Ever feel like a tourist in your own country?

Every trip back home feels like stepping into both familiar and foreign territory. After years of living abroad, Iโ€™ve started to see my home country through a different lensโ€”almost like a tourist.

๐—”๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜€, ๐˜„๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐˜๐˜„๐—ผ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ๐˜€
โžก๏ธ One where we immerse ourselves in new cultures, languages, and ways of life.
โžก๏ธ Another where we hold onto the traditions, memories, and connections of our home country.

Recently, I visited Prague with a friend from my second home.
While walking the Krรกlovskรก cesta (Royal Route) and enjoying a traditional trdelnรญk, I was yet again thinking about the lives of expats.

๐ŸŒŸ There are ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿณ๐Ÿฌ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป expatsย ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ (UN statistics)…
There is a growing acknowledgement in the research literature that ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ณ๐˜‚๐—น ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ and that psychological support in the host country may alleviate distress for expatriates and facilitate their initial transition.

Additionally, ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฌ% ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ.

๐Ÿ›ค๏ธ Many expats, however, claim that living abroad as an expat family has been a rewarding journey, BUT it often comes with challenges:

๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ
Mastering a new language as an adult isnโ€™t easy. It takes patience to embrace imperfections in speaking and writing. Even after years in Germany and over 25 years as an expat, I still feel a twinge of frustration when people correct my English, German, or meanwhile Czech๐Ÿคทโ€โ™‚๏ธ

๐—”๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—–๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐——๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€
Raising children while adapting to a new culture is complex. Kids expect clear guidance, and we need to avoid the โ€œus vs. themโ€ mindset. Curiosity and an โ€œobserverโ€™s mindโ€ can open doors, but it takes time and energy to cultivate.

๐—•๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐— ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—œ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€
The need to belong is universal. Without it, feelings of loneliness or even depression can arise. Balancing two, three, or even four cultural identities takes intentional effort.

๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—›๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€
Holidays can be particularly hard, especially for first-time expats who are still adjusting.

I love my home visits; they remind me of my journey and how much Iโ€™ve grown. But they also raise a big question:

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ โ€œ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒโ€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐—ผ๐—ณย ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€?

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