'Salary workers in the US can have as little as 10 vacation days per year. As a freelancer, I can decide for myself how many days off I have. And I can take my work with me on holiday.' Stefanie Verstappen USA
'By coincidence, I started to make jewelry, using local Mongolian silver buttons. It soon became my business. My hobby has become my job.' Constanze Zimmer - Mongolia
'I now know that if we continue to accept foreign postings, I will always have to look for something to do, that's close to my heart.' Rosanne Surie - Kenya
From banking business to designing hats: 'Don't think that you're too old, or it's too late in life. Give it a try: you never know what will happen.' Elisabeth Koch - China
'I rank my work with the Ho Chi Minh City professional basketball team as my most memorable expat experience so far!' Chantel Gorton - Vietnam
'Without Global Connection, I wouldn't have dared to initiate our new partner support programme.' Ellen Jansma Global Mobility Manager at HEINEKEN
'HEINEKEN's partner support program gave our voluntary project a kick-start.' Jitra Janssonius & Sophie Vos - South Africa
'If I had not had the help of a coach to find a job, it would have taken me much more time to sort things out.' Vanessa Carneiro - USA
Global Connection charity project: 'In 2008, Global Connection financed the purchase of an oven, so Poo could start her cooking workshops. Today, her workshops are nr. 1 on Trip Advisor!' Manon van Buuren - Thailand
'We follow our partners, but that does not mean we have to lose ourselves: we just need to find our own way to express our identity.' Jingjing Thomas
Changing Course: 'I decided to make a mental switch, left the security business behind me and started up a company in the tourism industry.' Weynand Haitjema Panama
A same-sex couple, thinking about being expatriated to Greece: 'The information received from Global Connection members and report prepared by Global Connection was a contributing factor in the decision not to go ahead with the posting.' anonymous - Greece
1998 The cover of a Heineken Partner Network Newsletter
'I switched from running an antenatal clinic in my home country to unpaid animal welfare work in Santiago.' Jo Murphy - Chile
'The kids were worried they wouldn't recognise their new friends, because everybody looks the same in China.' Augusta Klaarenbeek - China
'Thanks to the Cycles of Change workshop, I was already familiar with the emotions involved in a move abroad.' Ewa Brytanczyk Japan
'As long as there is an internet connection, I can work anywhere.' Ingrid Siepel - USA
'Don't worry Mommy, my friends will still be in my heart. And on Facebook.' Kindra Hallam - India
'No, people here don't think it's weird that I followed my wife overseas.' Ali Ayhan Fidanci - Dubai
About the vacancy exchange project: 'It's definitely a win-win situation for both the local companies and the expat partners.' Frederik Dutilh - Nigeria
'As a photographer, taking the fierce local competition into account, it was time for me to look at my work through a new lens.' Joss de Groot - Malaysia
'The pressure to succeed in Asian culture reinforces the need to deliver top marks in school.' Chantal Wanten - Philippines
'For me, a Swiss, traffic in Moscow is a disaster. Getting somewhere on time, which is part of my culture, is impossible.' Claudia Cuenot - Russia
'Working as a volunteer at a psychiatric hospital during our stay in Rwanda made me decide to specialise in traumatic care, which I am doing now, during our posting in the US.' Alexandra Cyr - USA
'Despite some security issues, Lagos has been surprising and in some ways we feel safer here than back in South Africa.' Angie Allchurch - Nigeria
'Investigating working opportunities was actually a part of the decision making process.' Tine Fredsted - India
About her theatre workshops: 'We all learned that it's important to focus on similarities, not differences.' Sonja Collini
'I decided to leave the security and comfort of my expat compound to help Brazilian children in need.' Sabine Gmeiner - Brazil
2003 The introductory issue of the Global Connection magazine
'My job gives structure to my day, a reason to get up in the morning.' Anne Vaughan - Malaysia
'Be like a Chinese coin: round on the outside and square in the middle. Round to fit in and be able to roll everywhere, square to hold on to your principles in life.' Jerry Goh - USA
Global Connection charity project: 'Now we are a real nursery' exclaimed a teacher when I showed her the teaching materials I bought.' Isabel Duijndam - Rwanda
'Besides the reward of assisting children with their language skills, my voluntary work gives me valuable insights in the Saudi culture.'
Anne Sofie Vemmelund Saudi Arabia
'It's important to first invest time in your social life when you move somewhere new. Even if you intend to work, a good network of people is very helpful.' Marijke den Ouden - Singapore
Pursing a PhD abroad: 'You have to be really motivated to do this, or else you won't make it.' Edwin van de Haar - Philippines
'Being an expat mum and running a professional business takes a lot of energy. But it's fantastic, as long as you know how to create a balance and set priorities.'
Isabelle Navarro United Kingdom
The importance of sports: 'To some degree, I had to reinvent myself. Swimming has given me a new identity here in the US.' Jesper Westley - USA
Expatriation in the 50s: 'If my husband would have given up his expat life for our children and me, we would never be able to repay him.' Lady Judy Moody Stuart - Africa
'Every souvenir of our expat life helps me to feel at home.' Gaelle Puget - Burkina Faso
About the Needs Assessment 'It was nice to talk to a consultant with expat experience. She understood why I wanted a change, and confirmed that my plan was sensible. The support was just that little extra push I needed.' Isabelle Spronken - United Kingdom
About the Heineken Partner Support Program 'This program gives expat partners the opportunity to choose what they want to do, and the help to achieve their goals. Because it is an open program, it suits individual needs' Samir Jhaveri The Netherlands
About their evacuation: 'It was like watching CNN ... but this was real.' Shaolin Chiang - Lebanon