I am curious about any and all experiences connected to living abroad. Even mission experience abroad. Share it here. I am also curious if anyone's experience on their mission led to a desire to live abroad, or to actually living abroad. If you have never lived abroad, but are interested in it, please post here. I am serious, anything, wether connected to the church or not.

I'm originally from 'abroad' and now I've returned.

About 5 years after my parents were married (plus 2 children), my uncle (mother's brother) returned to Norway after having earlier emigrated to Canada (where he met and married a Mormon woman, and then joined her church). When he returned for an extended visit, he was encouraged to proselytize during his stay. My mother immediately bought it all.

This came with a problem, however. The mission president (and the church) at that time told converts that they should go to America, and that they should settle in SLC in order to assure that their families would be forever and their children will be brought up right. My mother bought that, too.

This caused all sorts of havoc in my parents' relationship. My father did not want to leave his country (for which he had fought during WWII), and he had no reason to leave. My mother was insistent that they should do what the church told her to do. Eventually, my father caved in and we all ended up in SLC.

I resented the fact that the church uprooted people from their homelands, and told them to 'go to Zion.' I thought that if they wanted to build a world-wide church, then they should leave converts where they are. It's none of their business where we want to live.

I've never liked the circumstances of our relocation and the fact that I was living in a country that was not my place of birth. Over the years, I visited Norway often, and I eventually relocated back here (...long story, very short).

My feelings, attitude, and decisions were vindicated by the fact that - before their deaths - both of my parents lamented the fact that they had moved to Utah. Both eventually said to me, "We should never have left Norway."

By living here, I feel that my circle of life is complete.

I went to Utah for work a year or so ago. I also lamented the fact I had left china and gone to SLC. Now I am happily back in China. So for you the United States was living abroad. I am glad you made it back home.

Not sure what you want to know...?

I did 2 years in France as a missionary.
I lived in Japan for a year -- working, not as a missionary.

In both cases, it was fun and exciting learning about different cultures. In the first case (mission), the stupid missionary rules prevented me from really enjoying all that French culture has to offer, but I've made up for it by going back and actually enjoying France :)

Japan was a bit tougher...I didn't speak the language as well as I did French, though I worked hard to learn it (after several years, I spoke it fairly well, but could only read/write on about a 2nd grade level!). Japanese culture can sometimes be very cool (though generally not hostile) to "gaijin" (outsiders, barbarians like us). But I did make some great friends, and even managed to get a stodgy, tradition-heavy Japanese company (Fujitsu) to start having "casual Fridays" :)

In both cases, there were certainly times I missed the familiarity of "home." But living in other countries was overall great, and very mind-expanding. Meeting so many French people who were happy, successful, and wonderful people without being mormons helped open my eyes to the lies of the morg :)

Those experiences also gave me a "travel bug." Though I haven't lived in other countries for as long as those two, I've spent many months in the Philippines (where my wife is from), in China (business), and have spent many weeks in England, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Canada (it's so foreign!<grin>), Australia...and short visits to about a dozen others.

Living abroad is better even than formal education. Travel and living in a different country teaches you lessons in life you'll never forget. But if you're American, and are not living abroad with sponsorship of, say, the US military, or do not have sponsorship of a job provider, then it is difficult to get or retain a visa. Most European countries, plus Canada and Australia, and likely New Zealand, will have you only if you can bring something to the table.

I have lived 26 years abroad, and am proud of it. I've lived in Japan, Germany, Italy, Pakistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I have also worked for long spells in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Poland, and had holidays all over the place. I will always be happy that I've done it, even if some of the places (Congo, Pakistan) proved dangerous and hard.

If I had the chance, I'd go *virtually* anywhere--so long as it wasn't immersed in civil strife, or where life is particularly cheap and precarious. Otherwise, NO place is not worth seeing. If you have a degree and would like to travel and experience the far side of the moon, you should explore Peace Corps. If you just want a few months here and there in 1st world countries, try teaching English (if you feel qualified) in Japan or Taiwan. There are other opportunities to teach English and such in more obscure parts of Europe, such as in Armenia and Georgia.

There are lots of volunteer and even paid opportunities in some great African countries, like Namibia, Botswana, and Tanzania, all fantastic places. Namibia is the only country in all of Africa that runs as well as it does, having once been a German colony. But anywhere in Africa offers the kind of interesting chaos that many westerners love, so long as you avoid the dangerous places (most of Central Africa, much of West Africa, and parts of the rest of Africa--one must do one's homework). Africans in general are among the dearest people in the world, otherwise. Of special note, some of the best beer in the world is brewed in some of the worst places in Africa.***

So yeah, try something, if that's what you're getting at with your post. Your window of opportunity to do many of those things likely will eventually close.


