When Carolyn Parse Rizzo from Interval Coaching talked about coping styles on the FIGT (Families in Global Transition) facebook group, I thought about what coping styles my family and I have. We may all experience that family members, friends, colleagues etc. are dealing with the current COVID19 situation, or any kind of difficult and unforeseeable […]
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How to cope with this new situation
There are many posts and articles reporting what we should do and what we should avoid during the time that many of us are facing right now. Many families here in Europe are going to stay indoors, at home, in the next weeks. If we are home with children, trying to get some work done, […]
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How to fill in names in forms in the Netherlands
When filling in forms in the Netherlands, many internationals struggle when confronted with voorletters and tussenvoegsel and wonder what and why they need to fill in these parts of the form. In most forms one is asked to indicate voornaam, voorletters, achternaam, and sometimes there is also a field called tussenvoegsel. Voornaam is the name […]
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How to deal with negative comments about one of our cultures
Every person that has spent some time abroad has probably made this experience. It can either be during a vacation or during a long(er) stay in another country. Someone just says something judgmental about our culture, our nationality, the way we look or dress, the way we speak or the way we do things, and […]
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Conversations when meeting family and friends “back home”…
Internationals sometimes ask me about how one can make sure that during our stays “back home” we have meaningful conversations with our family and friends? Many internationals spend hours in planes, trains, cars, wait in long lines – in traffic, airports, train stations etc…. – having their journeys delayed on their way “back home” or […]
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