InternationalCouples

10 Proven Brain Benefits of Being Bilingual

Hi all! As part of our series of posts about the benefits of bilingual persons, we are publishing a guest post from BestCollegesOnline.com.

These days, attaining fluency in two or more languages looks fabulous on college and job applications and presents opportunities in numerous corners of life completely denied to the monolingual. Old or young, however, bilingual individuals enjoy some decidedly physiological rewards for their linguistic capabilities, which aren’t always immediately noticeable. Come to find out, the human body’s most important organ receives generous stimulation from soaking up multiple tongues as well. So before griping about that mandatory foreign language course, take a look at some of the most excellent things that could happen after mastering one.

PAIR: the app for long-distance relationships. An interview with Oleg Kostour

At some stage, an international relationship involves a long-distance phase. Distance, in its many forms, represents a constant fear factor for the vast majority of international couples. It might be distance from our families, from our friends, from our country, from the place where we grew up. Luckily, nowadays the fear factor can be mitigated by technology. Many of the communication and messaging software and smart phone Apps are available for free or their cost is relatively low in price.

The existing Apps and Skype-like softwares provide an interface that can connect you with your partner, a number of friends, family and so on.

Pair, on the other hand, revolutionizes this concept.

So what is Pair? Just another instant messaging App? I would not say so.

We spoke to Oleg Kostour, co-founder of Pair to find out more about the App and the guys behind it.

Are multicultural/international couples more likely to fail? Our poll

A very common question that every international couple is bound to ask:

A month ago we ran a poll on our blog asking our readers to participate and share their views with us. As the results show, people do not lack opinions on this issue. The reasons are many and it is worth investigating them.

Bilingual babies: inspiring videos

Today I would like to share with you two links about raising bilingual babies.

The first video is a Patricia Kuhl TED speech during which she talked about The linguistic genius of babies.

 

 Video cortesy TED.com

The bilingual baby: how to start?

Having cleared away some of the misconceptions about raising bilingual children, it is time to go through some tips and practical advice for those couples that raise bilingual babies.

1. Each parent in his/her own language

It is one of the most common approaches according to which each parent should address the baby in his/her native language. This approach does not need to be very strict but it should instead be considered as a general rule. Some couples that I know do not adhere to his rule always but instead use it as a guidance.

Why is it good?

International babies: the bilingual brain

Raising bilingual kids is doubtless one of the most fascinating and misterious phases for international and multicultural couples. Lots of questions, lots of opinions and very few certainties. I am starting a series of posts dedicated to international/multicultural babies and needless to say I will need your passion, ideas and input.

Can bilingualism 'confuse' babies?

A fairly common belief among international parents is that exposing babies to a second language will cause

Anti Sleep Pilot

As international couples, most probably, you have been travelling a lot. A lot. I remember in the first months soon after my then-girlfriend and I met, I used to travel by car at weekends. I would leave at about midday on fridays and would drive for 14 hours. You can imagine the state I was in when I arrived.

The point I am making is that driving for too long is extremely dangerous and drowsy driving is one of main causes of accidents.

5 top ideas to land a job when abroad - part II

Hi guys, I am back with 5 more practical ideas to land a job abroad. By the way, if you missed my first 5 tips, go to 5 Top ideas to land a job when abroad.

6. Are you into sports/yoga/martial arts? Well, this is a no brainer, really. If a type of dance, a sport discipline, some other social activity is your pie, why not try to get into some local school, institution or school? Furthermore, this could a good way to link with your group of expats for which you could become a referral point in that particular field. My advice is to keep following your passions and jobs may follow after. For example, a passion for sports may translate into jobs as physical education teachers or as a personal trainer whilst a passion for dance may clear the way to start your own dance schools.

5 Top ideas to land a job when abroad

If you are living in a foreign country or are about to move you must have thought of your job. If you are leaving your present one because you decided to follow your partner or for other reasons, you must have wondered whether you can ever find a job in your new country.

Needless to say, the most immediate and esiest solution would be to work for the same company (take a look at Need to reduce the stress of relocation? Work for the same company!). But if you are not working at the moment or if your company does not have a local branch or simply because you want to ring the changes, then you are going to need ideas and strategies. Here is a list of 5 usueful suggestions:

4 Practical tips to manage homesickness - II part

After my posts Are you homesick? and 4 Practical tips to manage homesickness and after some further thoughts about how to contrast this condition, here I am sharing 4 more suggestions to get involved into lots of things and fight homesickness.

1. Ask your family, friends and relatives to visit more often

Having your relatives and friends around it's a real panacea! Showing them around, chatting to them, telling each other what you have been doing since you last met, really helps you when you feel down in the dumps. When parents, relatives and friends visit, it's not only the visit itself that counts but the preparation.You must arrange for their accommodations, write down some sort of program for their stay, figure out where to take them, which places to visit. By the way, who is going to cook for your guests? I guess you've got to figure out the meals as well. All the process is going to take time and energy also but, most important, is going to distract you from the daily issues in order to focus on the upcoming task. I am convinced, from personal experience, that this can help you a lot.