Do you know of a resource that should be included below? If it interests you, there’s a good chance it will also interest other Foreign Service families so bring it to our attention at fsyf@fsyf.org.
Education & Youth - Click here to download
Books for
Young Children
I'm Not Moving, Mama by Nancy White
Carlstrom
The Berenstain Bears' Moving Day by Stan Berenstain
We're Moving by Heather Maisner
Moving House by Anne Civardi and Michelle Bates
Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going
to Move by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz
A New House by Jill Wenzel
Big Ernie's New Home: A Story for Young Children Who Are
Moving by Teresa Martin and Whitney Martin
Saying Good-Bye, Saying Hello...: When Your Family Is
Moving by Michaelene Mundy
Goodbye House by Frank Asch
Let's Move Together by Carol M. Schubeck
Gila Monsters Meet You At the Airport by Marjorie
Weinman Sharmat
Books for Children
The Moving Book: A Kids' Survival Guide by
Gabriel Davis
Where In the World Are You Going? by Judith M Blohm
Moving Day (Fiction: Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls)
by Meg Cabot
Books for Teens
Club Expat: A Teenager's Guide to Moving
Overseas by Aniket Shah and Akash Shah
Books
(and Links)
for Parents & Other Adults
Moving & Living Overseas
Moving with Kids: 25 Ways to Ease Your Family's
Transition to a New Home by Lori Collins Burgan
The Expert Expat, Revised Edition: Your Guide to
Successful Relocation Abroad by Melissa Brayer Hess and
Patricia Linderman
The Art of Crossing Cultures by Craig Storti
A Portable Identity: A Woman's Guide to Maintaining a
Sense of Self While Moving Overseas (Revised Edition)
by Debra R. Bryson and Charise M. Hoge
Realities of Foreign Service Life by Patricia
Linderman and Melissa Brayer-Hess (Editors)
Realities of Foreign Service Life, Volume 2 by
Patricia Linderman, Melissa Brayer Hess, and Marlene
Monfiletto Nice
Burn Up Or Splash Down by Marion Knell
Welcome Home: Who Are You? Tales of a Foreign Service
Family by Gene and Kathryn Schmiel
A Broad Abroad: The Expat Wife's Guide to
Successful Living Abroad by Robin Pascoe
Evacuation
Evacuation and the Foreign Service Family by Ngaire Jehle-Caitcheon (click here to download this free Foreign Service Youth Foundation publication)
Family Liaison Office (FLO) evacuation resources: http://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c1991.htm
Family Liaison Office (FLO) evacuation resources for families with school-age children:
http://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c23183.htm
Repatriation
Art of Coming Home by Craig Storti
Homeward Bound: A Spouse's Guide to Repatriation by
Robin Pascoe
According to My Passport, I’m Coming Home by Kay
Eakin (click here to download
the free full-length book)
Parenting and Third-Culture Kids
Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up
Among Worlds by David C. Pollock and Ruth Van Reken
Raising Global Nomads: Parenting Abroad in an On-Demand
World by Robin Pascoe
Unrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing Up Global
by Faith Eidse and Nina Sichel
Of Many Lands: Journal of a Traveling Childhood by
Sara Mansfield Taber (FSYF publication; click here to order)
Overseas American: Growing Up Gringo in the Tropics
by Gene H. Bell-Villada
Born Expatriated by Sara S. Villarreal Bishop
Strangers At Home: Essays on the Effects of Living
Overseas and Coming "Home" to a Strange Land by Carolyn
D. Smith (Editor)
Helping FS Teens Navigate the College Search & Application Process
The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a
Premier College by Jacques Steinberg
Acceptance: A Legendary Guidance Counselor Helps Seven
Kids Find the Right Colleges---And Find Themselves by
David L. Marcus
Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Need to
Know About Getting into College by Sally P. Springer,
Jon Reider and Marion R. Franck
Unigo: Current Students Tell You What Colleges Won’t:
www.unigo.com
In-State Tuition and Residency Requirements:
http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/stateresidency.phtml
Flying Solo—Going to College from Overseas: A Guide for
Parents (Foreign Service Journal, June 2008, pp. 68-87)
by Rebecca Grappo
http://www.afsa.org/fsj/june08/flyingSolo.pdf
How to Choose the College That’s Right for You (Foreign
Service Journal, June 2007, pp. 73-86) by Francesca
Kelly
http://www.afsa.org/fsj/jun07/choose_school.pdf
Applying to U.S. Colleges: A Primer for FS Teens
(Foreign Service Journal, June 2005, pp. 67-89) by
Francesca Kelly:
http://www.afsa.org/fsj/june05/kelly.pdf
RNG International Educational Consultants
http://www.rebeccagrappo.com/about_us.html
Founder Becky Grappo is professional educator, Foreign
Service spouse, former FLO education and youth officer, and
a Certified Educational Planner. She specializes in helping
families identify and address educational needs. The
resource section of her website has a particularly good
college resources section.
