The Wayfarer North America Edition May/June 2015

A PUBLICATION FOR THE SSA GLOBAL COMMUNITY

THE WAYFARER

MAY/JUNE 2015 NORTH AMERICA EDITION

Cover Picture by: Eric Englehardt

W elcome to our May/June edition of The Wayfarer! I know everyone is looking

forward to the summer break, with many of our Chapters already on holiday. In some others we are still finishing school terms before traveling, but we are all ready for a break in our routines. We hope you enjoy the stories from two of our most active North American Chapters: Anchorage and Houston.

We also have exciting news from the Global Board. New members to introduce to you! And a new Official SSA Facebook Group too!

For some of us the summer means moving to a new location, and we wish you all a safe arrival. I have put together a list of useful tips taken from here and there… and if you have anything to add, don’t hesitate in sharing it with us!

Thanks for reading! See you next time.

Elsa

READY FOR THE SUMMER?

MAY/JUNE 2015 NORTH AMERICA

THE WAYFARER

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

NEW GLOBAL

BOARD MEMBERS

3

THANK YOU 4

MEET THE

GLOBAL BOARD

5

CHANGE IS

GOOD

BY ANISA

6

A NOTE BY OUR

NEW GLOBAL

COORDINATOR

8

A NOTE FROM

LASAIRIONA

MCMASTER

10

ANCHORAGE 11

HOUSTON 20

MOVING THIS

SUMMER?

30

OFFICIAL SSA

FACEBOOK

GROUP

35

SUMMER

WAYFARER

36

As you know, the Global Board held elections for three new positions in the past month.

Let me introduce you to our new GB members and join us in congratulating them!

LORRAINE ALBELTO, GLOBAL COORDINATOR I’m sure you are already familiar with Lorraine. For the past two years, she was the Middle East Area Coordinator with great success and, after careful consideration, decided to run for the post of SSA Global Coordinator. She has a clear vision of what she would like for the SSA in the near future: Continue to grow and become stronger as a source of information and support for spouses. Lorraine has been with the SSA since 2004 and started serving in Local Chapter Boards in 2010. Her Schlumberger life has led her family to Aberdeen, Luanda, Egypt and Qatar. In every place she has experienced firsthand the importance of SSA in our lives and has met many of her dearest friends through SSA. We are very happy to have Lorraine leading our organization for the next two years. Please join us in congratulating her!!

FAY HENNINGS, ASIA/AUSTRALIA AREA COORDINATOR Fay is passionate about the role the SSA plays in the lives of Schlumberger spouses and she has been part of the SSA family for a long time. Her spouse’s transfers have taken their family to the Caribbean, North America, South America, Africa, Europe, New Zealand and Australia, and in many of those locations she has had an active role in the SSA. As part of the local board, Fay has been instrumental in many initiatives that have contributed to the growth of SSA Perth, expanding membership to over 200 members. We are happy to have her working as part of the Global Board, where we know she will do a great job.

MAHA SOUSAK, MIDDLE EAST AREA COORDINATOR Until recently, Maha was the Web Coordinator in the London Chapter. She is originally from Syria, but lived almost all her life in Cyprus before joining her husband on the move. They have four wonderful children (Ameer 9, Marwa 8, Amjad & Reema 6) and SLB life has taken them to Libya, Algeria and the UK. They are moving to Saudi Arabia this summer. Maha is dedicated to support her children in their studies, including languages (she is fluent in Arabic, English and Greek). She enjoys meeting and creating special bonds through exchanging experiences and helping others. We are sure that Maha will be a key part of the team and will do an outstanding job helping the SSA members of the Middle East Chapters.

NEW GLOBAL BOARD MEMBERS

“The positive impact the organization can

have on members with the support provided

prior, during and after their relocation, and

the lifetime friendships that we make along the way. This is priceless.”

“The SSA embodies what I was taught by my parents

and what many of us practiced before there was

a SSA –to welcome, to assist and to treat others as

you would like to be treated. It is wonderful to

have a "SSA family" in your location...not everyone

needs it, but for those who do we are FAMILY :)".

“I find the role of SSA

extremely valuable and unique, including the

opportunities it provides for spouses

from all over the world”.

PAGE 3 NORTH AMERICA EDITION

PAGE 4 THE WAYFARER

We would like to thank our retiring Global Board members

And wish them good luck in their new endeavors.

Deysy Lamas

(retiring Ex-Officio Coordinator)

Madeeha Owais

(retiring Asia/Australia Area Coordinator).

