tlr@umcp-cs.UUCP (Terry L. Ridder) (12/14/85)
There are many positive aspects of overseas living that can enhance your family life as well as your education. As a spouse looking forward to being overseas in Europe, I am doing my best to inform my children of what changes they may have to make in order to adjust to a new lifestyle. I am encouraging them to learn some language before we arrive bu using German tapes and manuals found at the local bookstore. Any material regarding the history and climate of the area are valuable for reading. Travel agents can provide you with some of the best pictures of landscape etc...Young children especially need some sort of visual concept in order to feel more secure about their new home. An exciting part of overseas living for me is the challenge of doing without certain items we may be use to in the states. Life becomes much simpler when there are less material things to concern yourself with. I do enjoy living more simply than what I find to be the hurried, get all you can, pace in the states, so I am looking forward to meeting new people and to the challenges that will come with a different environment. In discussing the benefits of overseas living, I need to add that some areas of the world can be very difficult for family adaptation. I can only speak from personal experience of Japan and Europe. I do have friends who have lived in places like Saudi with very young children and found the first four months or longer to be very depressing. These indivduals were assigned by U.S. private industry. They did not have access to a commissary or PX thus it was difficult to adjust to the long shopping trips, which were every other day, due to lack of refrigeration at the stores. The position of women in Saudi was also a very harsh reality my friend faced. Each culture has its advantages and disadvantages. I would definitely recommend a "hot bath" if you get to travel to Japan. Signed; Deborah G. Ridder -- Terry L. Ridder 401 Cherry Lane E301 Laurel, Maryland 20707 UUCP: seismo!mimsy.umd.edu!tlr OR seismo!neurad!terry UUCP: seismo!(mimsy.umd.edu|neurad)!bilbo!(root|tlr) ARPA: tlr@maryland PHONE: 301-490-2248 (home)
ken@rochester.UUCP (Ipse dixit) (12/15/85)
As a "furriner" living in this country, I'd like to throw in my $0.02
worth. ("You" refers to no-one in particular.)
Advantages and disadvantages of living in another culture are personal
judgements. How you adapt is a touchstone of what you value in life.
If you go with a sense of adventure and an open mind you will be amply
rewarded.
If you expect things to be just like home, it would be kinder to
yourself and those you care for to stay at home.
Ken
--
UUCP: ..!{allegra,decvax,seismo}!rochester!ken ARPA: ken@rochester.arpa
USnail: Dept. of Comp. Sci., U. of Rochester, NY 14627. Voice: Ken!miller@loral.UUCP (David P. Miller) (12/19/85)
As a foreigner who had to adapt to a new environment in this country, I have to generally agree with the arguments so far presented about the ability, if not necesity, to be malleable when living in a different culture than your own. There were a lot of things I missed about my country (Brazil) when I first moved here, and to some extent I still do, but I've learned to get by without them by adapting, and most of all, accepting the way things are done in this country. Invariably, I've found that the coin flips both ways. Not only do Americans have a hard time adapting to overseas living, but foreigners have their problems with living in the USA, too. It basically boils down to making the best out of what you have to live with. Yours truly, BIG DAVE. -- David P. Miller - Loral Instrumentation. sdcsvax!sdcc3!sdcc6!loral!miller ******************************************************************************** "Sticks and stones may hurt my bones but words ......................."