{"id":5200,"date":"2019-03-12T11:12:44","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T15:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/?page_id=5200"},"modified":"2019-06-03T13:38:50","modified_gmt":"2019-06-03T17:38:50","slug":"global-connections-allison-vernerey","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/spring-2019\/global-connections-allison-vernerey\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former basketball player<\/strong> for the French national team, Allison Vernerey (MBA\u201919) first came to the United States for undergraduate studies\u2014and to shoot hoops for Duke University. She spoke only basic English, but her teammates helped her adjust and acclimate to life a continent away from home. Today, she provides that support for others. Vernerey, who\u2019ll join Home Depot as a product manager after graduation, is the founder of Global Connections, a student-run organization that offers social and practical support to Questrom\u2019s international graduate students. If you\u2019re preparing to move or work abroad, take her advice for fitting in\u2014and keeping homesickness at bay:<\/p>\n

1<\/span>Don\u2019t hide<\/span> \u201cAs long as you don\u2019t really have the language down, everything is an extra effort\u2014it just makes it harder to connect with people. Sometimes you come in and you try to find people who are like you, from other countries as well as your own, because it is safer and really nice to have. But try to open yourself up to people from the country you\u2019re in, so that you\u2019re forced to speak and learn the lingo.\u201d<\/p>\n

2<\/span>Go easy on yourself<\/span> \u201cYou\u2019re learning and adjusting, and you feel like there\u2019s a lot you don\u2019t know. And anytime you speak, you feel very self-conscious. I realize now, from seeing other people, that it is actually very impressive to just see someone trying to learn a different language and adjust to a new culture. Don\u2019t beat yourself up, and be patient with the time it\u2019s going to take.\u201d<\/p>\n

3<\/span>Remember, you\u2019re not alone<\/span> \u201cThe mistake a lot of people make is that they want to show they\u2019re doing well, especially if they\u2019re there on business. You shouldn\u2019t be afraid to put yourself out there and to admit that you might be struggling a little bit. A lot of people are, and they are everywhere in the world\u00a0and going through the same thing as you.\u201d<\/p>\n

4<\/span>Turn homesickness into opportunity<\/span> \u201cThe thing that I do, but that\u2019s very French of me, I guess, is that I\u2019ll go get some good French food and I\u2019ll buy things that remind me of home. And I think that makes it a little bit easier, especially if you share it with other people where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

5<\/span>Expect a bumpy return journey<\/span> \u201cWhen you move to a country you don\u2019t know, you expect to have to adjust, but when you move back home, you don\u2019t. I actually moved back to Europe for three years and I had changed a lot. I had never worked in Europe or in France, so all I knew was the business and work culture of the US. There were some things I\u2019d only learned in English, like technical vocabulary, and I got pretty frustrated at first.\u00a0The main thing is just to be aware of it and that it\u2019s normal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A former basketball player for the French national team, Allison Vernerey (MBA\u201919) first came to the United States for undergraduate studies\u2014and to shoot hoops for Duke University. She spoke only basic English, but her teammates helped her adjust and acclimate to life a continent away from home. Today, she provides that support for others. Vernerey, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14430,"featured_media":0,"parent":5191,"menu_order":21,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"story.php","meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nLife Abroad - Questrom Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/spring-2019\/global-connections-allison-vernerey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Life Abroad - Questrom Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A former basketball player for the French national team, Allison Vernerey (MBA\u201919) first came to the United States for undergraduate studies\u2014and to shoot hoops for Duke University. 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