MEET THE GLOBAL BOARD

Anisa Haddad

SSA Ex-Officio Global

Coordinator

[email protected]

Nikita Goel

SSA Global Webmaster

[email protected]

Elsa Scheffler

SSA Global Communications

Coordinator

[email protected]

Sandra Showalter

SSA Global Secretary

ssa,[email protected]

Diana Sguerra

SSA Europe/Russia Area

Coordinator

[email protected]

Fay Hennings

SSA Asia/Australia Coordinator

[email protected]

Petite Ortegón

SSA Latin America Coordinator

[email protected]

Brenda Echeveste

SSA Africa Coordinator

[email protected]

Lasairiona McMaster

SSA North America Area

Coordinator

[email protected]

Maha Sousak

SSA Middle East Area

Coordinator

[email protected]

Lorraine Albelto

SSA Global Coordinator

[email protected]


PAGE 6 THE WAYFARER

A MESSAGE FROM OUTGOING GLOBAL COORDINATOR

Change Is Good

T wo years have flown by and as you read this, the SSA Global Coordinator

election has already been finalized, my term as Global Coordinator has come

to an end, and we welcome Lorraine Albelto as our Global Coordinator for

2015 – 2017. Lorraine will be an amazing advocate for our association with

our SLB sponsors and other members of management because she truly believes in, and

lives our Mission and Vision. Welcome Lorraine! Welcome change!

As Lorraine begins her term as Global Coordinator and I begin mine as Ex-officio

Global Coordinator, we both do so with the end of our terms in mind. Why? Because

unlike paid positions, volunteer positions are not intended to be long term. Because

Lorraine and I are both firm believers in the term limits that are written into our SSA

Guidelines and because change is good.

I can hear you saying “what?” That doesn’t make sense. Shouldn’t volunteers stay in

their positions long term? If volunteers have term limits imposed on them, won’t our

institutional history be lost?” No. The SSA has been in existence for 25 years and we

have Guidelines in place to help guide our Local and Global Board members as they

become proficient in their positions and past board members willing to offer advice and

a helping hand if needed. Change is good.

I can also hear you saying “but there aren’t enough suitable board members to replace

those who have already served out their term.” Actually, if given an opportunity to

serve, there are. It’s tempting to let ourselves believe that our way of doing things is the

only correct way… the best way, but we were all new in our positions once and

learned how to fulfill our positions and others will as well. Change is good.

Now I can hear you saying “OK…you may be right, but instead of spending time

recruiting new board members, shouldn’t we spend our time on other, better things?”

In my twenty-plus years serving as a volunteers and managing other volunteers, I feel

confident in saying no. Why?


New board members bring fresh ideas to the board or to old ideas that did not

work in the past, but whose time has come. When we make room on our boards

for new members, we demonstrate that we welcome member engagement, ideas,

and leadership.

Term limits keep any one person or group of people from holding undue influence

over our association.

Term limits help to keep our boards representative of and responsive to our SSA

community. They encourage new strategies that can help us to meet our mission,

and can help us to focus on what is best for the association.

Term limits give board members a break from service. People often are

uncomfortable saying that they need a break from the demanding work of serving

on a nonprofit board because they don’t want to appear disloyal but if there is the

understanding at the beginning of a term that a position is only for a specified

amount of time, then that pressure is eliminated.

And last but definitely not least, because change is good.

As we embrace that changes that will come with our new Local and Global Board

members beginning their terms, we must show our appreciation for those who have

gone before us. On behalf of the 2013 – 2015 Global Board, I would like to thank all of

our members who have served on a SSA Local Board. You helped our association to

continue to be vital and to continue to grow. I also want to say a very special thank you

to our retiring SSA Global Board members Deysy Lamas, SSA Ex-officio Global

Coordinator and Madeeha Owais, SSA Asia/Australia Area Coordinator. Deysy and

Madeeha worked tirelessly to support our members and their contributions to our

association will benefit our members for years to come.

So to Deysy, Madeeha and all of our local board members who are ending their terms,

THANK YOU but we will not say goodbye. Instead we’ll say:

* Farewell * Despedida * Ciao * Adieu * Sayonara * Até amanhã

* Rămas bun * Vi ses * …

until we work together again.

Anisa Haddad

SSA Ex-officio Global Coordinator

2015 - 2017

CHANGE IS GOOD—CONTINUED

PAGE 8 THE WAYFARER

It’s an honor and

privilege to have

been afforded the

opportunity to

serve as Global

Coordinator of

such a remarkable

organization like

SSA! I am looking

forward to working with the dedicated and

enthusiastic women on the Global Board

and all our dear members.

I hail from the beautiful twin-island of

Trinidad and Tobago, off Venezuela's coast

in the southern Caribbean. We are the

birthplace of the steelpan and limbo, and

the musical styles of calypso, soca and

chutney. TnT has a diverse population, rich

in culture and traditions, with a distinct and

delectable cuisine.

