Living in a new country without understanding its culture can be very isolating to expatriates. In fact, one of the biggest reasons expatriates get extremely homesick is due to the isolation that they feel because they have not been able to adapt the new culture in a foreign country. This community has this need mainly due to communication. Without a proper way to convey an expatriate’s ideas to a local Spaniard, it becomes difficult for both people to understand each other’s needs. This can sometimes lead to misunderstandings between in point of views and can discourage expatriates from integrating into a culture.
The need is being met by expatriates becoming united. The expatriates that have lived in the city for many years have set up communities for new and existing expatriates with events and resources. These resources allow the new expatriates to integrate into the culture. For example, in Madrid, there is an online community called "InterNations" that had blogged about medical assistance, housing and lifestyle in Madrid. That same community hosts many events for people to mingle with each other. At some of these events, I had the chance to participate in, such as a language exchange where people from all over the world met up to talk in different languages. These types of resources are needed for a big international city to thrive and help the expatriates overcome the challenges of transitioning into a different culture.
