Having moved improvisationally to a foreign country before, I have my own travel journals to look back on to field this particular request. I'll also note that I'm moving to a foreign country again in a few months, so despite the weirdness that ensued upon moving to Vietnam you can all rest easy knowing that I enjoyed it enough to try it again.

I trust you guys are all smart enough to figure out the basics: yeah, they'll speak a foreign language... sure you can try to learn it before you get there, but trust me whatever you learn might help you a bit but it'll blow you away how different the language you'll hear on the streets is from your "10 easy lessons to speak fluent vietnamese." I'm going to give you the list of things I didn't think of when I packed up and moved, things that I only learned after having lived there a few months or even after having moved on 6 months later.

1) Be flexible: things will be different, different customs, different values, even different ways of dealing with problems. When you have a problem, don't yell (especially not in SE Asia- big no no) and try not to get frusterated. But draw the line at being walked all over because you're foreign. If you're trying to deal with a situation on the street in "real life" in a city remember that there are fluent English speakers at one of the nice hotels (think Hilton, Sheridan, Sofitels, Four Seasons) that would be more than happy to help you resolve your problem. If you're in a rural area, you can try to find a bilingual person, but you have to be more willing to role with the punches. Keep karma in mind. It'll all get back to you somehow.

2) Try everything once. I saw some really odd looking foods and drinks and fruit especially which I would have been really sad to have missed. Even though I came upon some dishes I found utterly disgusting, I had to sift through them to get to the really good stuff!

3) Sort of as a caveat to #2, keep in mind that they have different bacteria in your new country of residence... Even if you're traveling to a very similar/rich/clean looking country and even in those top american hotel chains be very wary of uncooked foods. Your body will eventually acclaimate itself to the new bacteria, but I'd still try to avoid drinking the water full out for the first 5-6 months.

4) And more medical advice, they do not always have the same perscriptions... in Vietnam they don't even have tampons readily available. so anything you need to take absolutely as you do in your country of origin, take in bulk with you. Perhaps have someone you know be your care package buddy, someone who you've left $100 or so to buy you and ship you things you forgot and need desperately once you get there.

5) There are expats everywhere. You will have no problem finding people from your home country in your new country. Once you get there, if you're especially homesick for some reason, listen out for your native language and ask them if they've heard of any expat hangouts. Not to worry, if they're just tourists, I promise you will find your crowd soon enough. But do branch out! You never know what kind of awesome Australians, Italians and Spanish people you'll grow to love while living abroad. It's all a big community. Enjoy it.

Last but not least, remember that if you're bold enough to want to pack up and leave your friends, family and native soil you're certainly bold enough to take advantage of all your new home has to offer. Once you familiarize yourself with your surroundings (ie you know where you can get a great cup of coffee, a club that's open late, and a local bar where you can find someone to talk to) you'll be amazed how quickly it starts feeling like home.

And one more thing, don't forget to keep a blog or a journal. It's also a great way to keep in touch with your friends and family.

Now for the blatant self promotion.

Read all about my own adaptation to life in Vietnam. Visit:

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/leighhansen/south_east_asia/tpod.html