Sunday 10 February 2013

I'm an alien I'm a legal alien ...

This song by Sting that I didn´t understand before I moved to the US, we are actually described as aliens in the immigration documents when we arrive here!

It also make sense the other way to understand this song, as there are so many little things that are different and that you don´t realize about yourself and your culture before you live in another country.

I actually quite like the way when I am a foreigner I have an excuse to not know how things work, I don´t have to follow all the rules, I don´t belong - both good and bad. If there is a "secret code" that you should be wearing this or having that, I can easier choose to stay outside or to be included than if I am borne and raised in one place and need to get my surroundings acceptance in a different way.

When I am an expat, I am only visiting, I am here temporarily, if things go bad it doesn´t really matter that much because I am leaving soon anyway. I have a different life elsewhere, I have at least two homes where I belong. I have people in other countries that know me and understand me, that accept me for my opinions.

This can also be a problem because choosing by being outside I dont actually need to get involved and participate for the common good,  when it comes to charity or other things, I am getting the benefits but not contributing.

It also makes it easier to do bad things if you don´t belong in a society, nobody knows your granparents and can cause the shame and by that follow the rules. I belive I have read somewhere that there is a corrolation between crime and rootless kids.

What is normal is suddenly not normal anymore when you are a foreigner. Genereal accepted truths just aren´t.

It makes us more conscious of who we are and what we value.

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