Sunday, July 29, 2007

A defining moment...

However many potential destinations there may be (refer the very first post), at this early stage the point of the blog seems to be to examine what it is to be an expat - and if that word conjures up classic images of colonial "lotus eaters", then let's look at a definition. According to my Collins English Dictionary...

Expatriate: a person who lives in a foreign country.

Perhaps we can stretch the definition a little to take in those who live away from their origins, if we want to develop the notion that there can be great cultural differences when simply relocating within a country. I am uncertain as to whether this can be truly the same state of living as the real expat but we can come back to that.

So, I hope to share and exchange thoughts on the state of being an expatriate (or similar) and how one reaches that situation - the experience of uprooting from one's culture and familiar surroundings - the process of getting there, like any journey - and what it means to arrive on a one-way ticket.



Photo: Chance Agrella

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm moving to Spain later with my work. Anyone got any tips for Spain?