***Tembo ("elephant" in Swahili) amber lager from Lubumbashi is arguably THE BEST BEER in the world. Unfortunately, you likely have to go to Lubumbashi or Kinshasa or some other sad place to drink it. The bottles are lovely, recycled so many times that some still say "Zaire" on them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/2017 04:22PM by cludgie.

What field were you in Cludgie that took you all over the world? Military? Or something else?

First Air Force, then DoD, then State, the DoD (whoever will have me with my poor and narrow set of skills). Transferred back to states in 2008, with only three trips out of the states afterward--one for pleasure, two for work.

A beautiful summary, Cludgie.

I'm a nevermo Brit who's been living in France since 1983. Moving abroad is what made me - I couldn't see a place for me in the UK of that time. I found one in France.

I think everyone should try living abroad for at least a time in their lives. It gives you a perspective which those who stay at home can't easily achieve. All the assumptions that underlie your life in your home country will be challenged (and sometimes overthrown ;-). This means you come out of it with a much more objective view of things.

It's been the story of my life. The only weird thing is that I now feel like a foreigner in the UK, which has significantly changed since 1983, obviously, and has more recently diverged from the rest of Europe.

But I would recommend the experience to anybody.

Tom in Paris



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2017 03:55AM by Soft Machine.

I love how you point out, "All the assumptions that underlie your life in your home country will be challenged (and sometimes overthrown)." My assumptions were all challenged and many overthrown. Like about Italy, for instance, seen by most Americans in sort of black and white 1950's romantic comedy, such as "Roman Holiday," "La Dolce Vita," and "Buona Sera Mrs. Campbell," etc. The image is that they are loud and funny, but nice, and eat good food, but noisily, and the men wear bandanas about their necks, and women wear scarves over their heads. All the buildings are crumbly and not well looked after, because no one does any work, and they still use horse-drawn wagons in the countryside. When I actually moved there, I found out that Italians already had high-speed Internet (it was on its way in the States), and that all of Rome was connected with fiber optic cable (something we didn't have). It was all very modern stuff overlaid onto a very old, and well-cared-for and proude memory of ancient culture. I found that Italians are extremely patriotic without the nationalism and militarism of the United States. And they are a nation of well-dressed individuals. They DO eat good food, but not noisily. Admittedly, they ARE animated, but not with the exaggeration you find in the movies. And no men wear bandanas around their necks unless acting as extras in an American movie (which you'll notice even in "Under the Tuscan Sun"). It's the only place where I've seen women sprint down the street in spiked heels while trying to board a bus. Now that's impressive. American women can't do that. There is a well-functioning national health care system (probably not as good as the one in France), and women get liberal maternal leave. They have a very high quality of life, them Eye-talians.

Growing up near the Mexican border, in SoCal, I learned to speak Spanish fluently, and I am a linguist by training. I took a night-school semester of Italian, but because of my Spanish major in college, found that I was able to read excerpts from "La Commedia Divina" without much difficulty (we had to read "Don Quixote" in the original Spanish in college, and the Italian from that period was not too difficult.)

When I was able to spend some time in Italy about a decade ago, I found that I was able to communicate without much difficulty. I bought a Spanish/Italian dictionary, which helped.

The northern 2/3 of Italy were a lot like the rest of Europe, but the southern part was more like Mexico (at least, the way Mexico was when I was an exchange student there.) Less uptight about schedules, very friendly. I liked it there.

I think I could settle in Napoli or Sorrento without a lot of trouble, except for the health care issue. I don't believe my DH would want to be an expat, though. He speaks fluent Spanish too, but wants nothing to do with Italian.

I'm not particularly religious, but I loved the feeling I got from seeing those OLD, huge basilicas. They had a tranquil, serene feeling that I have never felt in an American church.

If I considered being an expat - and if being old and creaky were not an issue - I would seriously look into retiring in Italy. It is a lovely place. And, speaking Spanish as I do, Italian didn't seem that difficult.

I have spent a fair amount of time in Japan, it's one of the places I go when life in China gets too hectic and I need to escape. My wife loves France, I enjoy it too, though not as much. Living out here also helped spur ahead my departure from the morg.

I have lived in Japan and Korea in the military and mission.

