Expatriate Sailors
I was reflecting the other day on how international our sailing club is - we have about 20 regular sailors and they hail from
- Argentina
- Australia
- Barbados
- Canada
- Denmark
- England
- Germany
- Greece
- Ireland
- Italy
- Lebanon
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Scotland
- South Africa
- Sweden
- USA
I like that.
Expatriates are really almost a separate nationality - no longer the same as they were in their passport countries, expatriates usually have more in common with other expatriates of all sorts than with their original compatriots. I have lived most of my adult life as an expatriate and have been blessed for it. Of course expatriate lifestyles have negatives as well as positives, but no one can deny the available richness that is an integral part of it. I say "available" because some expatriates choke off this invigorating oxygen by closing themselves in, but that is their problem.
It is true that the older I get the more some of the old hometown tugs at heartstrings - no doubt due in no small part to sentimental memories that are more yearnings than real memories. But if I had it to do over again I would choose the expat lifestyle again in a heartbeat.
Where are you from originally?
ReplyDeleteI was born and raised in Texas - which some folks consider almost a separate country.
DeleteBut since 1982 I have lived a total of over 25 years in France and I will retire there (the "socialist" medical system so derided by the conservative ideologues in the US is one thing they have gotten right).
I enjoy your blog and seeing the real NJ - which gets such a bad rap. I worked in NYC for a couple of years and for me NJ was a blur - basically the ugly parts of the NJ Turnpike, Newark Airport and the opening scenes from the Sopranos.
Your NJ seems very appealing.
Thanks, KR. There's so much more to the Garden State than the media purport.
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