So was Joel. Although he had never lived outside Illinois, Joel agreed and saw it as an opportunity to learn about me—my background, culture, and language—as well as to better understand the 50 percent cultural makeup of his children. ( Read more )

Anna

I secured an internship with Amoco after my freshman year in college. Following that first summer, I was signed on as an employee with an extended absence for three years while I finished school. I interned every summer and got a big boost in professional experience this way. I met my husband, Joel, in college, and we were married a year after I graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in marketing and business administration. ( Read more )

Despite my communicating this point to HR, they insisted that we have a meeting as a couple to review tax-related and other financial information. In that meeting, they questioned Ed and asked him if he really wanted to go. They repeated several times that he could not work in Switzerland. ( Read more )

Diane

I left the University of Notre Dame with a degree in chemical engineering. I chose DuPont over other multinational companies because it had a reputation for its versatile environment where one could grow and expand. Starting out in the laboratory, next I moved on to customer service, which I loved, and then asked to move to sales. I thrived on the freedom, the flexibility, and the challenges. ( Read more )

I was twenty-nine years old when I moved to Hong Kong. I was a middle manager and had six years of experience. I was fortunate to have two great mentors who worked with management to fast-track my career and better prepare me for my next move. My husband, Mike, and I got married on the eve of our departure. We stopped for a two-week honeymoon in India (who would pass up the opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal on your honeymoon?). ( Read more )

Stacie

I grew up traveling and loved the thrill of it, the newness and adventure— especially overseas. In college, my close circle of friends were not American, including my (still) best friend (and godmother to my daughters), Eleonora, from Rome; Richard and Frederic, from Paris; and Rachid, from Morocco. I found that I felt much more comfortable with them than with other American students. After receiving my degree in communication theory and completing graduate course work in English literature at Florida Atlantic University, I moved to Washington, D.C., and hoped to get a job with an international company. ( Read more )