Reflections and Gratitude

December. That word tends to bring joy to the lives of so many because of what it represents. For those in the Northern Hemisphere, it represents fun winter activities that often involve snow! For those in the Southern Hemisphere, it represents summer time and associated summer activities. For the religious/spiritual, it represents a time to reflect on peace on earth and good will towards others. For Expats, it can be a unique time - there are families who "go home for the holidays", and there are families who create their own "end of year" traditions. But for just about everyone, December represents the end of the calendar year, and the hope for better things to come in the new year. It is a time of reflection, remembering the good (and not-so-good) things that happened within our respective lives and within the world around us. And in that reflection, we recognize what we learned and how we can move forward.

For us, the authors of Expat Teens Talk, 2012 has been a year of considerable growth. We were able to get our book published, and have enjoyed the feedback that we have gotten from everyone who has had the opportunity to read it. The process was definitely a learning experience, one that we will use as we go into 2013. In reflecting on this process, we want to take a moment to thank all of you for your support. Following our blog, "liking" us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and buying our book - all of these activities have allowed us to feel supported, and for that we sincerely thank you!

We are looking forward to a wonderful 2013, and we hope that you will join us on our journey. Until then, we wish you a very Happy Holiday season, and a safe and wonderful New Year!

Warmest Regards,

Lisa and Diana

Expat Expo Geneva 2012, a learning experience

The Expat Expo was an interesting experience for us. While it was great to be there and network (we met a lot of very interesting people!), we concluded it was a better venue for promoting services than for sharing and promoting a specialized resource like 'Expat Teens Talk'. From our experiences to date, we realize that when we conduct presentations and have engaging discussions about our work, why we put together our resource, who our target audience is and how our book can be used to support the needs of Expat Teens, people are much more responsive.

Following Expat Expo, we had a presentation with a select group of targeted invitees. The audience was extremely attentive, receptive and engaging in open discussions. They understood why we felt motivated to write Expat Teens Talk, and they understood the need for us to promote our work to those who really need it. The feedback from this presentation was fantastic.

Writing a book is one thing; meeting a need is another! Marketing is an entirely different area of expertise. As professionals in our respective fields, our objective with Expat Teens Talk is to support the needs of teenagers who are going through the transformational changes of adolescence, while living a transient life with more changes than constants. If we help one, two, or ten teenagers, then we have achieved our objective.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and/or experiences. So TALK to us and let us know what's on your mind...

Expat Expo Geneva 2012-PHOTOS

Enjoy the photos of our experience at Expat Expo Geneva 2012

EARCOS feedback

Time is something we often wish we had more of....hence the delayed posting of our Expat Teens Talk EARCOS weekend conference. Below are samples of feedback forms we received. The conference was a big success with plenty of verbal feedback of people sharing their thoughts on presenters, sessions and information as shared. Read below to learn what the professionals who attended thought.Because of the size of the files, this post will be split into two.