Discovering your real country

I feel the same. I think we have to call ourselves citizens of world. I also think would be nice if more people kept this kind of thinking. It gives a sense of ownership and responsabilitie for all the Earth and earthlinks.

As a person that has lived in many countries and now settled down in the third world in an opposite path to your self I can really understand how you feel. But even though you come at one with a new culture and society your roots never fully get pulled away.

To master any language my father used to say you need to think in that laguage and he had an amazing knowledge of many languages. I presently live in the Philippines and have become very filipino but my european cultural difference often shows through. You may think your culture has been changed by the new culture you have adopted but your husband will be witness that you still have that wonderful latin American temperament. That its just a case of melding the old with the new.

My partner Ann has in fact taken on much of my own culture and I have taken on much of hers somewhere in the middle we meet and we often make fun of our oddest beliefs. She however would not wish to go to my country to live as its to cold and I wish to remain here because its nice and warm. Her other problem is family related and I can understand as she has such a nice family.

You may blend in but there is always that main tap root firmly embedded in the land where you where born.

USjobCareer.com is a leading job search website where the user can browse our list of employment opportunities to find the job they are looking for. The main focus of USCareerBank.com is on creating a marketplace where job seekers and employers can interact and make the recruitment process easier, less time consuming and less cost-involved.

I can relate so much to all that you wrote... and I know you already know that missy... and I'm so happy to know that you feel that way now, that you feel like you belong, I'm still trying to find my way around and feel like I belong, but when I do, you will be one of the first to know.

Gabby,

Thanks for sharing your experience.  The paragraph about the visit to the grocery store made me remember being in Spain years ago with terrible heartburn and no cure.  I wanted  to scream at the pharmacist to "Give me Tums!!! I know you have them..."  But he didn't...

It's never quite as easy when your away from home to solve even a simple problem.  I think you're finding alternative paths to wherever you're looking to go.

Keep writing and keep exploring!

-Tadd

Gabi, I'll write in Portuguese, cos there's no other way.

Eu achei lindo o seu texto. Simples, sincero, sublime. E eu entendo exatamente cada sílaba que voce escreveu e muitos dos sentimentos que você experimentou. Com a diferença de que eu ainda não me convenci que 'I belong'... Há muitas coisas boas, amigos verdadeiros, experiencias inesquecíveis, mas sempre falta algo. E eu não sei o que. Ou melhor, eu sei o que. E eu que sempre me achei uma pessoa moderna, despachada, desapegada, me pego aqui sentimentalizando porque minha mãe está lavando minhas roupas para quando eu voltar.

Um grande beijo e obrigada por ter escrito.

Hi Gabby, I'm the Founder of UpGlo and Allie shared this with me. Wow, what a powerful story. I remember having many of these same feelings when I worked as a journalist in Germany. Like you I took for granted the ability to spin words (in my native English). My written German was never that strong and my spoken German was atrocious. I remember well that feeling of being stripped of a skill that I felt defined me. I'm impressed by how far beyond that feeling you have moved.

BTW, your writing in English is amazing. Of course, I am biased, but I don't see any reason why you could not be a successful journalist in the US too!

Thanks for sharing such a universal experience.

Jane

Hi Gabi,

I am a jobseeker at UpGlo. Reading your text was a unique trip to my recent past. Truly, it was as if somebody that I did not even know was writing my own story.

Yes, being a foreign is a dilemma but also an invaluable experience. It is an endless self-discovery journey.

I am glad WE have made that far! 

Obrigada pelo lindo texto.

Meu carinho,

Daniela

Hi Gaby,

Great article, if the word "great" is the right one to describe your feelings, pain, resentment and thoughts.

It is the third attempt to finish my comment. I was starting and deleting 2 times, but when I was thinking about what could be said as a responce to what you expressed, I found that it is pretty simple. We need to follow their behaviour - means ability transform your weakneses or disadvantages into your advantages. We have to learn of how to do that and present that to them. We all are people, we brought something new into this country we are living here LEGALLY, we are working here we respect this country and people and they have to respect us.

I heard a lot from the other people that I am from developing country and that I am different,  I tried to turn that into a joke and was shame to hear that, but then I said, - Come on, if you want me to see as the man from developing country, I will be such man. Now I am highligting that fact, by saying:- Yes, I am a foreigner from the developing country, that is why I do not have a rusty car, that is why there is an order inside of it, that is why it is a part of my culture and as a man to take my back off the chair when I am speaking at the meeting, its part of the developing country culture to open a door for a woman, etc.

Gaby, I know it is difficult, and we are in different situation, but my message to you and to all foreigners in here is:

"Be different because you are different!"

Very touching piece, I believe you’ll do just fine as a journalist in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />US, your writing is excellent. I lived in Brazil for awhile and the culture and people are really different from the States. Being able to belong to the world is an art, congratulations.

Gaby,

What a beautifully written piece!  I think we who live where we were born take it for granted and don't realize what it must be like to be so far from home.  You truly are a remarkable human being and I consider myself lucky to know you personally!  Take care and visit soon.

Jon

I loved this article and I can refer with all you have mentioned. Personally when I first got here I was so confused, but later I got into a point where I thought I have finally confortable, however I still seeking some sort of group to belong, or really belong to something without being forceful...just be.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

Gabby, what beautiful writing, I am happy you decided to become a citizen of the world.