Other
The Best Women's Travel Writing 2009: True
Stories from Around the World by Faith Adiele and Lucy
McCauley (Editor)
Read Books for Free Online
Living overseas and missing the local public
library or neighborhood bookstore? Who knew there were so many places to read books
for free online? If you don’t mind curling up with a
computer, give these sites a look.
http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://classicbook.info/
http://www.fullbooks.com/
http://www.classicreader.com/
http://www.dailylit.com/
(Choose a book and they’ll send you an installment by e-mail
every day.)
Stay Current
Wireless reading devices (aka e-readers) offer the
best of both worlds—the speed of the internet and the
portability of a book. Purchase books, newspapers, and other
content, download them directly to your portable device, and
read them at your leisure!
Amazon Kindle
Barnes & Noble Nook
Borrow Books
Prefer to unplug your mind and curl up with the real thing?
These companies are like Netflix, but with books! Pay a
small monthly fee, set up your queue, and wait for your
books to arrive in the mail. There are no late fees and
postage is free. The selection is impressive—from children’s
books to literature to the latest bestseller.
www.booksfree.com
www.bookswim.com
www.paperspine.com
Going on a long road (or airplane) trip or stuck in traffic
and want to listen to a good book? The Netfix-for-Books
model extends to audio books too. Most companies will allow
subscribers to choose between receiving audio books by mail
or downloading them instantly onto a computer or iPod.
www.audible.com
www.simplyaudiobooks.com
www.audiobookworm.com
Buy Books
www.amazon.com (Spend at least $25 and shipping is
usually free.)
www.barnesandnoble.com (Consider becoming a B&N member
for extra savings.)
www.borders.com
(Membership is free; so is shipping if you spend at least
$25.)
Movies &
Television
Is the lack of quality, English-language TV programming
overseas getting you down? In the digital age, you
don't have to miss a thing! Try watching your favorite
shows over the Internet. Or watch movies instead!
Borrow Movies and TV Shows
Netflix offers a vast library of DVDs. If your mail is too
slow to make the monthly fee worthwhile, try streaming
movies directly to your PC. (See below.)
www.netflix.com
Watch Movies and TV Shows
Some of these services are free; others are not. They may
require you to hide your IP address.
www.iTunes.com
www.netflix.com
www.hulu.com
www.fancast.com
www.a2btv.com
Hide Your IP Address
These services identify you as having a U.S. IP address no matter where in the world you really are.
www.strongvpn.com
www.hide-my-ip.com
www.witopia.net/welcome.php
www.hotspotshield.com
www.gotrusted.com
Radio
Whether you listen through your computer or using
an internet radio, the worldwide web can bring your favorite
local radio stations to your doorstep!
WiFi Internet Radios:
http://reviews.cnet.com/best-wifi-radios/
Internet Radio Services:
www.pandora.com
www.live365.com
www.sirius.com
www.reciva.com
www.cbsradio.com/streaming/index.html
http://music.aol.com/radioguide/bb
http://new.music.yahoo.com
www.npr.org
Staying Connected By
Phone and Mail
Stay close to family and friends even when you're
far away. Skype uses the internet to connect callers.
Skype-to-Skype calls, video calls and instant messaging are
free. Subscribers can also call land lines and mobile phones
with Pay-As-You-Go rates or by subscription. FS
families now report they can use Skype to make and receive
calls on their WiFi-connected iPhones overseas! (Note:
You'll need a Skype phone or a phone adapter to use Skype on
a telephone as opposed to using it on your PC).
www.skype.com
Like Skype, Vonage uses the internet to connect callers
called Voice over IP (VoIP).
