It’s interesting for me to read those posts, because although I spent a huge portion of my life as an expat, I never felt like one, until I moved back to America, the country that bore its name on my passport. And while my time as an expat in a foreign country was as a child, I think that in a way that sheltered me from all those things that make expat life hard. But when we returned to the States, that’s when I realized what it meant to relearn things, to have to figure out those things that I never had to before, those things that every American kid just knows. There are still things that go way over my head. My husband laughs when, in conversation with friends or family, things like 80’s/90’s tv shows or cartoons come up. I have no idea what they are talking about and Nick has to explain it to me. (We didn’t have current tv/movies in Saudi growing up).
It takes a lot of courage and a lot of confidence to master life in another country. It takes a lot of patience too. I think that living in another country is one of the best things you can do for yourself as a citizen of this world. It’s an experience that is unmatched by anything else and an experience that will open your soul like nothing else. I know that someday I’ll head back overseas and it’s an experience I look very much forward to. I guess what I’m trying to convey here is that the rest of the world doesn’t have to be scary, it doesn’t have to be hard, it doesn’t have to be the unknown. At the end of the day, no matter where you put your finger on a map, those are people just living and loving like us, those countries are trying to do what they can for their people, and those places are all part of our growing interconnected global community.Coming “home” to the States for me as a child tested me in ways that many expats can tell you about: unsure of local customs, unaware of pop culture, feelings of being unsettled or not fitting in. All of those things I remember like they were yesterday and all of those things also created something in me that has stuck with me through all these years.
When I look in the mirror now, as a TCK all grown up, now living in the country that met me with such a chaotic few years way back when, I see all the countries that have built me, I see all the faces of people from all different walks of life, all different ethnicities, that have gotten me where I am today. When I look in the mirror I see the American that I never really knew existed until half way through my life, I see the little pale girl in the Arabian desert that built my foundation, and I see the home that I’ve finally found all around me.
It took me a very long time to find “home,” but I’ve learned that no matter where you go, “home” isn’t a physical place, it’s something within you that gets sparked when you finally figure out who you are and embrace all the places that got you to today.
Interested in reading more about my childhood in Saudi Arabia?
See all of my posts on the country!
Jenna says
Ah Casey! Although I didn’t move abroad until 2008, I feel like I can identify so much with all that you’ve said here. It was only a few years after I moved to South Africa, that I really started to understand all of the pluses and minuses that come with calling two countries home. Although I sometimes feel like I don’t really belong in either country anymore, overall I think being an expat is wonderful and has developed me so much as a person.
It must have been so interesting growing up in Saudi as a child… I’d love to work there for a few years now. Thanks for sharing!
xxx
Jenna
Casey Martin says
You bring up so many great points… thanks so much for the comment. It’s taken me a long time to feel at home in the States, and still to this day, I, in many ways, still feel disconnected too.
Kelly {Sparkles and Shoes} says
Your background is so much more interesting that mine!
xx
Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
Casey Martin says
Thank you… but I love that everyone has such a different story, that’s what makes life interesting! 🙂
Helene in Between says
such a moving post. i wish that i was as cultured and interesting as you, most people aren’t and you share that characteristic with so few people. it must have been so hard to come back to america and expected to “fit in”
Casey Martin says
Thanks Helene! It is a very unique experience that I lived but I’ve come to realize that we each have such unique and distinct upbringings, that I love hearing about other peoples too. Thanks for the comment!
Susanne V. says
Love this post, and most of all the last paragraph. That is exactly how I feel when it comes to thinking about home. I have moved around so much when I was younger, that I don’t really have home, and I don’t really feel I will ever really have a home. But home is where I am myself and can be happy.
Thank you for this post. Love it very much.
xxSusanne @ The Musing Blonde
Casey Martin says
Thank you so much for the comment. And yes, it’s the same thing when you’ve moved around a lot… finally you just realize that home is where you can be happy.
la petite lulu says
It truly does take a lot of courage & confidence to master life in another country! I’m a new reader of your lovely blog & I find it really interesting reading about other expats views of life abroad. I’m Aussie, but have lived between Australia-France-the Netherlands-Switzerland and now the USA for most of my adult life, my husband & I are now raising our son (Aussie citizen, born in Europe, raised in America) as a TCK in California. Reading your ode to third culture kids was insightful! I often wonder what my son will have to say on the matter when he is older…
Looking forward to reading more in this space 🙂
– Luana @ lapetitelulu.com
Casey Martin says
Thank you so much for the lovely comment and for being a new reader! 🙂 I so appreciate your thoughts! It took me a long time to become comfortable with being a TCK and bringing my childhood and my American citizenship together… but I think I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can embrace both and that makes me who I am today! Thanks so much for the comment!
Erica says
I run into the same problem of not knowing pop culture references from the 90s, but for me it was because I had Japanese school tacked onto my Saturdays as well as the homework that went with it & other extracurriculars. Even though it sucks sometimes, I would never take back any of it. Speaking a second language, being able to play sports and instruments- totally worth it.
Really interesting perspective on being an expat at such a young age. I wasn’t an expat until I was 22 🙂
Casey Martin says
Interesting perception and yes, I’m sure that would similar. Thanks for the comment!
Kayla @ Sealed With a Kay says
I love seeing things through your eyes Casey! What a great post!
Casey Martin says
Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!