Job Discussion Forums

MdSmith · Joined: 15 Nov 2012 Posts: 67

Hello all, here's a poll I'm interested in following my own experiences abroad... cheers

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I think how long you've been in a place matters here. In my experience, it's usual for one's early social contacts to be mostly other expats - we have more in common from the onset. Friends among the locals tend to grow slowly, as we make more local contacts and gain language skills.

So, people who stay only a year or two in any given location often miss out on real interaction with the locals, IMO.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Depends on the culture as well. In Peru it was a lot easier to make friends with the locals than in Korea.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Peru is different from Korea ? They are both "overseas" aren't they ?

(IRONY ALERT) I am trying to make people more aware of the fact that the world is a large and mysterious place !

conwaypk · Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 9:14 pm Post subject:

Good question.

I know the next time I teach abroad, I'm definitely using Couch Surfing to find other foreigners in my area. I won't be replacing the locals, I love them! It's just good to have some people who might be familiar with the culture you come from also Smile

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Couchsurfing ? Do you imagine that will work in some of the planet's more barbarous regions ?

MuscatGary · Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 11:24 am Post subject:

Sashadroogie · Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 11:42 am Post subject:

I only socialise with socialists. All the rest are piggies, oink oink!

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing

water rat · Joined: 30 Aug 2014 Posts: 1098 Location: North Antarctica

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing

Sashadroogie · Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 4:05 pm Post subject:

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing

cartago · Joined: 19 Oct 2005 Posts: 283 Location: Iraq

Last couple places I've lived, there just weren't many expats. Either that or I just didn't come into contact with them often. Almost everyone I spent time with was local. It was strange when I'd come across other expats because i wanted to approach them but then felt awkward about just walking up and introducing myself.

Mike E · Joined: 06 Oct 2011 Posts: 132

I think "students" ought to be an option. Teaching at a Chinese university, I socialized maybe 1% with expats, 2% with locals, and 97% with students.