17 December 2011
Expat Survey
The other day I found this survey. It is for an American living in Brussels that is a lecturer on migration and politics. The questions are very interesting and thought provoking. While I don't consider myself to be an expat, maybe you do and wouldn't mind helping her out. The survey is here.
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Thanks for visiting my blog! It's fun to meet other bloggers from Louisiana (even if you are currently far away). I thought moving to MO for several years was far from home. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI am curious why you don't consider yourself an expat. As I understand it, anyone who is living, whether temporarily or permanently, in a country other than the one they were brought up in is considered to be one.
ReplyDeleteI guess technically I'm an expat, but I don't feel like one. Think about it. We came here to work for the American govt, speak primarily English, shop in the American stores and educate our kids in the American school. Not a whole lot of the German culture in there. I think it would feel different if we had the chance to live off post. It wasn't an option when we came here.
ReplyDeleteI only go to the commissary when I HAVE to and I shop at local retailers. I know a lot of German, have a few German friends, but I still think it would be different as civillians. My middle son will go to German school next year. I just wish I was really intererested in 'living' in German when I came here at 20. Things look differently at 30. Are you guys on post?
Understandable. We didn't have the option to live off post either (although I think we got off pretty lucky with the place we got compared to some). I don't know much German although I plan to learn (I took it in HS and have been refreshing so I have some basics). I'll just have to make more of an effort because except when we go out everyone is speaking English. I do try to get through my transactions out in town without speaking English.
ReplyDeleteIt's also just a matter of effort to get to German stores, although now that we have our car it will be easier to do. It actually took me awhile to find packages of Christmas cards written in German (I ended up finding them at the Galeria Kaufhof). It's cool he'll get to go to a German school.
Sure it would be different as civilians but everyone's experience is different regardless why they're living there. I think it's kind of what you make it. I know someone living so far off post she has cows in the yard and said even out there people speak English so it took her over a year to bother to learn German, and then there are people on post who only buy and use German products, try to learn the language, etc.