Being a Nomad
There are many types of travelers. In the eyes of some, expats are eternal travelers. Among expats, those of us who are eternal travelers, we are the ones who move from city to city every certain period of time. We are the Nomads.
Expats don't blend with locals, the longer we have lived in that country, we know that we are foreigners.
Packing and unpacking, a way of life
The Nomads, on the other hand, know that we will not blend in with the local culture, no matter how much we can fall in love with this different culture. We know that in some time we will go to another destination. We are the ones who do not have a fixed city of residence, our postal code changes every so many seasons, our mindset is very different from other foreigners who put down roots.
In the eyes of some this way of life is exhausting; for me it is fascinating!
Packing and unpacking comes with many things. It comes hand in hand with goodbyes, challenges, loneliness, feeling lost in basic things. However, moving from one city to another brings endless opportunities.
Moving gives me adrenaline. While the move itself is exhausting, the change of air is refreshing and encouraging. We will have to make new friends and go out there once more, to the streets to see where everything is. Putting ourselves back into a routine, many times reestablishing family roles. Without a doubt, in each move there is a change of life, full of opportunities.
In exchange, too, something is left. Knowing what are the things that one does not want to leave, allows us to go through these changes in a lighter way. Of course, this is acquired with the experience of moving one time and another and another! But if we pay attention from the beginning, we sharpen our eyes and avoid making mistakes.
In addition to the practical topics, there are also the deep topics. What I leave and what I take from each place. When I leave a city, I leave with enthusiasm. This does not mean that I am not sad to say goodbye to friends, routines, places. My mindset is different, ahead I will have other routines, other friends and places to discover.
Without doubt, the most difficult thing in this Nomad life are the goodbyes. However, the goodbyes that are not from my hometown -where my family is- are open goodbyes. They are cycles that closes but other cycles will open. A poet friend, wrote about the "Friends of the Way" where she talks about those friends who are everything where we live but who are not childhood friends, nor will they be with us forever, but who knows we are all in the same situation and we are everything to each other in this circumstance.
Besides friends (and sometimes some poetry!), from each culture I always take something with me. A way of looking at things from another perspective, ways of acting in situations. Sometimes they are simple things, others are more deep. It can be the way I drive my car, respect, joy, silence.
When we go through this process with children, it is even more difficult to say goodbye to friends. In our first move, my daughters did not want to leave their friends, no matter how much I explained to them that you don’t lose your friends, you sum up friend from different parts of the world, they did not see it. When a friend traveled to visit us, just then, they understood that those friends are still there for you. Today technology helps us a lot, although depending on the age of the kids, it requires a lot of effort from parents that these children remain connected and can continue to have a relationship.
Many parents, after successive moves, rethink whether this life is good or not for their children. So many layoffs, so many losses, so many rearrangements, so many new schools, so many adaptations.
I am convinced that this life is the richest that I can give to my daughters. Of course they have suffered and of course that hurts as a mother, but the gain and the way in which their beings are forged continue to tip the balance on their positive side.