I reside in Doha, Qatar with my husband

Phinix and we have two sons, Rostan and

Joshua. We have lived in Aberdeen,

Luanda and Egypt where we have formed

lifetime friendships with some amazing

people, both within and outside of SSA.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have

worked with some very committed board

members and spouses in MEA, as the Area

Coordinator. It is truly gratifying to see the

ownership and leadership from the teams

which underpin the success of the Chapters

and organization as a whole.

Our aim is to ensure that SSA continues to

grow and become stronger as a source of

information and support for spouses.

Strengthening our relationship with

Schlumberger, so that we can receive the

support we need to provide the support to

our SSA community, is imperative.

Information is key when relocating, for the

more knowledge you have about your new

location, the better prepared you can be to

FROM LORRAINE ALBELTO

OUR NEW SSA GLOBAL COORDINATOR


deal with the move. Our SSA website needs

to be fully functional with each Chapter’s

information updated so we can provide

information at the click of a button. We

cannot achieve this goal without you so we

look forward to you volunteering for the

position of Website Coordinators for your

Chapters.

SSA members must have a better

understanding of the organization, our

mission, goals and objectives. Welcoming

and supporting spouses is fundamental and

a very important element of SSA and this

needs to be our focus. Having continuity in

our Chapters is also crucial so when spouses

relocate, while the places and faces would

be new, the Chapters functions the same.

In order for us to continue to achieve

success we need the support of our

members. We need you to continue

volunteering in your respective locations,

not only for the Board, but to assist your

Chapter in whatsoever way you can. We

can work together to make a difference.

I would like to take this opportunity to

sincerely thank our retiring Ex-Officio

Global Coordinator, Deysy Lamas, for the

support, commitment and dedication she

has given to SSA. We are truly grateful.

Anisa Haddad, our new Ex-Officio Global

Coordinator, will continue to be part of the

team and we are delighted to have her with

us to provide continuity, guidance and

support.

Your feedback is important and encouraged.

Please feel free to send us your comments/

suggestions. Visit our website at https://

www.ssafara.net/ to find out more about

SSA, Global Board members and Chapters.

Lorraine Albelto

June 2015

FROM LORRAINE ALBELTO—CONTINUED

https://www.ssafara.net/

https://www.ssafara.net/

PAGE 10 THE WAYFARER

A NOTE FROM LASARIONA MCMASTER NORTH AMERICA AREA COORDINATOR

L iving in North America, I've been presented with a unique opportunity. Whilst I haven't had the pleasure of visiting Canada yet, the United States is nothing short of an amazing place to be. I think the common misconception about this vast country, is that there's no way each of these fifty states could

be sufficiently different enough to make you want to visit them all. If you learn nothing else from this edition of the Wayfarer, please believe me, when I tell you, that couldn't be further from the truth. Having been to fifteen of the fifty states in my six years here, I'm speaking from experience. From the glaciers in Alaska, to the corn fields in Iowa, from Stax in Memphis, to Cafe du Monde in Louisiana. From the Sooner state, and the Golden state, to the Badger state and the Natural state. Each and every state has something special to offer. I have fond memories from each place I've been to. I can tell you my favourite meal and activity in each city, I can tell you how the cities smelled and sounded and I barely grazed the surface of what the states have to offer.

This place? It's wondrous. It's a world of intrigue and exploration waiting to be discovered and enjoyed… And it's right on my front step.

If you're ever offered an opportunity to spend some time here, with some of our amazing SSA chapters across the NAM area, I encourage you to grab it with both hands. We have sixteen vibrant and diverse chapters in NAM. Run by steadfast and selfless volunteers and, in this edition, you'll find a sampling of what some of them have to offer.

Have fun taking a peek! Las

ANCHORAGE

The SSA Anchorage Chapter is made up of an amazing group of individuals from

many different backgrounds and cultures bringing a unique and long lasting friendship to all members. Being challenged with many of our spouses working on

the North Slope and constantly traveling, along with the extreme seasons (20 hours

of darkness in the winter, and almost 24 hours of sunlight in the summer) that

Anchorage, Alaska has to offer, our organization is always trying to adapt and bring

out the best of times. This has allowed our organization to be extremely tight knit through constant gatherings in the form of numerous indoor and outdoor

activities. Some of these activities include coffee mornings, movie nights, museum

visits, season socials, knitting classes, Easter egg hunt, HSE presentations, family

BBQs and much much more.

As an organization, we feel it is very

important to give back to the community and

look for ways in which we can participate in

community affairs, thus supporting our own

city and helping those in need. Many of our members are doing just that, and we will

continue to support these efforts as the years

go on. One of these charity events include

working at kitchen Beans Cafe where we

serve lunch to hundreds of homeless and

needy people. Another one is participating in the annual Alaska Run for Women that

represents a fundraiser for breast cancer.

