The Adventure of Working Abroad

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans and their families accept the challenge of living and working abroad. But many of these prospective expatriates have little idea--beyond the mystery of changing money and finding the consulate--of the extraordinary experience that awaits them. Upon their return, many discover they have undergone a dramatic personal transformation. Now in possession of great self-confidence and expanded horizons, they feel capable of handling greater challenges than they would have dreamed possible.

People who work abroad are off on an adventure--what Joseph Campbell called a hero's journey, complete with miraculous deeds to perform, inscrutable instructions, and important gifts to bring back. Joyce Sautters Osland, a veteran expatriate with fourteen years of experience abroad, tells the story of this modern-day Odyssey as it is lived by the working people who are exploring today's global frontier. Using Campbell's metaphor as a guide, Osland creates a pragmatic framework for understanding--and mastering--the predictable challenges of each stage in the expatriate journey.

The Adventure of Working Abroad won't prescribe what to pack or how to find the train station, but it will convey the genuine grittiness of the overseas experience--all the fear, excitement, and exhilaration, as well as the transformation that expatriates undergo as they rise to the challenges of unknown languages and customs, an alien landscape, and unfamiliar obstacles.

Here thirty-five seasoned expatriates tell in their own words of the unexpected perils and enormous opportunities, the turmoil and triumphs, of life in an exotic new world. Osland uses their personal stories to provide insights and important tips that will help expatriates adjust to diverse cultural norms, face new responsibilities and sudden autonomy, and better equip themselves for the difficulties of repatriation.

Osland also explores why U.S. companies are not as proficient a