Living and Working abroad

- How many pints does it take before you fall into the gutter? - How short does your skirt have to be before you’re technically on the game? These are the kinds of questions I expected to encounter on the “Life in the UK” test I recently had to take in order to apply for British residency. Instead I was confronted by such silly and irrelevant questions as: - In what year did women win the right to divorce their husbands? - What percent has the UK population grown since 1971? - When are you entitled to receive a free TV licence? Now I ... Read Full Story

I am home for the next few hours, chillin with my kitties. I am so happy to be home, to be free and not have a care in the world. I will soon be flying to Kuwait for thanksgiving at Ascia’s house! YES! I am so excited to go back to Kuwait and see old friends, see my high school and who knows what. I am just so excited to fly 14 hours for the first time ever. Hehe. I have no clue how many pictures I am going to take while I am there. Read Full Story

Abu Dhabi, Nov 13 India and Bahrain will sign a labour welfare agreement next month to ensure the safety and security of the large number of Indian workers in that Gulf nation. "I will be signing the labour welfare agreement when I visit Bahrain in the first week of December," Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said at a media interaction here Thursday. "Following the signing of the pact with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia will be the only country in the Gulf left for India to sign such an agreement," said Ravi, who is here for a meeting with the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) ... Read Full Story

Abu Dhabi, Nov 13 Erring recruiting agents (RAs) in India will face direct action from the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) once amendments to the Emigration Act, 1983, come into effect, said Indian Minister Vayalar Ravi here Thursday. "The amendments to the Emigration Act, 1983, have been okayed by the cabinet and it is now awaiting approval from parliament," Ravi, minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, told reporters. "Once the amendments come into effect, my ministry will be able to directly prosecute (erring) RAs without having to go through state governments," he said. According to the minister, responsibility will now be fixed with RAs ... Read Full Story

So, you’ve decided it’s time to pack up everything you own and move to a new land? Excellent! This can be a wonderful growth experience for you and your family and a wonderful time to learn more about yourself as well. In this article I will show you how to go about choosing the right country for you in three simple steps. While the steps are simple, they do require your honesty and a little bit of drive to gather the information you need to make a successful move. Step 1: In order for you to be sure you are choosing the right country ... Read Full Story

As the initiated will know, there is a little controversy around Professor Hofstede and his research into Cultural Dimensions, first published in 1980. For those who aren’t aware, Hofstede took survey results from IBM and from the identified 4 “dimensions of culture” (he later added a fifth), to distinguish between nationalities. There is a large amount of criticism aimed at his research methodology – not being an expert, I’m not really in a position to comment too much on that, however I can use an analogy and let people draw their own conclusion. There are 2 adults and 2 children in my family. Our ... Read Full Story

Okay, let’s get this straight: I’m a car person. I started driving when I was just a wee lass of 15. I’ve always gone everywhere in a car. Having spent a bit of time in California, particularly in the hardcore car culture of Los Angeles, I can definitely say that I often feel as if I’ve had my legs cut off living a car-less life in Britain. It’s not that I’m “green” - rather I’m simply too skint to own a car. (Subliminal message: buy more books buy more books!!!!!!!!!!!!) Which relegates me to the glorious dregs of public transportation, where you can experience ... Read Full Story

Well, it’s that time of year again when I’m receiving panicked emails from my mother informing me that yet another hurricane is about to hit South Florida. Seems like only yesterday when this end-of-the-world scenario was transpiring, with wild-eyed rabid shoppers climbing all over each other to lay claim to the last torch (flashlight to you Yanks) on the shelf at Home Depot, not to mention queuing up to buy petrol for the family car. I well remember being stranded in Glorious Sunshine Land during Hurricane Katrina, the eye of which went right over the roof of my mother’s house, sparking off a psychedelic ... Read Full Story

It’s often been suggested to me that I should seek out the office of British Prime Minister. Okay, so maybe it hasn’t been suggested - or not that much anyway. Granted, I don’t have the dark jowly Scottish charm of Gordon Brown (or thankfully the stomach), but what the hey? I’ve been in England long enough - I’m really more English than American, so why not become Prime Minister? I can’t drink tea without milk, my sense of humour is warped ( Papa Lazarou is my idol, Dave), and I’ll take a pint of beer over a glass of wine at the pub any ... Read Full Story

What goes up must come down…. or so they say. It’s inevitable…you move to a new city and it happens every time. Finding yourself on that downward slope after the oh-so-fun journey to the summit. It’s here, my friends… The Three Month Mark . I was hoping that it wouldn’t find me this time around. A new country, culture, strange salad bar items, sunrise at 4:30am, need Dryel…no one’s heard of Dryel, American hairdryer shoots out flames, dies, two midget ice cubes per drink (is anyone else here a champion ice chewer?) . I think it’s just time for some good ol’ familiarity and ... Read Full Story