sometimes we visit your country and live in your home

LOADING OF THE RICE BOAT ON THE MEKONG RIVER, LUANG PRABANG, LAO

     Greetings, this blog is a way to keep my family and friends informed of my adventures abroad, and also a way to welcome others to the life of an American expat. Let's start with a few definitions. An expat (expatriate) is someone who lives in another country other than their original homeland, while retaining their original countries citizenship. I am an American expat and have met Canadian expats, Italian expats, and British expats. I am moving to Lao PDR (Lao Peoples Democratic Republic), a small country in Southeast Asia. In the future I will call this country Lao. I use the name America instead of the United States of America, because everwhere I travel, it is called America not USA. This is similar to using the name Mexico which is officially called the United States of Mexico.

     While planning my move abroad, I found very little information about what is involved in this process, and why people relocate to another country. Unless you are a wealthy American retiring to live the American life in another country, little information exists. Part of this blog is for those who dream of something different. I am not a tourist, I am a traveler. I do not take tours because I want to interact with the local people. I use local transportation as the locals do, and eat from the street vendors as the locals do. I stay in basic rooms, usually guesthouses attached to a families home, and I travel with a small backpack. I enjoy traveling with a minimal plan, staying in places longer when I feel comfortable, and moving on from places that do not. I enjoy getting out of my comfort zone.

     I have spent nearly fifty years living in the American northwest, and have done some traveling abroad. I am a westerner going to live in an eastern culture. I know I can live in another culture, but my background will always slant the way I see things. Yet, I have learned that deep down, people are the same everywhere. We all love the same way and we all feel pain the same way. I am going to live in Lao as the Lao people do and leave behind the American extravagance. This blog is my story.