Tips For Expat Women

An expatriate is someone that is temporary or permanently living in a  country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence. Living a life outside your country of  origin or where you grew up and has spent most of your life can be challenging. For many Expats, that is one of the loneliest experience they have had. When the excitement of being in a new country is over, homesickness starts to set in. You can start missing your family members, friends, food, culture, etc.

Relocating to a new country often means new society, new culture, new breed of people with different social characters etc. and worse still, new language. For these reasons, many expats/migrants often found themselves being very lonely or only mixing up with fellow expats which I think can limit them from learning about the people and the culture of the country which they are living in.

From my experience, there are things  expats should do to make life in their present country of residence worth living and more enjoyable:

1. Integrate yourself to the society. Learning and reading about the people, their culture and society will help you understand why they do or behave in a certain way. It will also help you to know what is important to them and how they react to certain things.

2. Learn the language. If your new country has a local language, LEARN IT. Studies have shown that learning the local language is one of the best tools that helps an expat/migrant to settling down in the new country. Find a language school and put your heart to learning the language.

3. Make friends. Be open to meeting new people especially the local citizens. This will help you learn more about the people and their way of life, language, culture, food, etc.

4.Find other expatriates around you. This is also a good way to come in contact to other foreigners and also helps you to exchange tips on living in a new country.

5. Be motivated and stay positive minded.  Maintain your identity, don't loose focus. Even though you are in a foreign land, you can always be who or what you want to be. Let know one bring you down, always put your head up and stay away from negative people. Read books, be informed and know what is happening in your environment. Join groups that will be beneficial to you and have fun.

6. Be creative. Having a creative mind is an added virtue. Be creative in every thing you do. If you are not working, be creative with the things you do around your home.

7. Give it your best and make it work. It all lies in your hands. You are the only one that will make it work. Accept your present country, love it, see it as an adventure and don't forget that you have to live every moment of your life to the fullest. 

Wishing you best of lucks. 

Always Nekky.

Welcome To The Weekend Blog Hop

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When Kids Pray

I love interacting with kids. It's amazing to hear the beautiful things that go on in their minds. They are so innocent and say things the way they feel about them without meaning any harm. Here are some nice quotes from children. I enjoyed them and hope you will.
 

1. A little boy was overheard praying: “Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having a real good time like I am.”

2. After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, “That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys.”

3. One particular four-year-old prayed,”And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.”

4. A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3 The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. “If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,’Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait. ‘Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,”Ryan,you be Jesus!”

5. A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him,grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand.”Daddy, what happened to him?” the son asked.”He died and went to Heaven,” the Dad replied. The boy thought a moment and then said, “Did God throw him back down?”

6. Mrs. Adams invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?” “I wouldn’t know what to say,” the girl replied.”Just say what you hear Mommy say,”she answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”

7. A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service,”And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” One bright little girl replied,”Because people are sleeping.”

Get Connected Tuesday Blog Hop

Welcome to  Get Connected Tuesday Blog Hop. We are very happy to have you here. A special welcome to all my first visitors. If you are already a part of this hop, we are thanking you so much for your help in building Get Connected Tuesday Blog Hop and making it a success. Come and Get Connected and stay Connected. With this hop, you will increase your strength, followers, readers and connect to other bloggers in which ever way you like.
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Teaching Our Children to Go Green

Climate change is one of the most discussed issues in our society today. Human activities is one of the causes of this change. The good news is that many of us can help in our own little ways to bring it under control by following some simple steps. When we live light on the earth, we are also saving money at the same time. Going green is an effective method that enables us to be more environmental friendly. When we go green, we are helping to save this lovely planet for our children's future and our grandchildren and their generation will be thankful for that.

Going green as parents/adults will definitely make a change but teaching our children/young ones to go green will make a greater and long lasting impact on our planet. Raising  green children will teach them to respect the environment and it's resources. It is good to start when they are young because the formative years of a child's life is the most important time to provide him with learning activities.

Here are some easy ways to help our children go green.

 * Teach them to Turn off Lights and appliances when not in use. Electronic appliances, even after switching them off still continues to consume energy. Teach the children to turn off lights, television,  etc. before leaving the room.

 * Turn off the water while brushing or showering.

* Say NO to food wastage.

*Start an organic garden. Kids loves getting dirty and getting dirty with can be so much fun. A good way to teach them about going green is by starting their own organic garden. This helps them understand the preciousness of natural resources and they also feel the sense of accomplishment. Allow them to help out in tending the organic garden everyday (eg watering the plants). If  you don't have a garden, planting a container herb garden  is a good idea.

  Reuse. Always learn the habit of reusing what you've got. Children will appreciate this virtue when it's passed on to them.

Teach them to give to others what they are not using. Children grow at a very fast pace. Most often their clothes, Shoes, Toys, etc are barely used. These items are still good and can still be good to others. Instead of trashing them, we are making others smile. Teaching them the benefits of sharing and caring for others will make them better adult.

What other tips do you have? Please share.

Welcome To The Weekend Blog Hop

Welcome to the Weekend Blog Hop where you can link up your favorite post of the week. Thank you for joining us and linking up. We are happy you are here and hope you will always come around. We have had a great week and now it's time for us to increase our followers by Blog Hopping all through the Weekend. Come and make new friends and find some interesting blogs to follow. You are free to link up to 3 different post or just your main blog. Happy Hopping.

Are You an Expat Woman?

I said I will be writing about my life as an Expat woman on this blog. But before I start sending in posts on this topic, I want to let readers in about what it means to be an Expat woman. 

Have you noticed that every day more and more people are moving from their countries to live in other countries. The movement could be in search of greener pastures, careers, relationships, jobs, etc. If you found your self in any of these categories or if you are currently not living in your country, you are an Expatriate. If you are a woman, that makes you an Expat Woman (expatriate woman)..... and voilà, we have something in common. I am a Nigerian. I grew up in my country and I met my husband when I was concluding my studies in the University. I joined him in Germany thereafter and I've been here for some couple of years now, that's my story so far. 

If you are an expat woman, you will agree with me that there are lots of challenges that one has to face. Life could be fun though, careers, marriages/relationships, children, etc could thrive or suffer. But knowing that you are not alone and trying to get in touch with other Expat women will always go a long way in making a difference.

I am a member of an on line community called EXPAT WOMEN. The web site is amazing. There are lots of things to benefit from the site like success stories, inspirationals and motivational articles and so much more. Just click here Expat women.com

I wish you all luck in your expatriate living.

Are you an Expat Woman, I want to hear from you. Tell us your story, it doesn't matter which country you live in, we can always be useful to each other. Please leave your comments, no matter how long it is.

Love, Nekky.