22 December 2024 Coaching everywhere in the world

Author: Erika Bezzo

ChangeXperience - Erika Bezzo - What is cultural intelligence?

What is cultural intelligence?

There is no single definition of cultural intelligence but, to begin, I suggest one that may be useful when it comes to introducing the concept: "Cultural intelligence is the ability to adopt a series of behaviour patterns that use capacities (e.g., linguistic or interpersonal) and qualities (e.g., tolerance or flexibility) given out in the right doses, with regard to the cultural values and values of the people with whom we interact".

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ChangeXperience - Erika Bezzo - The expat’s feeling of guilt

The expat’s feeling of guilt

When you decide to move, to leave your country, your most beloved family and your friends, one of the first things that you keep in your suitcase is a feeling of guilt. Although you are sure of the affection that you feel for the people you are leaving behind in your home country, you inevitably ask yourself if leaving your country is a sign of carelessness or indifference towards those who matter to you, if what it really means is that you have chosen for your own good, without thinking of others. Because feelings of guilt seep in, prospering in insecurity and in doubt.

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ChangeXperience - Erika Bezzo - Is divorce more common among expat couples?

Is divorce more common among expat couples?

Embarking on a new venture abroad means that the couple and all the members of the family have to deal with considerable changes. Prior to the move, couples tend to focus on matters such as searching for living accommodation, school for the children, medical insurance, and generally they completely forget about the key challenges regarding the couple’s relationship, which will inevitably undergo a transformation. An experience abroad can reinforce consolidated relations even more, or it can add more stress to relations complicated in themselves.

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ChangeXperience - Erika Bezzo - The search for happiness … in one’s home country or abroad

The search for happiness … in one’s home country or abroad

In one’s own country or abroad, since days of old, humans are characterized by their wish to be happy. Both if the decision is to stay in one’s home country, or to move away in search of a better life, there will be no lack of difficulties and problems to overcome because dealing with the hurdles that we come across along the road is part of life.

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ChangeXperience - Erika Bezzo - Do you know who the first Italian woman was to hold a driving licence in Saudi Arabia?

Do you know who the first Italian woman was to hold a driving licence in Saudi Arabia?

On 24th June 2018, the ban on driving for women in Saudi Arabia was officially lifted, and already 2000 driving licences have been issued to women resident in the country. One of these is Margherita Di Paola who, it would seem, although we have no official confirmation, is the first Italian woman to have passed the driving test in Riyadh, on 24th June 2018.

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ChangeXperience - Erika Bezzo - Is moving away the same as overcoming one’s own limitations?

Is moving away the same as overcoming one’s own limitations?

Whoever decides to move away and start their life over again elsewhere, on personal initiative or because she chooses to follow her partner, decides to leave their comfort zone, leave what she knows to go to something new and, quite often, into the unknown. This first decision is sometimes taken instinctively, other times after long, pondered thought, and in some cases, it is one taken out of necessity, while on other occasions, it is out of a will to change or to improve one’s life.

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ChangeXperience - Erika Bezzo - Return to the country of origin: an unexpected shock

Return to the country of origin: an unexpected shock

After some years abroad, for some the time comes, by choice, by contractual obligation or for personal reasons, to return to the country of origin. Ostensibly, what can be more natural than going home, back to the family atmosphere left behind years before? One thinks of taking up one’s life exactly where it was interrupted, but that is not the case.

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ChangeXperience - Erika Bezzo - Two strategies for managing anxiety abroad

Two strategies for managing anxiety abroad

Generally speaking, when we decide to move abroad, it is because we have a hope or a dream: a dream of a better life, of a more interesting job or of a better paid one, of being able to carry out a professional or life project.
Sometimes, once we have arrived at our destination, we realize that the difficulties that we face are greater than our expectations, or that the times to make our dream come true are further away than expected.

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