We look forward welcoming all new members

and their families into our Chapter and to contribute to our continued success as a

thriving Schlumberger Spouse Association.

Lourdes Nava

SSA Anchorage Coordinator


Baby Shower Museum visit

HSE for Youth

ANCHORAGE—CONTINUED



Family BBQ




Family BBQ photos by Steve Fell


Bean’s Café

Ice Sculpture

Wine night



Easter celebration


I wanted to share this too, my favorite recipe of salmon. We went fishing and I

caught it! I make fresh homemade tortillas, so Salmon Tacos is one of our favorite

meals at home. I have to say, I did not like salmon before, until I tried it fresh!

Ingredients:

1 pound of Salmon Lemon/pepper (to taste)

1 to 2 limes 1 teaspoon of butter (optional)

Olive oil Corn tortillas Green Salsa (optional)

Put salmon on a tray and add the butter, sprinkle some lemon/pepper on, squeeze

about half of the lime. Preheat oven at 350F, cook salmon for 15 minutes, uncove-

red. Remove from the oven. If it has skin, it will come out easily, then put the sal-mon in a pan with some olive oil, and more lemon/pepper and lime to taste, give it

a good mix, cook for approx. 5 more minutes. Heat tortillas and serve the salmon,

you can add some fresh cilantro (chopped) and green tomatillo salsa and even some

avocado. Enjoy!!!

Lourdes Nava




Alaska Run for Women




HOUSTON

Howdy from Houston, Texas!

We are very happy to share some information about our SSA Chapter in Houston.

Houston, Texas is the 4th largest city in the USA and is a location that many SSA members call home at some point in their Schlumberger experience. It is a very multicultural city, a very enjoyable livable

city with lots of sports, music, arts and culture. Below is some random information about our city:

At 655 square miles, the City of Houston could contain the cities of New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Miami.

Within the Houston Chapter, we also include the cities of Katy, Pearland, Sugar Land and the Woodlands, which make up the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Area. We do lots of driving here!!

The climate in Houston is classified as humid subtropical which is characterized by hot, usually humid summers and mild to cool winters.

Houston is the #1 city in USA for eating meals out per week, so you will find lots of great restaurants that cover all types of cuisine here. Texas BBQ and Southern food are what is famous here. You will get to taste BBQ brisket (beef), pulled pork, normally smoked to enhance flavor, always served with sweet iced tea, which is very refreshing in the hot summer days. Tex-Mex is also very popular in Houston.

Even though Houston is a large city, there are many green areas and parks close by, so there is an abundance of wildlife around us.


HOUSTON—CONTINUED

Hi,

My name is Eileen and I am the Chapter Coordinator for the current year 2015-2016. I have been living in Houston since 2012. Fortunately for me, a great board of enthusiastic and positive members surround me. A big thank you to the board members for volunteering and making the commitment to keep SSA Houston active. Without a board, there would be no SSA in Houston.

SSA Houston is the largest Chapter in the world; we currently have over 600 members. With so many members, we have a wonderful large board to organize and coordinate the many activities in our Chapter.

Our aim is to provide a range of activities so that all our members have something they can enjoy with SSA Houston. We try our best, but everything is not always perfect. The most important thing is that we create opportunities where we can meet each other, share information, support each other and develop great friendships.

We try our best to at least offer one activity of interest for all members and encourage members to create new activities that suit their interests. Currently, we have 26 activity leaders organizing and leading different groups. We do a speaker series on many topics throughout the year.

If you are moving to Houston, please email Renee Muzerie, our Welcome Coordinator, at

[email protected] and she will help you register with us and share the latest information with you.

As we are such a large group spread over a huge geographical area, we welcome our spouses with 4-5 newcomers coffees a year for all our areas. We are constantly welcoming members via email and sharing the latest information about our activities and events so that you can meet some SSA members upon your arrival into Houston. We have six area coffees—Katy, In the Loop (inside 610), Memorial, Pearland, Southwest (Sugar Land) and the Woodlands. These provide a great way to meet people in your area.

Each month, we publish our newsletter, “Chat Line”, which has all the latest information about all the activities and how to sign up for them. You will see upcoming events and all the board’s contact details. This information is very useful to help you meet other SSA spouses and settle into Houston.

Please get in touch if you are ever visiting Houston. We would love to meet you and would be very happy to welcome you at one of our events.

See you soon!

