I arrived at the airport for the first time in Nizhneyvartofsk, Siberia, at 6 a.m. local time and walked out into a shabby, horribly dark, and very cold baggage claim area with stray dogs and broken furniture. It was January, and I’m from Texas! I walked out into the throng of people, and no one was there to meet me. The only person who came up to me was a very drunk, toothless, homeless-looking man. I was a bit tired, and I was getting more and more scared as everyone but he and I left the airport. No more planes were coming in just then, and no one spoke English.
The local airline didn’t even have an English speaker. I sat on my bag and sobbed for more than an hour, not knowing who to call or even how to. All of my “type-A-just-do-it” personality melted away, and I morphed into this completely scared, isolated victim. I felt broken and helpless and so tired. Finally, another plane came in.
This nice woman approached me and asked if I was Pamela. I told her yes! She couldn’t really say much more than that, but she took me to that drunk man and pushed me toward him. He grabbed my bag and walked outside. I was so scared! As it turned out, he had my name, written in Cyrillic letters, on a very thin, small piece of paper. He was my driver! Remember that most things don’t go as smoothly as planned, and you will surely laugh about these stories many times over . . . So have a plan B for the first few days. They will certainly go differently than you anticipated! —Pamela, The Teagarden Group
You’ve landed; now you want to get to work. But wait. If possible, do not report for duty the day after you arrive. Negotiate with your supervisor the value of taking one week of personal time out of what will most likely be a multiyear assignment. A few days spent in getting familiar with your surroundings enables you to start your job on the right foot.
Not many of us took the time to get settled upon arrival; we then spent months playing catch-up. Once you know where to shop for groceries and work out, know how to use local transportation, and have a friend to call when you’re in need, you will be able to jump right into work with some peace of mind. Therefore, we recommend doing six important things during your first week in your new home.