December 27, 2005 Sponsor: WorldSpace Satellite Radio Article: How to Make a Friend? Sponsor: International Living Quiz of the Week Job Opportunities Article: Skiing, Spanish-style Property of the Week Hot Topics on the Forums Subscribe/Unsubscribe How to Make a Friend? View Full Article By Dina Zavrski-Makaric "Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to." - Bill Vaughan SPONSOR: WorldSpace Satellite Radio Save up to $168 on WorldSpace Satellite Radio WorldSpace Satellite Radio brings you closer to home even when home is far away. Across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa, WorldSpace Satellite Radio brings you the latest in news, music, and sports. With over 30 different stations, WorldSpace has a unique combination of local programming, original WorldSpace content, and programs from leading brands around the globe including BBC, NPR, Fox News, CNN, and Virgin Radio. Be connected to home even when home is far away. Your language, Your WorldSpace Satellite Radio. Click here to order now! - Limited time package deals available. How to Make a Friend? View Full Article By Dina Zavrski-Makaric, Challenging Directions Good social relationships play a key role in a good quality of life. In fact, the recent study from Flinders University in South Australia shows that meaningful reciprocal relations with friends are more important to our well-being than spending time with our family! Newcomers are in the best position to start working on staying well and healthy until very old age. Many of us who relocated countries felt that our social networks were stirred from the bottom up. For most of us relocation means that our old social networks have come to an abrupt end, and starting new ones is often filled with anxiety of the unknown. Our connections to the wider world, our deepest feelings of being accepted and safe are gone. Leaving family and friends behind, coming to an environment where we don't know anyone is an unsafe and challenging experience. Maintaining personal and regular contact with friends and relatives who are left behind becomes hard - sometimes impossible. We have to start building our social networks from zero, but we don't have time for that. We have to find a home to live in, work to provide us with an income; we have to find a doctor, a hairdresser, a plumber, school and after school care if we have kids, we must buy a car, spend weekends looking for furniture. (Read More) SPONSOR: International Living International Living is a leading resource on overseas travel, living, retirement, investment and real estate. Find in-depth information on everything from which country has the best retiree benefits in the world...to how to create your own International Business...to where you can buy your own island for as little as $55,000. Click now for details. Test Your Global IQ with our Weekly Quiz. To check your answers, Click Here. 1.) True or False? The United States has a greater population than the entire European Union. 2.) True or False? The United Kingdom and France have almost the exact same number population. 3.) True or False? Luxembourg has the highest per capita GDP in the world. 4.) True or False? The Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans make up more than half of the area of the world. 5.) True or False? China has nearly one half of the world's population. Advertise to 100,000 Worldwide! ExpatExchange.com welcomes 100-120,000 visitors per month. Our site and newsletter are great places to advertise to expats, future transferees, international employers and relocation professionals. For a copy of our Media Kit & Advertising Rate Card, please click here or e-mail us at advertising@expatexchange.com. Is your company listed in our Resource Guide? Click here to add your listing. View All Job Listings | Add Listing (15 day free trial period) Mortgage Advisor - Marbella View Details Wemploy Recruitment Specialists (Spain) Sales Executive - Duquesa View Details Wemploy Recruitment Specialists (Spain) Sign Up Here for our bi-weekly Job & Classified Update e-mail to receive new job listings and classifieds by e-mail. Skiing, Spanish-style View Full Article By Paul Allen, International Living There's no queue when my wife and I get in the cable car to take us up the mountain, which makes a pleasant change from our experience of other European ski resorts. But then, not many tourists think of coming to Spain for their skiing holidays. Although the Spanish Pyrenees many not have the kudos of the Alps resorts of France, Italy, Switzerland, and Austria, that is also one of its advantages, for it remains pretty much off the radar of the package holiday firms. Instead, the slopes are almost wholly for the locals. The largest of the string of resorts that run along Spain's border with France is Alp 2500, just a two-hour drive north from the mild Mediterranean climes of Barcelona. Strictly speaking, it is two resorts -- La Molina and Masella -- occupying adjacent pine-clad valleys which have been linked by lifts to form a combined ski area of 68 runs, totaling 67 miles of pistes. (Read More) View All Property Listings (Sale & Rental) | Add Rental | Add Property For Sale (15 day free trial period) Paradise retreat in southern Thailand Hua Hin, Thailand This superb property combines seclusion with ease of access, to offer either an ideal private get away or an excellent development opportunity. Located just off the Hua Hin bypass, this 10 rai garden home was built by a German ex-patriot as a weekend retreat. It is only 200 km from Bangkok, an easy 2 hour drive, or 30 minute flight. (Full Details) Sign Up Here for our bi-weekly Real Estate & Job Classified Update e-mail to receive new rentals, properties for sale and job listings by e-mail. View All Events | Add Event Festival of Playas San Juanillo San Juanillo (11/25 - 01/10) - December 23 - 31. Playas San Juanillo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica One of the best, most fun and most authentic, yet least-known events in the whole beautiful country. Three days of horse parades, bullriding and other contests, market, carnival rides and dancing. Followed by one of the best New Year's Eve parties on the coast... (Full Details) You're invited to promote local expat events to other ExpatExchange.com members. Click here to add a local event. Netherlands Seed Technologists Q: I'm a Seed Technologist in South Africa. I want to move to the Netherlands, because the Netherlands is much more advance in Seed Technology. I applied for jobs, but it seems that they give preference to local citizens. It also seems that it will be very difficult as a single woman with a child to immigrate to NL. Can somebody give me more information or advice? Is there somebody with whom I can contact directly via the internet who can maybe give me more information or help me? South Africa Training and Development Roles in SA Q: My boyfriend is South African and after 3 years together in London we are considering moving to SA, either JHB (where he is from) or CT (as we consider this may be an easier place for me to live). I work in the learning and development (training) field in the UK and am keen to remain in this area, but searches on the web are not promising re: the opportunities in this field in SA. I have worked to date in the training departments of large firms rather than as a freelance trainer or for a training company. Can anyone please advise to what extent this a well-developed profession in SA? And if possible give an indication of what the opportunities for employment might be - either in CT or in JHB? Many thanks. China Shipping your belongings to China? (Cost, restrictions..etc) Q: I've been living in China for the past 4 years (married a local girl), and now I've decided to spend at least another several years here in China (we have a business here now). All of my belongings are in rental storage in California, and I'd now like to ship them all to China, but I hear all sorts of conflicting information from different shipping companies or people who work for customs. Can you guys (who have had your belongings shipped to China) tell me about your experiences--the cost, the method, the restrictions..etc? Thanks! Netherlands Eindhoven Activities Q: Hi, I am currently in Eindhoven for work and am having trouble finding Expat clubs and activities. Does anyone know of any in the area? I am only here a couple months, but it would be nice to meet other expats while I am here. Also, I am looking for a gym. Does anyone know of a good one in downtown Eindhoven? Thanks, Deborah India Moving to Mumbai in May Q: Hello. My husband and I (Black Americans) are moving to Mumbai in the Spring. He works for the US Embassy. We previously lived in China, so we have expat experience. We will live in a serviced apartment in Mumbai. I've read a lot about India but still don't feel that I have a good grasp of the culture, what I should bring, etc. Any advice? What to bring? Should we hire household help? What is it really like during monsoon season? Do I have to barter for goods like in China? Know any good websites? Any advice would be sincerely appreciated. Many thanks! Copyright 2005 Burlingame Interactive Burlingame Interactive - PO Box 67 - Bernardsville, NJ 07924