Tips to Living in a Foreign Country

Living in a foreign country can be quite a difficult experience but it can also be very rewarding if one is prepared for the challenges. Many people try to prepare for living in a foreign country by taking as many things as they can which remind them of their home country. The thought is that if you take into this foreign country everything that you had in your home country you can create and environment that feels like home. The problem with this is that it is very tempting to stay in this comfortable environment all the time and neglect getting to know your community. If the only time you feel at home is when you are inside of your house you will feel even more estranged when you venture out into the neighborhood. It is absolutely vital that a person interact with the people of this new country in which they moved. The more you isolate yourself the less you will feel at home or apart of the community in this foreign country.  

Being able to communicate with the people of this foreign country is absolutely vital. Communication is what brings people together or lack there of which keeps them apart. If you cannot communicate with a person you will not be able to build a friendship with them. If you cannot build any friendships in this new country you will not feel apart of it and for sure will not feel at home. It would be very good to learn some of the language before you arrive in the country. This will allow you to transition a little better and the people will be more accepting of you when they see you are at least making an effort to greet them in their own language. This also applies in countries where there is not only a national language but also local languages. For instance in Africa, people love it when you greet them in their mother tongue. Even if you only know one phrase it shows you really care about them and you value their language. When you first arrive in the country try to set a good portion of time to just study the language. One month of concentrated language learning will allow you to say many things in this new language. However, if you want to look at it as a long term investment six months would give you a better base for your language learning and would allow you to communicate fairly well. Remember if you are living in this country for an extended time it is well worth taking the time to learn how to communicate. The better you know the language the better you will integrate into this new country.

Making friends is obviously a very important part of integrating into this new country. When first arriving it would be very good to have at least one contact that is a native speaker of the country you are moving to and also speaks your native tongue. This friend or contact will allow you to start communicating with other people through translation. Even though not the ideal, translation will allow you to expand your friendship circle and begin to integrate into this community. Walk around the city or village with this friend and all the while try to speak as much as possible in this new language. Have this friend explain the culture of his country so that you know the proper ways of greeting a someone and even things like how to sit, stand, eat. Every posture or action that you do communicates something and you want to make sure you are not communicating the wrong thing. It is very common for a foreigner to arrive in a new country and offend the inhabitants by not being culturally appropriate. Always be watching what others are doing and try to mimic them. When in doubt ask someone what is the culturally appropriate way. It is so important to have these relationship because it allows you to see these people as normal people just like you instead of those people who talk weird and who act totally different than yourself. Always try to focus on your
similarities because similarities unite people. There are always going to be differences but you might be surprised how much you can have in common with someone from a completely different country and culture.

Lastly, when you arrive in the country take on a learners role. Show them that you don't know everything and that you need their help in understanding their language and culture. This will open up many doors for people to help you. If you show a genuine interest in what they are teaching you and you show you are taking on the role of a student they will be more than happy to teach you all you want to know. Be opened minded to what you are learning. Every culture has a lot of insight that they can offer the world if only they are given a voice to communicate it with. From what you learn in your time of living in a foreign country can change your thinking, your attitude towards other cultures and can change your life for ever. Keep these couple of things in mind when moving to a foreign country and you will find it to be a very rewarding experience.