Eileen Corbett at [email protected]

A MESSAGE FROM THE SSA HOUSTON CHAPTER COORDINATOR


HOUSTON—CONTINUED

Meet our fantastic SSA Houston board members, who were elected in April:

Back row, left to right: Frederique Terk (HSE Coordinator), Aimara Machado de Lucia (Newcomers Coordinator), Sylviane Dosou Houeto (Charity Coordinator), Pam Filas (Secretary), Stéphanie Cogoni (Database Coordinator), Iryna Tokaryeva (Treasurer), Jenya Menkhaus (Non-regular Activities Coordinator), Olga Gretskaya (Assistant Non-regular Activities Coordinator), Ekaterina Lecerf (Activities Calendar Coordinator)

Front row, left to right: Thaïs Ide (Special Events Coordinator), Damaris (Dee) Hossain (Regular Activities Coordinator), Sureka Pradhan (Newsletter Editor), Chi Duvan (Website Coordinator), Eileen Corbett (Chapter Coordinator)

Left, Renee Muzerie (Welcome Coordinator)

and right, Salma Alaoui (Ex-officio)


HOUSTON—CONTINUED

CHARITY

SSA Houston has a great charity program. Each month our members get involved with local charity or have a meeting with one to learn more about the organization. Recently, we have worked with Hope for Three, Brookwood Community, Texas Adopt-a-beach clean up with Schlumberger, Habitat for Humanity Build, Can Do Houston, and Fort Bend’s Women Center. Throughout the last year, we have also worked closely with the Alliance for Multicultural Community Services.

Since 1985, Alliance has provided education, social well-being and economic opportunity to refugee, immigrant and low-income communities. It celebrated its 30th Anniversary Stars Among Us Gala on Friday, May 15, 2015. At that gala, Alliance presented an award to SSA Houston for their significant contribution to this wonderful nonprofit organization.

Our member Olga participating in the Habitat

for Humanity build in Houston recently.


HOUSTON—CONTINUED

Here is what Alliance had to say about SSA Houston:

In early 2014, members of SSA Houston Board approached Alliance about the possibility of developing an ongoing relationship. Since the launch of our partnership in April 2014, SSA members have helped Alliance in a range of ways. They have raised funds through a silent auction, hosting a special shopping event in our honor at Ten Thousand Villages and showcasing our Naya Designs at one of their major events, as well as supporting

the Stars Among Us gala.

SSA members have also contributed in-kind donations including personal hygiene products, clothing, toys and books. They provided over half of all the Christmas gifts distributed to our Kijana after-school participants in

2014.

As well as giving financially, SSA Houston members have given their time. As a group and as individuals, they have contributed volunteer hours to the Alliance, from our career days to assisting with tonight’s Stars Among Us gala. The largest team at last year’s World Refugee Day was combined SSA member/Schlumberger employee

group.

In addition, our relationship with SSA Houston has provided us with an opportunity to educate their members about the issues facing refugees in Houston and in turn, they have helped to introduce us to other individuals

and organizations to help us achieve our mission.

Our Charity Coordinators Sarah Black (2013-2015) and Sylviane Dossou Houeto (present)

accepted the award on our behalf.


REGULAR ACTIVITIES

Each month we have many regular activities (these are activities that are held at least once every month, some more often). Our regular activities include Cooking Clubs, Craft Club, Book Club, Language Classes (Spanish, French and English) at various levels, Canasta, Bunco, Painting Club, Moms and Kiddies, Baking and Babies, Photography Club, Arts in the City, SSA Night Out, six area coffee mornings and two lunch groups. Our range of regular activity groups evolved over time in response to the demands and interests of our members. Of course, this is dependent on our wonderful activity leaders coordinating these activities and having members willing to host them. Big thank yous to all our activity leaders and hosts/hostesses.

HOUSTON—CONTINUED

Canasta

Craft Club Cooking Club

Spanish lesson


HOUSTON—CONTINUED

NON-REGULAR ACTIVITIES

Each month we do a different non-regular activity, which is a one-off activity that we think our members will enjoy. Some non-regular activities we have done this year include a guided tour of a Monet exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, pottery painting, strawberry picking, bowling, winery tour and Zumba classes. We encourage our members to make suggestions for these activities.

Zumba class

Winery visit


SPECIAL EVENTS

SSA Houston has three socials each year. We start the year with our Winter social, followed by our Spring Social and AGM (with the announcement of our anual election results and thus introduce the new board). Finally, we have our Fall social a few weeks after our members have settled back after the summer break. Other special events we celebrated include our Mother’s Day celebration in May and Holiday Gift Exchange in December.

HOUSTON—CONTINUED

SSA members enjoying the garden center at our recently held Mother’s Day and all areas coffee morning.


HOUSTON—CONTINUED

Back left to right: Aimara de Lucia Machado, Sandra Sanchez, Nohemi Garcia

Front, left to right: Leticia Silva and Shirley (Lorena) Ujueta

Enjoying our Spring Social and AGM in April 2015.

