The two of you have waited a long time for an opportunity to work abroad and see the world. Then the dream suddenly came true: Your husband was offered a job in Vienna. You celebrated this career jump and although your heart skipped a beat, you were determined to support your husband with everything you’ve got. Actually, you quite liked the idea of living abroad.

With its elegant shops and historical sights, Vienna is one of Europes’s most famous metropolises. Surely, you thought to yourself, everyone had to like it there. All the friends you left behind were very impressed and maybe even a bit envious. True, you had to quit your beloved job, but after all, you are well educated and highly qualified – a stay abroad will also have a positive effect on your career, said friends and family. Unfortunately, you hardly know any German yet, but since everyone speaks English today anyway, you should be just fine.

So you quit your job, packed an incredible amount of boxes and organized the rest of the move. When you first arrived in Austria, you couldn’t believe your luck. There you were, in the middle of Vienna, surrounded by all the famous sights. Your husband had the first few days off and you happily jumped right into to sightseeing. Things were great and you couldn’t have been happier with the decision to move to Austria. You were really proud of yourself – not everyone succeeds in going abroad as an expat.

But then one day, everything is different. Your husband is already very busy with his new job and leaves the house early. You make yourself breakfast and try to shake off this unpleasant feeling. ‘I’m probably not fully awake yet’, you try telling yourself to calm down. So you drink your coffee at the table like every morning. You check the messages on your phone and proceed scrolling through the latest on social media.

Even though you do everything exactly as on any other day, this weird feeling continues to gnaw on you. It just can’t be ignored anymore – a wave of homesickness and loneliness threatens to drown you. But you are not ready to be overwhelmed by this after all the effort you put into moving. You briefly think about what you could do about it and decide that now is the perfect time to start looking for a job. Surely homesickness subsides quickly when you are busy and on a mission.

So you take your laptop to update your application documents. Before you browse through several job portals, you go for another pot of coffee. It tastes much better than the first one. And in fact, you actually find some interesting job offers and full of optimism send your applications. Now you start feeling more like yourself again. After all, you are an ambitious career woman and not a crying girl.

Well, now you’ve definitely earned a reward and anyway you have to do some errands. After shopping, you decide to explore the famous Austrian coffee culture more closely and happily start your adventure. You’re feeling much better already. Shaking your head, you smile at the heap of misery, that was you, at the breakfast table earlier. Unbelievable – that doesn’t sound like you at all.

In the café you study the menu carefully, but you can’t unravel most of the local terms. What in the world does “Melange” mean? Just to be on the safe side, you order a simple cappuccino and take a look around. There are a lot of people in the café and they all talk incredibly fast, so you can’t understand a thing, although you’ve already learned a few words of German. At the next table two women share a laugh, with obviously have a lot to say to each other. You think of your best friend at home and decide to send her a message to tell her how much you miss her. Then you proceed look at your phone every now and then – but no, she still hasn’t read the message. Of course not, you remember – she’s at work right now.

You feel the next wave of sadness rolling towards you and don’t want to give it a chance. You have to do something useful to feel better again. A tasty dinner could be the answer. You decide to go to the next supermarket to buy the ingredients. Steaks are the order of the day. You can get them at the service counter. You order confidently in English and wonder: The saleswoman seems to be nice, she smiles friendly – but doesn’t understand a word of English! With the help of quite a lot hand gestures, finally the nice steaks you wanted are yours.

When you come home and go into the kitchen to cook, your gaze falls on the breakfast table and you remember your morning coffee with horror. No, you fight this horrible feeling and decide not to even think about it. With determination and gusto, you focus on your groceries and start preparing the dinner. Your phone beeps. You see a message from your husband who is stuck in a meeting and won’t make it to dinner. You shouldn’t wait for him to eat. Another unpleasant feeling creeps in: Disappointment. You take a deep breath and decide not to cry. Another noise comes from your phone. Thankful for the distraction, you reach for it and hope it’s finally your best friend texting you back.

But it’s an email, the reply to one of your applications from this morning. Well that was fast! You have to take a deep breath before you open the mail. With your heart pounding out of your chest, you read the first lines – convinced that something good is finally coming your way. But you only have to read a few lines before you realize: It is a rejection. That is just too much for you and you are depleted. The strength which got you through the day is just gone. You can no longer fight the tears. You cry your eyes out, because you feel alone and useless, as if you were just not good enough. You have never felt so terrible before.

What you do not know: You are not alone in this. Many women who come to Austria, Germany or Switzerland because of their husband’s job, share the same experience. While the men immediately take up their new professional challenges and happily disappear into the company, the women often have starting difficulties. If you don’t find a job immediately, you stay at home alone and feel like a burden. This is often not due to the women’s lack of professional qualifications, but rather depends heavily on the ability to speak the language. When I see how so many creative and talented women, with enormous potential and vision, are unhappy, I become incredibly angry! That’s why I want to help these women – women like you – to realize their full potential and take their lives into their own hands again.

I will help you get your feminine power back. My solution is especially tailored to your needs: I combine German lessons with personality development and empowerment. With my support you will find your energy again, which will make you and your career shine.

After we have worked on your knowledge of German and your mindset, you will no longer feel discouraged and powerless, but relieved and revitalized. Instead of fear and hopelessness, you will have strength and confidence again and you will believe in yourself. You will quickly realize that doors are opening and that you can achieve more than you have dreamed of. You will be able to approach other people openly again and confidently talk to anyone. This way, you will quickly make new contacts and build your own network. The days when you sat alone at home waiting for your successful husband to return will be over and you will finally break out of your expat prison.

Never forget: you can always make the most of a difficult situation, but only you can be the creator of your dream life.

You want to finally break the shackles of your expatriate prison? Then quickly grab my free and exclusive Workbook on how to shop in German. So you can communicate in everyday life fluently, with joy and ease and feel more secure when you have to speak German.