make life better. Imagine a tourist with a camera walking around Detroit telling us how to end poverty and violence. It'd be silly.

Not drinking the water. Most people world-wide know to boil the water. They don't want to get sick any more than you do. If a glass is offered accept it with a smile, rather than giving the host the third degree (water at street stalls is a different story!).

Ignoring gender roles and social classes. This was the hardest for me. I had to bow in the presence of a chief. That was hard. I had to learn to change my language and style of speaking depending on whether I was speaking to men or women. I had to accept that there was men's work and women's work. In time you can challenge the roles, but you really should learn how things work inside the culture before you start your egalitarian revolution.

quote:

Originally posted by Insubordination:

Setting up a job before you go could be a blessing or a curse. Signing a contract before you go is risky.

This really depends on what kind of work you'll be doing. My husband and I both teachers - regular school teachers, not ESL teachers. We taught for many years in international schools abroad (in four different countries) and we would have been foolish to NOT sign the contract before going. Because we signed the contract before, we were considered "foreign hires" and our housing was provided, as was yearly transport back home for summer break. If we had waited, we would have been considered "local hires" and would have received a lower salary for the same work, no housing, and no plane tickets.

Check out all your options, then decide on the best one.