The main organizers of our Ornament Gift Exchange last December.


HOUSTON—CONTINUED

HSE

SSA Houston has an extensive HSE program provided to us by Schlumberger HSE Team in Houston. Throughout the year we have participated in Drive Smart, CPR and First Aid, Heat and Hurricane Preparedness, IT and Personal Security, Safe Road Home and a Benefits sesión.

These sessions are invaluable to us, very useful for our new members and also a refresher session for many of us and are a great resource to be able to access the latest information.

This is the group who participated in both the Heat and Hurricane Preparedness Session and a Road Safety Campaign on June 9th. These two seminars were very useful as they covered two major risks in Houston. Hurricane season is officially from June 1st to November 30th and driving is a vital part of everyday life here in Houston.


MOVING THIS SUMMER? BY ELSA SCHEFFLER

Moving. We are so familiar with this word, that

it is a part of our daily lives. It is frequently in the back of our minds, because you know that one

day, you’ll get a phone call from your dear spouse

and it will go something like this:

SLB Employee/Love of your life: “Hi”

SLB Spouse: “Hey, what’s up?”

SLB Employee/Love of your life, short pause… “Well,

guess what?”

And then you, my dear SLB Spouse, know. You know that your world is about to change forever

yet again.

So you wearily ask: “What?”

SLB Employee/Love of your life (???): “We’re moving to …. (insert either an exotic place you had never

heard of before, or somewhere that you had

heard of before but never in a million years thought you were going to call home someday)

…”

And so it starts. It is exciting, there is no denying it. You go straight to

find the place on a map. You probably Google it. You start

thinking of friends who live there

or who have lived there before and

make a mental note to ask them

for tips. You wonder about schools, places to live, job

opportunities, how long is the trip to get there… Hundreds of

questions circle your mind. It can

be quite frustrating to have so many questions that don’t have answers yet. You want to know

everything right now! But that is not what moving is like. Moving is, above all, a test of your patience.

At first, you can’t tell anyone until it is “official”.

So you try to go about your daily life, knowing

that you are soon leaving, but not being able to share it with the world just yet. It is a bit like living

in a slow motion picture. Life goes on as usual, people around you make plans, and you secretly

wonder if you’ll still be here for that.

Moving can be every bit as exciting as it is frustrating. Leaving what I call your “safety net” is

quite a challenge. It means leaving family that can

support you in an emergency; friends that you have known forever and can call with short notice

for a coffee if you are in need of friendly advice; a neighborhood where you know where everything

is and how to get there; the doctor that you have been taking to your kids since they were born;

those informal family gatherings on weekends; the

coworker who joins you for a run; and a hundred other little things that make your pleasant daily

routine. This all changes when you move. You find yourself standing in a place that you

know very little of, where you might

not speak the language, where you don’t know a soul (or if you do,

chances are that your relationship is still in early stages of friendship), and

this is quite daunting. Especially if you find yourself with a sick child, or

have a traffic incident. Who to call,

what to do?

Over the years, I have read a lot

about it, and have experienced it 10

times (two of which were moving back to my own country, which, let me tell you,

can also be quite challenging). There is no blueprint to follow for a successful move, but

there are certainly a few tips that could help make

it less painful. I have complied a list from multiple

Every new beginning

comes from another

beginning’s end.

“Closing Time”

by Dan Wilson from

Semisonic


sources (i.e, friends, the internet, my own

experience…) that I hope can help you.

PATIENCE

This is a no brainer. You will need lots of it.

Getting all frustrated because there are still no answers to your many questions is of no use. Just

know that ALL of those answers will come, in

time. It WILL all work out. You WILL find a place

to live, a school spot, maybe even a new job. Just be patient. If you have children, you have to be

sympathetic to their frustrations as well. Be

prepared to answer as many questions as you can, but also reassure them that those answers that

you still don’t have will come. When you get there, you will need lots of patience for getting

settled too. You might need to get a hold of a plumber or electrician without any idea of where

to start looking for one, or encounter a visibly

frustrated neighbor that might be telling you something important that you don’t understand a

word of, or even going to the supermarket and not finding familiar stuff to cook. Just think that

there is a solution for everything, and that your

problem-solving skills and creativity will most

certainly improve.

LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN ABOUT

YOUR NEW HOST CULTURE BEFORE

YOU GET THERE

Arriving with at least a little knowledge of your new city will prove to be one of the best things

that you could do. So many things will be “different” than what you are used to, that being a

little bit familiar with at least a few will make your

first few days easier. If you can, learn at least basic words or phrases in your new language. Be

respectful of traditions. You might find them curious or even strange, but if you see them with

an open heart, they will seem less daunting. This

will all give you a broader look of the world and will make you and your family more adaptable to

new things.

