You know you’re an expat…
Well two days before we fly out to Thailand and start another chapter in our lives living overseas. My wife and I were talking the other day and can’t believe that we are starting our 7th year at overseas educators.
As we talked we were thinking about how “weird” the States feels to us now. We only know Seattle in the month of July and over the past 6 years we have spent a total of about 3 months in the States. Each year we come back it feels more and more like a foreign country to us. Both of our home towns have changed so much and time keeps ticking. We got lost in Spokane once and twice here in Poulsbo.
So as we were driving the other day we came up with a list of “You know you’re an expat when…”
I encourage others who have lived or are living overseas to add to the list.
You know you are an expat when…..
you look forward to Wal-Mart just to browse the aisles and look at all the choices of shampoo!
it takes you 25 minutes to pick out a juice to drink because you just love reading the labels.
you bust up at a TV commercial that’s been on for a year but is new to you.
your credit card statement for the month of July is more than you make in 3 months.
you care more about politician’s stand on global issues than on taxes and health care.
you can name all three airlines above without hesitation.
friends get annoyed driving around with you because all you say is “When did that happen?”
you go to the same hang out you went to before you moved overseas only to find out it’s no longer the ‘cool hang out’.
you shop last year’s styles because they’re new to you and lets face it, your friends don’t care.
your shipment includes plastic wine glasses to be used by the pool.
you buy a year’s supply of deodorant, toothpaste, make-up, shampoo, etc and still get the suitcase under 50lbs.
you are a sucker for ads on TV.
you can pack a suitcase to 49.9lbs without a scale.
you are standing in line talking to yourself only to realize the people around you can understand you.
you find yourself listening in to others conversations just because you can.
you get tired of people asking you “so what’s it like…is it scary?”
you freeze when people ask you “paper or plastic”.
a sales rep asks for your phone number and you start with the country code.
in June you pre-plan all your meals for July just so you don’t miss your favorite reasurants.
you can’t relate to gas prices in the States cause the rest of the world has been paying them for years.
people tell you you talk with an accent.
you have friends in more than 10 countries.
when people ask you what you’ll miss the most about a country and you reply “foot massages”.
facebook.com is truly a ‘friend network’.
you choose your bank based on their online banking options.
you buy a year’s worth of new clothes in two weeks.
Ok…there’s our list…..what would you add?
This is a very accurate list my friend, but what’s with the 50lb bag limit? Aren’t you preferred yet?
Safe travels to you and we’ll see you in September, October, and November…
Thanks so much for your post! I’m grinning ear to ear- not just because it stikes a note with me, but this was my first year overseas and my first summer home- product and restaurant choices, credit card bills, baggage issues, etc are so familiar. It leaves me sad to leave my friends and family AGAIN, but glad I’m joining the ex-pat community. Best luck in Bangkok!
One thing I’d add is missing the multi-cultural options here in the US- don’t know about other places, but Madrid is very traditional and mainly provides national food options, etc.
-Nancy
I was just driving through Poulsbo today. Wow, didn’t know you lived so close.
Being an expat….
has made me a picky eater, avoiding the Safeways and the mall food courts
I’ll spend a whole day at a Barnes and Nobles
When some asks, where you from? I’ll pause and think
you know when you’re an expat
…when you have dinner with 8 friends and have 10 different nationalities/cultural backgrounds at the table.
- that’s what I love most about expat life, it is so enriching!
I liked your post John!
Cheers,
Kira
When you need to decode and decipher your toddler’s speech that mixes and remixes three languages.
Cheers,
Tod
a suitcase full of gourmet food….
every used bookstore is an opportunity to pause….
you have become an expert on all things chinese even though the only chinese you speak is for the taxi driver….
ou order two main courses thinking that they serve asian sizes here….
a foot massage costs way too much…
but the foot masseuese actually knows what she is doing having earned a level three reflexolist, reiki and clinical massage therapist diploma…
you can actually go see movies on big screens without subtitles…
those same movies are not available on the street.
I just paid our summer Visa bill. 3 months pay is about right. My sons can repeat back a few TV commercials that are always on during their daily hour of watching the Sci-Fi network. And for those of us who live in some not so healthy air places, the never ending declarations of how beautiful the clear, blue skies are.
What an awesome list.
After living outside of the US for 12 years, I can relate, laugh and sing them out–right along with you.
I moved back to being a stateside educator now (going into my third year) and I am still re-adjusting. Supermarkets and department stores are still sooo much fun for me.
LOVED the one about the visa statement, unfortunately so true.
What seems like a lot of money in June sure makes me panic by July!!!
One for us southern hemisphere folks is always walking to the ‘other’ side of the car, walkini down the ‘opposite’ side of the footpath and setting off driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road!!!
We also constantly spend our time readjusting our language from sidewalk to footpath; trash can to rubbish bin; bAth to baaaaaaarrrttth etc so as not to upset the locals.
Great post
enjoy Bangkok
KP
New blog post: You know you’re an expat… http://www.utechtips.com/?p=783Quote
You know you’re an expat… /U Tech Tips/ – Well two days before we fly out to Thailand and start another … http://tinyurl.com/5vje5xQuote