Unlike Skype, Vonage assigns you a U.S. telephone number in
the area code of your choice and sends you an adaptor to
connect your home phone to your high-speed internet. It’s
like long distance service through your computer with a
phone number that can travel with you from country to
country. (Note: Vonage may not mail the adaptor to APO
addresses so order it before you move overseas or use a
shipping service like
www.ShipItAPO.com (below).
www.vonage.com
An interesting article from the New York Times about how
to make cheap mobile phone calls overseas
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/technology/personaltech/07basics.html?emc=eta1
Another VoIP provider is 8x8 which provides the same
services as Vonage.
www.8x8.com
MagicJack is a USB device that connects to a phone line and
allows you to make phone calls from your home over the
internet. Reviews are spotty and customer service seems
nonexistent. But at $40 for the device and a year of calls,
it might be worth the risk.
Click here to read a review from the Boston Globe.
(Available for purchase through Amazon)
Want to order from a vendor who won’t mail to your APO
address? No problem! Ship It APO will accept the package and
forward it on for a fee.
www.shipitapo.com
Web Sites
This collection of sites has special appeal to
Foreign Service Families.
Tales from a Small Planet is home to a nice
collection of “real” post reports.
http://www.talesmag.com/
U.S. Department of State Family Liaison Office (FLO)
http://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/
Foreign Service Institute Overseas Briefing Center
http://www.state.gov/m/fsi/tc/c6954.htm
Future State: U.S. Department of State for Youth
http://future.state.gov/where/stories/
U.S. Department of State Office of Overseas Schools
http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/
American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)
Associates of American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW)
www.aafsw.org
Expat Women: Helping Women Living Overseas
www.expatwomen.com
Expat Expert: The website of experienced expat and author,
Robin Pascoe
www.expatexpert.com
Interaction: Today’s Voice for Third Culture Kids and
Internationally Mobile Families
http://www.interactionintl.org/home.asp
TCKid: A Home for Third Culture Kids
http://www.tckid.com/
TCK World: The Official Home of Third Culture Kids
http://www.tckworld.com/
Families in Global Transition
http://www.figt.org/
The Interchange Institute
http://www.interchangeinstitute.org/
Expat Arrivals: Local Info for Global Expats
http://www.expatarrivals.com/
TCK Academy Expert Interview Series
http://tckacademy.com/class/interviews/
Examiner: Inside Source for Everything Local (Washington,
DC)—Third Culture Kids
http://www.examiner.com/x-26490-Third-Culture-Kids-Examiner
Articles
Building Resiliency in Global Nomads (Foreign Service
Journal, December 2008, pp. 76-96) by Rebecca Grappo
http://www.foreignservicejournal-digital.com/foreignservicejournal/200812schools/?pg=1#pg1
Foreign Service Email Groups—Finding Support and Community
While Far from Home (Foreign Service Journal, January 2010,
pp. 49-50) by Francesca Kelly
http://www.foreignservicejournal-digital.com/foreignservicejournal/201001/#pg51
Growing Up with a World View: Nomad Children Develop
Multicultural Skills (Foreign Service Journal, September
1994, pp. 32-41.) by Norma M. McCaig
http://www.kaiku.com/nomads.html
To some, 'home' is an elusive quality (MIT News Office,
February 16, 1994) by Alice C. Waugh
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1994/nomads-0216.html
4 Ways to Help Kids Adjust to the Realities of Life
Overseas by Elizabeth Jones from Planet Nomad.
http://www.travelblogs.com/articles/4-ways-to-help-kids-adjust-to-the-realities-of-life-overseas
When no place feels like home (The Christian Science
Monitor, Dec. 23, 2009) by Corinna Schuler
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1223/p14s02-legn.html
Rooted To Nowhere (Time, Oct. 20, 2003) by Hanna
Kite
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901031027-524622,00.html
At Home Abroad / Third Culture Kids: Often more
accomplished, but sometimes more troubled (New York Times,
Oct. 26, 2002) by Gretchen Lang
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/26/news/26iht-rreturn_ed3_.html
At Home Abroad / Third Culture Kids : Nowhere to call
home but I like being a global nomad (New York Times, Oct.
26, 2002) by Anne-Sophie Bolon
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/26/news/26iht-rkid_ed3_.html
For teens, it's a tough transition (New York Times, Jun.
26, 2004) by Nora FitzGerald
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/26/news/26iht-rteen_ed3_.html
Volunteer & Learning Opportunities
Roots & Shoots
http://www.rootsandshoots.org/aboutus/
Roots & Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute
that is about making positive change happen—for our
communities, for animals and for the environment. With tens
of thousands of young people in almost 100 countries, the
Roots & Shoots network connects youth of all ages who share
a desire to create a better world. Young people identify
problems in their communities and take action.
