International Human Resource Management Course
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Do I Want To Be An Expatriate?
Many students dream of becoming an expatriate or be working for some multinational firm with the prospect of to be given the foreign assignment in near future. Not unusual in these days. Not to mention the students at my university program – International Management, in which the word International emphasizes the future international work background.
However, during my studies I’ve already tried the life abroad three times. My first experience was summer work in United States for three months in 2010, then immediately after summer I went to Sweden for my Erasmus exchange program which took five months and the most current and latest experience includes Erasmus internship in Spain during this summer which took three months.
These three sojourns abroad convinced me that I will NEVER accept an international assignment. There are way too many factors why it’s highly probable I will turn down the international offer from my employer.
Factor N°1 – Food
Disgusting! Whether you’re in United States, Sweden or Spain, the food is completely different from the food at home. Before I left to US, as my first international environment in which I had to stay more than month, I’ve never had three consecutive days without soup. You can imagine my stomachache and distaste in US, where they don’t even have the spoon for soup! Only small one for yogurts! I thought I was having a three months long nightmare. The bread? Like a chewing gum! And sweet! Salty butter, peanut butter (ewww!) or weirdly looking tomato didn’t improve my mood at all and I started to feel strong compassion toward American population addicted to fast food. Even I, strong opposer of fast food fare, started to eat all the junkfood available in the fast food snackbar where I worked. Even though I worked in Christmas theme amusement park, the only day