Saturday 4 July 2009
Saturday 4 July 2009
Stock up on the tastes and smells of home.
A small country with no obvious start or finish.
Sunbeams' guide to the white, blue, green, yellow...
One of the best healthcare systems in the world.
Survive the pitfalls of the city's streets.
Expat women in Belgium and France most satisfied.
A moving piece about a 'school refuser' son.
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Unable to work in her new country, Expatica's blogger is put under the spotlight with the time-honoured question: 'So what do you do?'"So … what exactly do you do all day?"
This is a question I am asked frequently, in one form or another by friends and family, Belgian friends and by fellow expats.
In the spotlight ... but how do you answer the question?
However, it's a difficult question to answer, because I understand the implications behind it. In North America, we tend to identify people with their jobs. The jobless are hard to categorize.
Without a Belgian visa, I am unable to work. Even when the visa does come through, I'm uncertain of the job prospects for an English speaker with lapsed French and Dutch equivalent to a preschooler.
Without children, I can't even be lumped into the stay-at-home mom category.
Having said that, I often feel I am mom to five furry children who will never grow up — cleaning up cat hair could be a full-time job at our house.
While my domestic skills have improved being at home all day, I'm definitely not the housewife type — I'm just not neat enough. If you know what's good for you, don't look under my bed …
Boredom is not normally a problem for me though. I am a woman of many pastimes. First and foremost, I have my photography and writing.
Photography has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. Through it I am able to see things more clearly and share my views with others.
Keeping weblogs has also helped me keep my sanity. Not only does it offer me an opportunity to vent my frustrations, but I have been contacted by others in a similar situation.
I can't tell you how helpful it is to feel that I am not alone in my feelings and experiences as an expat.
Then there are my less serious pursuits: I am a craftaholic; needlework, scrap-booking, rubber stamping, jewelry-making; if you find it in a craft store, I'm sure I've tried it. This is the first time I've been able to devote serious amounts of time to any project.
This handy guide from Expertise in Labour Mobility includes how to write a CV, application procedure, interview dos and don'ts, Belgian management culture.
Belgium’s first alternative directory assistance services - available through the shortcode 14-14 - can now be accessed on the internet.
Moving to Belgium presents a host of challenges to expats, not least of all finding the right home.
The psychological effects of global mobility can be physically painful.
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