A friend on Facebook posted this link to an article about expats (people living outside of their home/passport country). I enjoyed the article and decided to read a few more. An hour later, I felt like I had just finished having coffee with a person who "gets" me. The author has a way with words that makes my heart hum with happiness. As I read, the idea formed in my head that what I think of as "normal" has vastly changed in the last five years. Maybe it's the fact that 5 years seems like an "anniversary." Maybe it's because we're getting to the time of year when people start talking about leaving well, transition and saying goodbye.
So I'd like to share a few events from today that would not have seemed typical 5 years ago. Not to boast about my life because frankly many of these things are very mundane (and some are painful). . .Mostly because these are words that I want to get out and acknowledge the person I have become and the country and the community that has brought me to that place. . .
*ride on a bus (much like a charter bus) at an appointed time on the way to school
*text my ayi (house helper) in characters to ask if she had used spicy peppers in the dish she was cooking for dinner, and then again to explain why I was asking if she had used spicy peppers
*decide whether to take a public bus or taxi home from dinner
*order my dinner in Chinese
*have a Korean 5th grade student bow to me as he introduced himself and asked for something another teacher needed
*listen to a conversation about which members of a group were Chinese or Korean or English or American. . .and wonder if the girl who was "only" American felt left out.
*use a word in Chinese because there is no English equivalent that means the same thing or communicates the idea as well
*brew Thai tea so that I can put it in the fridge and drink it tomorrow
*crave Korean food
*talk about leaving and being left behind as givens and not "maybe"s
So I'd like to share a few events from today that would not have seemed typical 5 years ago. Not to boast about my life because frankly many of these things are very mundane (and some are painful). . .Mostly because these are words that I want to get out and acknowledge the person I have become and the country and the community that has brought me to that place. . .
*ride on a bus (much like a charter bus) at an appointed time on the way to school
*text my ayi (house helper) in characters to ask if she had used spicy peppers in the dish she was cooking for dinner, and then again to explain why I was asking if she had used spicy peppers
*decide whether to take a public bus or taxi home from dinner
*order my dinner in Chinese
*have a Korean 5th grade student bow to me as he introduced himself and asked for something another teacher needed
*listen to a conversation about which members of a group were Chinese or Korean or English or American. . .and wonder if the girl who was "only" American felt left out.
*use a word in Chinese because there is no English equivalent that means the same thing or communicates the idea as well
*brew Thai tea so that I can put it in the fridge and drink it tomorrow
*crave Korean food
*talk about leaving and being left behind as givens and not "maybe"s
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