Released in 1999, starring Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat and Tom Felton. Based on the diaries of Anna Leonowens, an English widow who spent six years in the court of Siam as teacher to King Mongkut’s children, the film pays homage to Anna, portrays some of the historical events of the time, and adds more than a soupcon of Hollywood-style romance. Mrs. Leonowens arrived in Bangkok in 1862, to teach the King’s oldest son, Prince Chulalongkorn. She immediately sets the tone for her relationship with …
Five Stages of Culture Shock
I just finished reading a truly excellent article over at Expat Exchange. In Culture Shock: It's the Little Things that Count in the Biggest Ways, author Desi Downey identifies five stages of culture shock: Honeymoon/Tourist Irritation-to-Anger Rejection/Regression Integration/Assimilation Reverse or Reentry You can read the entire article here Downey went to China with her husband, sent there by his company. As she describes it, "One of the first things I noticed about China was …
Does Thinking About Moving Make You More Creative?
A few months ago, I published the results of a Fast Company study of MBA students. The study concluded that those who had lived outside their home country performed better on a creativity test than those who had not. However, that study concluded that simply traveling abroad did not enhance creativity in the way that living abroad did. Scientific American has just added more to the debate about expats and creativity. An article published on July 21 indicates that psychological distance makes …
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First Visit to New Overseas Home I'm looking forward with eagerness, and, I must admit, some trepidation, to visiting my possible new overseas home location for the first time. It's one thing to read about a place in books, magazines, and online. It's another to experience it firsthand. I know there's the possibility that I could hate the place I want to love, or fall in love with a place I don't know much about or even feel negatively about before I visit. …
Expat Films: Mosquito Coast
Mosquito Coast, starring Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren and River Phoenix, based on a book by Paul Theroux, chronicles the adventures of the Fox family. Brilliant inventor/philosopher/father Allie Fox (Harrison Ford) gets disgusted with the United States and moves his family to the jungles of Central America. "Nobody ever thinks of leaving this country" says Allie. "I do, I think about it every day." …
Expat Books: A Year In Provence
New Feature: Books About Expats Just as we recently started a monthly series on Expat Films, this is the first of our new monthly series on Books About Expats. Once a month, we'll review a book about an expat(s), and I welcome your suggestions on books to review. Just post a comment (click the link below) if you have a book in mind. And now . . . drumroll please. . . the first in our new Books About Expats series: A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle Peter Mayle, successful British advertising …