Lessons for Hope
http://www.lessonsforhope.org/index.html
A web-based, high school curriculum inspired by Jane
Goodall’s book Reason for Hope, Lessons for Hope focuses on
optimism for the future and the belief that every individual
can make a difference.
MIT OpenCourseWare: Highlights for High School
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/hs/home/home/index.htm
Clubs & Groups You Can Start or Join Overseas
Math Olympiads
http://www.moems.org/
Chess Clubs
http://uschesstrust.com/2007/09/28/how-to-start-a-chess-program-in-your-school/
FIRST (founded by Dean Kamen)
http://www.usfirst.org/default.aspx
Junior FIRST LEGO League (ages 6-9)
FIRST LEGO League (age 9-14)
FIRST Robotics Competition (high school)
FIRST Tech Challenge (high school)
FIRST Place (all ages)
Wordmasters (a fun and mind-stretching classroom competition
for Language Arts students in grades 3 to 12)
http://www.wordmasterschallenge.com/
Odyssey of the Mind (an international educational program
that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for
students from kindergarten through college)
http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/
Peace Corps Correspondence Match (links classrooms with Peace
Corps volunteers)
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/correspond/
Double Helix Science Club
http://www.csiro.au/products/DoubleHelixClub.html
ThinkQuest Website Competition
http://www.thinkquest.org/competition/website/index.html
ThinkQuest Narrative Competition
http://www.thinkquest.org/competition/narrative/index.html
USA Girl Scouts Overseas
http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/global/overseas/
Boy Scouts of America
http://www.directservicebsa.org/
Great Books Foundation and Junior Great Books
http://www.greatbooks.org/
Scholarship Information
Scholarships and
Awards of
Special Interest to FS Youth
American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) Academic Merit
Scholarships
http://www.afsa.org/scholar/scholarshipgrid.cfm
American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) Art Merit
Scholarships
http://www.afsa.org/scholar/scholarshipgrid.cfm
American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) Financial Aid
Scholarships
http://www.afsa.org/scholar/scholarshipgrid.cfm
State Department Federal Credit Union Scholarships
http://www.sdfcu.org/youth/scholar.html
Dreyfus Hotchkiss/Yale Scholarships & Fellowships for FS
Dependents
http://www.dacorbacon.org/foundation/education/yalehotch.html
Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund (FEEA)
Scholarships
http://feea.nonprofitsoapbox.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=46
FSYF Annual Contests (Art, Essay,
Community Service, KidVid)
http://www.fsyf.org/contestawards/contestsawards.html
Clements Expat Youth Scholarship
http://www.expatyouthscholarship.com/
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
www.artandwriting.org
• U.S.-based students should submit entries to their regional
affiliate. See
http://www.artandwriting.org/Awards/HowTo
• Overseas-based students should submit entries to the
Region-at-Large. See
http://www.artandwriting.org/SubmissionGuidelines/ShowGuidelines?zipCode=00601&workType=A
S. Pinkney Tuck Scholarship at Dartmouth College
Children or grandchildren of Foreign Service personnel are
given priority for the S. Pinkney Tuck Scholarship at
Dartmouth College. However, it is based on financial need
and would be offered if selected through the regular
application process.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert H. Kinney Scholarship at Yale
Children of Foreign Service personnel, need-based
scholarship at Yale, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert H. Kinney.
Apply to Director of Financial Aid (myra.smith@yale.edu or
203-432-0360).
The Polly Richardson Lukens Memorial Scholarship and the
Gilan Scholarship at Vassar College
Daughters of Foreign Service personnel, The Polly Richardson
Lukens Memorial Scholarship and the Gilan Scholarship
(preference given for freshman) awards, based on financial
need at Vassar College. Apply to disauter@vassar.edu or call
845-437-7547.
Parent Support Groups
Moving to the DC area can be harder than moving
overseas, especially for those who don’t have friends or
family nearby. Stay-at-home parents of preschoolers often
feel particularly isolated. These support groups offer a
network of friends and an introduction to community
resources. (Note: FSYF has just started collecting
information in this category. If you are an FS parent who
has benefited from a local support group, please share the
information with us at fsyf@fsyf.org).
Mothers of North Arlington (Virginia)
www.monamoms.org
Vienna Moms Inc. (Vienna, Virginia)
http://viennamoms.org/