DO NOT COMPARE EVERYTHING TO

“HOME”

This is not to say that you should not compare

anything. We are humans and it is only natural to

think: “Well, back home we do things differently” or “In our last location, it was not like this”. But it

is also human nature to idealize the things that we

remember fondly. We never think of the hideous traffic from “back home”, or the awful commute

to the kids’ school in our last location. Try to embrace your new location with open arms. The

traffic is terrible? Well yes, but maybe the school your kids go to is amazing. The food tastes

“funny”? OK, maybe you’re not used to it, but

you might learn how to use new ingredients and adapt them to your tastes. The weather is awful?

Well, it also rained back home, so try to focus on the positive. If you compare every single little

thing to “back home” or anywhere else in the

world, chances are that you will be miserable. Open your

heart and your mind to new

things. It doesn’t mean

that you can’t

miss your home or your

previous location. But if

you miss them

while embracing the

new places you’ll visit, you

will feel

MOVING TIPS—CONTINUED

And sometimes you close

your eyes

And see the place where

you used to live

When you were young

“When you were young”

By The Killers



happier. And you will build a stronger character

and tolerance.

NEW FRIENDS, NEW BEGINNINGS

It is almost certain that in your life as an expat

you will meet lots of people from many different backgrounds. You will like some, and maybe

others not so much. This is OK. Surround

yourself with people that

make you happy. If you want to enjoy your new life, avoid

people who bring you down.

A lot of strong and life-lasting friendships are

formed as expats. Your new friends become like your

new family. Slowly but surely you start weaving your new

safety net. Expats are very

solidary by nature. They experience the same feelings

you do. So be sure to explore this new world with

joy, and you will certainly

find yourself surrounded by amazing people who will

bring good things to your

life.

ENJOY YOUR TIME ALONE TOO

Being an expat sometimes means being alone. Especially at the beginning, while you are sorting

out house, school, maybe even a new job. Embrace it. This alone time will build your

character and will help you explore your own

interests too. You might have more time to do things that you couldn’t before. Like reading,

painting, writing, etc. Remember that book that you have been wanting to read for ages but never

found the time? Bring it along. Enjoy it. Go for

walks to explore your new neighborhood. Sit in a café all by yourself and watch people go by. Listen

others speaking the language, take in the new smells. You might find yourself with new interests

and this could lead you to meet new people. But if not, it is OK to just take it as inner growth and

strength.

WHAT ABOUT “THE

LOCALS”?

Some cultures are more

welcoming of foreigners than others. It might be

difficult sometimes to get to really know local people,

because you might find yourself living in an all expat

compound, or socializing

only with expats from your kids’ school or from your

own language school. There is nothing wrong with this.

But if you’d like to get

acquainted with the locals, why not join a class of

something that you like to do? You will enjoy going there and practice the

language with your teacher and classmates.

CONTACT YOUR LOCAL SSA

Take advantage of everything the SSA has to offer

in your adjustment to your new location. It doesn’t matter if this is your 1st or your 10th

move, it is always nice for a friendly face to greet

you there and assist you. The first time you go to a coffee morning in your new location can be a

bit stressful if you don’t know anyone and you see groups of friends laughing around you. Don’t

In spite of myself, and all of

these nursery songs

My heart beats with a ceaseless

longing of a yearning to

belong...

“Cucurucu”

By Nick Mulvey


worry. We have all been there. In no time you

will be laughing with them and welcoming new spouses too. In no time you will be able to

answer your family’s questions, because your SSA friends will be there for you and provide you with

answers to questions that you didn’t even know you had. I don’t know about you, but a few times

my husband has noticed that even if I have been in

a new place for only a few days, I already know

where everything is, or how to get a pizza

delivered… and more often than not is thanks to

my new SSA friends.

SPECIAL TIPS FOR

MOVING WITH KIDS

- Keep in mind that your kids

might feel that they don’t have a choice in this important

decision. That their world will

change forever, like yours, but they will experience the move

in a completely different manner. They will not be

worried about finding a house

or how to find a plumber, but their worries can be as simple and as complex as yours.

They might worry about how much they will miss their friends, or what will happen to a pet they

can’t take with them. They might worry that their grandparents are getting older and they will be

too far away to see them often. They might worry

about the weather or the natural disasters that could happen in your new location. Whatever it

is, respect their reaction to the news. They might be angry for a while. They might be afraid. They

might seem really cool but then act out in some

seemingly unrelated aspect (like failing a test in school or not wanting to go to soccer practice

anymore). It helps to be firm in your explanation of why the family needs to relocate. Help them

feel safe and, very importantly, hear them out.

