Jamie is in Madrid, Spain this week hard at work. Among many of Jamie Nachtigall's duties as Regional Coordinator for Europe and the Middle East, getting employees settled in their new home-country is a key part of the job. Each country presents its own cultural and bureaucratic challenges. Getting work-permits, visas, tax ID numbers, submitting lots of official documents, birth certificates, and licenses is just the beginning. Having grown up in Egypt and with plenty of experience living overseas in North Africa, Europe, and Asia; she is perfect for the job.

In addition to that initial international paperwork, there is needing to teach new workers how to handle banking on two continents with multiple accounts, dealing with different currency exchange rates, and looking at real estate and furniture-shopping options in the new country. This includes dealing with foreign real estate websites and agencies.

Then there is the emotional part: helping families process the move, prepare the family to become bi-cultural, locating the right school for the kids, helping minimize the culture shock and cultural adjustments, and helping set up a new (global) work routine where there is no normal anymore. There is also much needed preparation on the kinds of conflict that can arise in marriages and parent-child relationships when one re-locates overseas.

Then there is all the financial training, learning to separate air and personal expenses, policies on operating fiscally responsible and preparing to pay US taxes as a citizen abroad. It's amazing that Jamie can navigate all these cultures and bureaucratic hurdles with ease. It's truly a unique skill. And all of this is just a small part of the job she does for Three Worlds. Thank you, Jamie!