Hi! Need Help from an expat here! :)

[sundaymorningstaple]

I was sent here by my company. But that was 5 employers and 30 years ago.......

[kelvin8888]

I was sent here by my company. But that was 5 employers and 30 years ago.......

Perhaps you can still remember the cultural shock you went through the first time you arrived here? I am really hoping to find out more and learn from your experience.

[durain]

russian female working in singapore consider expat too?

[sundaymorningstaple]

bet she REALLY had cultural shock!

[kelvin8888]

russian female working in singapore consider expat too?

I think so as long as she is 1) sent by her company to work here in Singapore, and 2)has worked here for at least 6 months. These two criterias are stipulated in my assignment.

I do not wish to plagarise or make out a story but i really do not have any expat friends, so i'm hoping I can get help from a kind soul in this forum.

[kelvin8888]

I'm willing to send details of my assignment to prove the authenticity of my request, if you feel really uncomfortable meeting me. I can also send the questions to anyone willing to help me out, though a face to face interview will have better results. Just convey your experience and thoughts as much as you can. Anyone please?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Can somebody give kelvin a leg up? I believe he is legit and honestly does need some help. Surely one of you were sent here as opposed to being hired here.

[Strong Eagle]

I'm willing to send details of my assignment to prove the authenticity of my request, if you feel really uncomfortable meeting me. I can also send the questions to anyone willing to help me out, though a face to face interview will have better results. Just convey your experience and thoughts as much as you can. Anyone please?

Kelvin... do you get that a lot of people (aka, expats) think this is a bullshit assignment?

It's not about you... it's about a stupid assignment. Why not be creative and do something out of the box? Why not turn it into a real understanding of expats in Singapore? Oh... I get it... thinking out of the box isn't part of the university curriculum here.

[x9200]

Kelvin, I got your PM but I don't fulfill your requirements even if I was on an expat package so unfortunately I agree with SE whoever came up with the criteria made a mistake. I expect this is just to show that you can do the job including compliance to the prerequisites (whatever stupid they may be). In that case maybe it would be easier if you would just send over these 10 questions and people would respond or you supposed to have it recorded?

[kelvin8888]

I am hoping that through the questions, I can know more about how expats are coping with life in Singapore. Not thinking out of the box i fully agree, but at least it is a small step forward.

[kelvin8888]

Kelvin, I got your PM but I don't fulfill your requirements even if I was on an expat package so unfortunately I agree with SE whoever came up with the criteria made a mistake. I expect this is just to show that you can do the job including compliance to the prerequisites (whatever stupid they may be). In that case maybe it would be easier if you would just send over these 10 questions and people would respond or you supposed to have it recorded?

There is no requirement for the interview to be recorded but it does help for recollection. I can post the questions online, but i really hope you can share as much as possible, even if it means writing an essay out of each question. Again, requests for anonymity will be fully respected. Please send your kind answers to [email protected]

Below are the questions:

1. Tell me about one of your overseas assignments, from the time when you first learned about the possibility of going to __________.
1a. Did you prepare this immersion in another cultural environment? If yes, how?
2. What did you think when you first heard you were going to __________?
3. What were the first few days like?
4. Were there things that surprised you about the way people thought or worked?
5. What was your first big ―aha! about the culture?
6. How would you sum up your first six months?
7. Did you have someone who could explain the local culture to you and that you could confide in?
8. How did people see you?
9. Can you describe your relationship with your co-workers?
10. What did you think about your job?
11. What was the most important thing you learned in those first six months?
12. What did your family/spouse think about living in __________?
13. Whom did you mainly socialize with (people from your own culture, third-country expatriates, or host-country nationals)?
14. How many host-country co-workers did you interact with on an average day?
15. How many did you supervise? What was that like?
16. Did you feel you changed as a result of working in _______? If so, how?
17. What was it like to come home (if the person has been repatriated)?
17a. Did you prepare your ―cultural repatriation? If yes, how?
18. Do you feel you get to use the skills you acquired abroad in your current job?
19. What advice would you give to a friend who was on his or her way to a foreign assignment?

Gosh.. I hope my lecturer's not looking at this thread/post

[Strong Eagle]

Kelvin... mate... you ARE the box.

[kelvin8888]

Kelvin... mate... you ARE the box.

I really hope I can change my assignment requirements, but i can't

[x9200]

Ok Kelvin I will truthfully answer these questions from my 6-month perspective to show you what the problem is. I can not be more specific in some points for hopefully pretty obvious reasons.

1. Tell me about one of your overseas assignments, from the time when you first learned about the possibility of going to __________.
It appeared challenging in the sense of higher work standards

1a. Did you prepare this immersion in another cultural environment? If yes, how?
Usual ways, talking to people already there, collecting info from the web

2. What did you think when you first heard you were going to __________?
Excitement

3. What were the first few days like?
Humid

4. Were there things that surprised you about the way people thought or worked?
Yes, on individual person level. I was surprised that somebody that incompetent and clearly not fitting to the role was allowed to work at his/her position.

5. What was your first big ―aha! about the culture?
none

6. How would you sum up your first six months?
honey moon

7. Did you have someone who could explain the local culture to you and that you could confide in?
no

8. How did people see you?
I don't know

9. Can you describe your relationship with your co-workers?
correct, friendly

10. What did you think about your job?
much less challenging than expected

11. What was the most important thing you learned in those first six months?
the common eating places (coffee shops, hawkercentres etc) are very good and safe

12. What did your family/spouse think about living in __________?
NA

13. Whom did you mainly socialize with (people from your own culture, third-country expatriates, or host-country nationals)?
people from your own culture and third-country expatriate

14. How many host-country co-workers did you interact with on an average day?
2-10

15. How many did you supervise? What was that like?
1. Ok.

16. Did you feel you changed as a result of working in _______? If so, how?
No

17. What was it like to come home (if the person has been repatriated)?
NA

17a. Did you prepare your ―cultural repatriation? If yes, how?
NA

18. Do you feel you get to use the skills you acquired abroad in your current job?
NA

19. What advice would you give to a friend who was on his or her way to a foreign assignment?
Nice place to be. Come along if you have opportunity.

So it looks I had it easy and the immersion in the local culture was painless, right?

[Zeenit]

Funny looking at the list we came with my husband's job but I dont think he know much of what happened in the first year really.

The trail spouse is really the person that knows and went thru all the hard parts of a relocate.