It was interesting and educational but I think for only a few years. Me and family developed some very close and unique relationships when overseas.

However, we were all ready to move on after a few years. Maybe because I was military and moving around was a 'significant' part of that life to gain new experiences.

I know that feeling of being ready to move on. Thanks for your service by the way. I got that feeling after about a year in Beijing.

I served a two year LDS Mission in the Dominican Republic. While in the US Army, I lived 3/2 years in Germany. I've also traveled extensively to over 20 countries.

I value having lived abroad, traveling, and seeing so many different countries. Each country I've visited has taught me both positive and negative aspects that has helped me be a more balanced and well-rounded person.

First I would like to thank you for your service. It is amazing what can be learned from seeing how others approach things. I have learned that the way I have been taught is not always the best way. I guess what I mean to say is that the American way is not always the best way. Sometimes it is, but sometimes other cultures have better solutions. There is a lot to be learned from other cultures.

I've lived abroad four times so far. The first time was as an Air Force brat. My dad's last assignment was in England and we were there for three years. I was very young at the time, but I remember it. I even went back to England last year and saw where I lived as a little girl. In fact, my first memories are of England. I think spending early years there is what makes me feel so comfortable abroad.

The second time was as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Armenia. I was there for 27 months.

The third and fourth times have been in the Stuttgart area of Germany. We were here the first time with the Army from 07-09. We came back in 2014 when my husband retired. He's now a contractor. In August, we will have been here three years (so about five total in Germany so far).

Last month, my husband was offered a government job in Italy, but he decided to turn it down because it was logistically very difficult for us to move. There's no telling how long we'll stay in Germany. My husband starts a new job with a different contractor next month, but we're staying in Stuttgart.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2017 02:52AM by knotheadusc.

I have a good friend here in China from Germany. He is always talking about home. He is hopeful that he can convince his Chinese fiancé to move there.

I am living in Ethiopia now for over a year and may stay here for at least another year. My hayfewer vanished on arrival, but the mountain air (2100 m a.sl.) can make one tired. The good thing, the Mormons have not made it up here were I am and and I doubt they ever will.

There aren't any mormons (as far as I know) in the city I am living either. its sort of strange to think about. Everywhere in the world I have been there has been some small sign of the LDS church, be it missionaries, temples or meeting houses. Here there is nothing. If not for the occasional underground Christian group singing hymns on Sunday I wouldn't see signs of western religion at all.

slayermegatron Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If not for the occasional
> underground Christian group singing hymns on
> Sunday I wouldn't see signs of western religion at
> all.

Aren't most Ethiopians Christians?

I know there are Ethiopian Muslims...

...and that there used to be Ethiopian Jews (currently, and officially, at least, there are "no" Ethiopian Jews in Ethiopia anymore, since the "last" remaining Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel in the 1990s)...

...but it has always been my understanding that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has been generally regarded (more or less) as the "official" religion of Ethiopia (in addition to the smaller numbers of Ethiopian Catholics, and also Ethiopian Protestants of various denominations).

Am I misinformed???

I can't say for sure, I have never actually been to Ethiopia. I live in China. Sorry, I should have mentioned that in my reply. There are some poorly reconstructed Buddhist temples and that's about it. Not much religion here.

There is/was an LDS mission there. Whether or not it's functioning is anyone's guess. According to Cumorah.com, there are now 4 branches (down from 6), and almost 2,000 Mormons. I doubt they have actual boy/girl missionaries, and would bet that it's nothing more than several old couples who claim to be "on a mission for the LDS church."

I'm jealous.

Also, if you have contracted intestinal parasites in Ethiopia, your hay fever and other allergies (sometimes even auto-immune disorders) will likely disappear. Google "helminth therapy," a pursuit by immunologists and scientists at both University of Iowa and Cambridge. So if you have intestinal parasites, don't be in a hurry to take mebendazole unless they're really messing with you; they could be doing you a great favor.

I am in Tigray, the northernmost region. Here the are about 7% Muslim. i have mosque in my neighbourhood who megaphones - thanks through Saudi money - can affect my sleep at times. In the south are more Muslim. Probably 40 to 45% of Ethiopians are estimated to be Muslim. The Orthdox Church may habe a similar amount of members, but its loosing to the Evangelical. SDA and JW are even where I am. Here the church towers are singing at night on the saints festivals and sundays. During the Easter fast of 55 days very night. This church is quite weird in its beliefs and even has its own scriptures. The real Arc of Covenant is claimed to be in Axum cathedral.