7 things I learnt as an expat

I started my first big girl job in Feb 2016 and found myself in a situation I’d never imagined. I got the call on a Thursday afternoon that I’d been assigned my first project and I was on a plane to Dubai Saturday morning. I’m not sure why I got so lucky with the cultural beauty of the Middle East when my peers were booted off to the East Midlands but hey not complaining! I was there for 4 months in total and when I returned a lot of people were asking about my experience and advice for their overseas project. So I wanted to reflect on what I learnt during my adventure in hope that it may be useful for someone about to embark on theirs.

1. You need a life. I threw myself into my work and was happy to work evenings, weekends, public holidays-the lot! My peers and management were the same because our friends were at work, no one had a friend to meet or a birthday to go to as we all knew each others’ diaries. If I could go back I would have set expectations early on and made extra effort to make friends in another circle. There’s loads of meet ups arranged via the likes of “Expats in DXB” Facebook groups.
2. Everyone should experience living & working in a culture completely different to theirs. I thought I was aware of the world and other cultures and how they work (I’ve seen Ibiza Weekender).But nothing compares to actually experiencing it first-hand. It’s hard to articulate exactly how different it all is, even the tiny details. Things like being served on by staff hand and foot and politely declining their help was in fact an insult. Things like chewing gum during Ramadan. Things like different working hours. Things like dress code. Things like different ways to sign off an email.. yes I’m serious. All super interesting stuff that I’d never have experienced otherwise.
3. Travel more! I didn’t make the most of being on the border to some amazing locations. I did explore Dubai but no further than that. Big regret.
4. Instagram lies. This could apply to all of life but it really landed with me when I was out on my own expatting. Viewing my friends lives through their Instagram feeds, and mine through theirs, isn’t the best way to stay in touch. I think I posted 3 pictures my whole time I was there, admittedly at beach clubs or on jeep safari’s, but surprisingly none of my posts were of the working weekends or homesick evenings. A picture tells a thousand words but are those words telling 100% of the truth? Read between the lines.
5. British humour is not universal. I should have known this one already but I’m fairly certain my sardonic tone got mistaken for rudeness/weirdness by my multi-cultural office. I’ve learnt to judge my audience a bit better and take a safer approach to my cheap humour.

Source

6. I LOVE FOOD. Before I thought I just liked food but no, I love it. I highly recommend visiting the UAE to all foodies, especially if you’re into your Asian Fusion and Middle Eastern cuisine. My favourite favourite favourite thing I discovered was a dessert called Kunafah. Melted cheese, filo pastry and rose syrup. I. Can’t. Even.

7. Don’t take it for granted. An obvious lesson but a valid one at that. There were times I was ovewhelmed and I’d be planning my escape route, but even now as I type about it I realise how incredibly lucky I was to get a chance like that so early on in my career. Take a moment to realise how cool the situation is (or could be) and try not to get sucked in to any negative attitudes.

Overall, it was a strange yet amazing experience and I would strongly encourage people to seek out these types of opportunities. Even in such a short while, I learnt a lot from my time there and I’d love the chance to explore somewhere else. Speaking of which, if anyone’s got a project in Mauritius, hit me up.

I hope you’ve found this useful, give me a shout if you have any questions or comments.