Think about the last time you were in a place that was familiar…yet unfamiliar.
For me, it was yesterday. Because of some construction, my drive home took me on a different route through town — past a large grocery store I’d never been to. I needed to find something for my family’s dinner, and restock the kitchen cupboards. So I pulled into the parking lot, got out of the car, grabbed a cart, and walked through the door.
At “my” grocery store, shoppers enter directly into the produce section. However, this grocery store greeted me right away with displays of bread, boxes of muffins, and other bakery goods. Not that strange, of course. Interesting, maybe even a little exciting! Yet, I realized quickly that I was used to shopping for items in a certain order.
In this familiar yet unfamiliar place, I guessed correctly that the milk and eggs were along the back wall of the store. But I wasn’t sure where to find ketchup, or my daughter’s favorite granola bars. I didn’t know whether they carried our brand of toothpaste, and my husband is very particular about toothpaste. I zig-zagged across the store several times when at “my” grocery store, one brisk walk-through would have done the trick. When I finally arrived at the cash register, I realized that I didn’t even have the store’s shoppers’ club card.
On my way home, tired and frustrated, twenty minutes late and with a few substitute items I’d have to explain to my family, I realized that my experience was a microcosm of what the globally mobile do every day. Certainly, some aspects of relocation and business travel are familiar. But unfamiliar elements, combined with pressing needs, is a fast recipe for stress. Had I been greeted at the door by a friendly employee with a store map, a grocery index, and a shoppers’ club card application? My experience in an unfamiliar grocery store would have been positive — not just for me, but for my hungry (and sometimes very picky) family.
Let Living Abroad’s International Relocation Center reports equip your assignees and families with the tools they need to navigate the unfamiliar with confidence. Give them assurance, save them energy, and get the most out of assignments — for themselves, and for those at home.
Written by Erin Fitzgerald, GMS, Living Abroad-International Product Manager
