When Joana Silva Carreira left her native Portugal, she first lived in Belgium for six months, then in the United States for another six months. She currently lives in Luxembourg, where she works as a product manager. Her passion is singing, which she pursues in an international choir.

Her outgoing personality and open-mindedness have helped her adapt easily to life abroad. Having friends you can trust when you live abroad is sometimes like having a family away from home, she tells us. Whether you are going abroad to study or work, finding a hobby outside of work can help you balance your life. What you need to thrive may also become clearer during your time abroad.

Racha Zahira Ammati is a consultant specialising in the development of projects aimed at women's economic empowerment and gender equality.

Born in Morocco, Racha currently resides in Ottawa, Canada. Through her many expatriate experiences, she has become a citizen of the world.

What this means to her and how her development projects for women came about, from culture shock to awareness, is what we will discover in this 21st episode of Women Abroad.

Betina Szkudlarek was born and raised in Poland. She now lives in Sydney, Australia. She is an Associate Professor and Programme Director of the Master of Management programme at the University of Sydney Business School, specialising in intercultural relationships, inclusion and diversity.

Betina also works as a freelance strategic planning, sustainability and growth consultant for the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations.

Exposure to different cultural environments gives us the opportunity to discover new people and behaviours. Some we will like and some we won't, but it is important to go beyond the stereotypes we all build up. A person's true value goes beyond their behaviour; it is about our perception. Managing diversity means seeing each person as unique.

Tatiana Zébazé is a transversal manager at a multinational company that is very active in the worldwide insurance sector.

She was an expatriate in Lagos and was recognised as one of the top 800 executive leaders in her group in 2018, a position she still holds today. Tatiana currently lives in Paris.

Many people choose expatriation in order to advance their career. However, progressing in your professional life comes at a price when you decide to move alone. Having the support of your loved ones is key to your success.

Jill has forged her life and professional experience between United Kingdom where she was born, grew up and worked, France and Luxembourg. Along her way she has developed strong beliefs in causes worth defending. She created circles of leadership and her expertise is highly valued.

Building herself and managing her time differently were the first lessons she had to learn upon arriving in France. Then, making new connections and thinking about her professional orientation came naturally in her adaptation process. She became more aware of the world around her and accepted that things and people change everywhere, which was not always easy. Nothing stays the same and the decision you make is the best one you can make at the time.

In this, the 17ème episode of Women Abroad, I am pleased to introduce Diana Araújo. She first left her native Portugal to follow an Erasmus programme in Flanders, northern Belgium, while studying architecture. After settling in, she decided to start her professional life in Belgium. In this episode, we will explore notions of stability, time and double personalities, as well as the comparisons she makes between Belgian and Portuguese culture.

Discover her Instagram page ‘Like.a.spaniard’, where she shares her perception of Belgian culture ‘Like a Belgian’ and Spanish culture.