My days as an expat are over. I am a traveler, which is much different than being an expat. I learned a great deal about myself this past year, and I would like to share some of my lessons learned. For any of you interested in being an expat, my first thought would be to give it a trial period before committing to the idea 100%. I thought that by visiting a country many times, would make this transition easy. But, once you rent a house and interact with the locals, many cultural challenges occur. I talked with other foreigners living in Lao, researched my move, and prepared myself in as many ways as possible. But, once I began my life in a small village in southern Lao, none of this mattered.
Community is very important for a foreigner living abroad. My choice to live in a small village did not allow me the opportunity to interact with many people with my background. It wasn't until I moved to a city, that I found community, with other foreigners. I think this is very important, when being an expat. Being able to talk, discuss, and learn from others with your own background is vitally important when living in a foreign land. Especially if that foreign land is culturally different than your own.
Finding a project to do with your time, either a job or volunteer work, is important when living abroad. Yes, it can be fun not working and just relaxing, but the local population may not understand your leisure time. Learning the local language is important when living abroad. My problem was that there were too many dialects within a small area of Lao, and I had a difficult time learning from my neighbors in a small village. More opportunities arose once I moved to a city, but by then, I was done with the expat life and was getting back into the traveling life.
I learned more about myself this past year, than the previous fifty years combined. I thank my family and friends for supporting me in this Lao living experience! i couldn't have done it without you all!!!