- If they have no control over moving, give them

control over other things, like how they want to decorate their room, or choosing the school they

like best if that’s OK with you. Involve them in researching your new city, finding fun things to do

once you are there. If they ask you a question you don’t know the answer to, be honest and maybe

you can find out together. Perhaps the answer

will present itself until you get there, but at least

they will know that you are all in it together and

that you, as parents, are making an effort to understand how they feel.

- During the transition period, be vigilant of their

feelings. Some kids have a hard time expressing them.

Help them gently. Ask them what they think. Tell them a

story about a similar situation that you lived when you were

their age, how you felt and

how you dealt with it. - As soon as you tell them

about the move, choose a notebook to make a

scrapbook and leave it available to everyone in the

family. You can all add things to this book: maps;

pictures; drawings; feelings; questions; places that you’d like to visit before you leave; places that

you’d like to visit in your new place of residence; etc. One of my kids likes to draw what she

imagines that our new neighborhood will look

like, the other one likes to draw what he’d like his new room to look like (new Star Wars bed

sheets for his new bed are a hot topic right now). It then becomes a memory book that you can re-

visit many times. Once you are settled into your new routine, it is quite a fun read, all those

questions you had that are now answered and

made you stronger. - If the kids are old enough, help them figure out

how they will communicate with friends and


But if you close your eyes

Does it almost feel like

Nothing changed at all?

Does it almost feel like

You’ve been here before?

Pompeii

By Dan Smith from Bastille



family back home. Decide if it will be via email, or

will they be allowed to use social media? Make sure they get the contact info of the friends they

might want to keep in touch with. - Pack with you their favorite items, like a pillow

case or the stuffed bear they sleep with every night. Even their little night light or small lamp can

fit your luggage and can help make their new home

seem a little bit more familiar while your shipment arrives. Books, crafts, magazines… anything that

can keep them busy while you sort things out is great to bring along too. Let them pick out a few

things. They might seem of no importance to you,

but they are important to them. And then you pick out some others that they might have overlooked

but you know they will enjoy seeing once they get

to your temporary accommodation.

- If you have a long flight ahead: Arm yourself with more snacks thatyou

think you might need, they can prove to be a

lifesaver if they get hungry before you get any offered any food.

If they have mobile devices for entertainment, make sure they are charged

and bring extra battery packs just in case. If you are into that sort of thing, you can buy

a little surprise that you think they might

enjoy for them to open on the plane (for example, new colored markers, a rubik’s

cube, a small toy). These could help pass at least a little bit of time.

One thing that has worked wonders for me

is to explain to them what to expect in terms of “schedule”. It helps if you know

more or less how the flight usually goes. For example, I told my kids they were going to

serve our dinner about an hour after takeoff, and when they cleared our trays we were

going to visit the bathroom, brush their

teeth and come back to our seats to sleep. So when the time came they knew what to

do and when to do it, and it was easy for

them to adjust to sleeping in a cramped

airplane seat because I had explained to them that during night flights “everyone”

sleeps (Except me. I can’t sleep on planes. Ever. But don’t tell my children that!). Of

course things might not go exactly as you expect, so you can decide how specific you

want to be.

And so off you go, to your new family adventure! You will get to see how brave your kids are. You

will feel proud of your spouse/love of your life for taking on a new assignment or learning a new

language. You are about to discover so many

things about your new host country, but mostly, about yourself. You will know that you are strong,

creative and brave. And you will have so many places to call home, that you will continue to be a

citizen of the world.

Life’s like a road that you travel on

When there’s one day here and the

next day gone

“Life is a highway”

By Tom Cochrane


Introducing our new

Official SSA Facebook Group The time has come to create an Official SSA Facebook Group. It is in

the early stages of development as we are finishing this edition of The

Wayfarer.

The Global Board is always trying to be closer to our members from all

over the world. We are happy to add to our forms of communication

and be able to reach you via Facebook, following the Best Practices suggested to us by our sponsor, Schlumberger. We hope to create a safe

and fun environment in the group to help you find the information you

need.

The name of the group was chosen via a contest where all SSA

members had a chance to participate. Thank you for the 60+ names you

sent! The winning name came from our amazing Stavanger, Norway

chapter, and they will be receiving their prize very soon!

So if you haven’t been added yet, look it up under

SSA Global Community.

The group will be for SSA members only, so we beg you to be patient

while we add everyone

See you there!



We have already received many

contributions for our Summer

ART/HSE Wayfarer Edition.

Thanks to all the artists who

have already sent in their work.

Stay tuned!!

Have a great summer everyone.

Stay safe, use sunscreen, and enjoy.

Documents

The Wayfarer North America Edition May/June 2015