What they don't teach thru Company Intranet

If you have attended team building / leadership exercises that corporate training departments conduct frequently, you would have come across the 'Lost at Sea exercise'.

The trainer normally splits the participants into two or more teams. You are asked to come up with your own answers individually first and then discuss it within your group to reason and re-order them. The idea is to show how much your original solution changes once more people put their heads around the problem and additional voices are heard.

You require a similar list of ranked items for surviving the first week when you land in a distant country on a work permit with your wife in tow.

With all the rush till the last minute running around for all the approvals, signing Service Agreements, returning library books , taking back up and depositing your laptop, collecting forex, winding down your own domestic establishment, you will not be able to prevent your travel department from booking a flight that is least convenient for you. As a result , you will land in the foreign country midnight during a week-end.

Here is my ranked list of items and advice that will save you lot of trouble as you prepare to settle down, the kind of which your company intranet site is never going to come up with.

1. Cheap SIM Card to call up home after landing in the strange country after 20 hours of flying	Believe me, communication is more important than food in such circumstances. You may not have any airport shop open to buy new SIM cards for your mobile if you land at unearthly hours.
2. Coins to be used in a coin-operated phone.	Your company may have given you US dollars and travellers cheques. But they are of no use if you want to call up home. You need coins , lots of them, if you want to make even a short phone call home.You land up in the mid of the night and there is no place to convert notes to coins. Besides, you may have to call up the night supervisor of the establishment / service apartment where they have made arrangements for your stay. You may have to call him more than once on the night of your arrival.
3. Small torch	To locate the address on the door plates in the mid of the night, to locate the keyhole and to search for the light switch after you enter the apartment. Mind you it will not be found where you normally find them in India !! Remember your wife by this time will be clicking her heels behind you and calling your Company names.
4. Maggie Noodles	Will come in handy when you all shops and eateries are closed and your large intestine starts feeding on the small intestine.
5. Multi Plug adapter sockets	I am not talking about your wife having the hair dryer working after her first bath onsite, but to have your mobile charger able to plug into any socket. Remember you, without communication you are severely handicapped. You will soon know that the ones that you bought from India is not good enough. You will require more that do not spark and tilt when inserted into the sockets . Buy some during first outing.
6. Big Shopping Bag	There is a good deal of difference between buying in the neighbourhood convenience store and doing your shopping at big retail. You better buy in larger packs that will last the whole week, you will save time and money. But transporting your purchase to your apartment from the distant Big Retail is not going to be all that easy. You require Shopping bags that are big enough and convenient enough to haul the load home. You will be well advised to buy a Shopping trolley bag early in the first week itself. It is worth the investment.
7. Digital Camera	No, I do not mean those 'Me-and-Eiffel-Tower' kind of photographs as is your wont as anything life saving. While the landlords and apartment managers are very courteous, most of them are not above unjustly blaming helpless 'outsiders' for discoloured carpets and stains on dinner tables which , for all you know, could have been likewise pinned on many other guests who checked in before you did.. They may deduct from your deposit outrageous amounts when the time comes to say good bye and check out. It is better to be armed with a digital camera and take photographs of all such pre-existing discolouration and disfigurement of the apartment when you move into it. You are in a different place and in a different culture. You tend of be a little off-guard.Don't mistake courtesy or hospitality for good intentions. After all, 'ceteris paribus' or 'Buyer beware' was invented by them. Also remember to reset the date and time and the time zone before you shoot.
8. Pressure Cooker and a Mixie	Do not carry your old sports shoes, you can get them cheap there , but you will never be able to get the Pressure Cooker or the Mixie for either love or money.
9. A wet towel	A wet towel has the potential to save you lot of embrassment and possibily a few hundred dollars during your initial days abroad. You must be always aware, especially when you or your wife start cooking first time during your sojourn abroad that these westerners are very finicky about smoke as they truly believe 'where there is smoke there is fire'. Every apartment is provided with a smoke alarm that is so sensitive that a even slightly unattended tadka or frying in a pan can set if off. When you are running pell-mell around your new home trying to locate the source of the alarm, the people next door in the apartment block will come streaming outside. If they figure out the problem and help you set it right, you are lucky. God forbid that some hyper-character phones up the fire brigade. The fine for an unwarranted call can wipe out a good portion of the 'Settling allowance' your company gave you. A wet towel thrown on a smoke detector and switching on an exhaust in the kitchen if one is provided will save you lot of trouble.