What would you like to know about life as an expat?

Do missionaries consider themselves to be "expats"?

I've known a few expats and most of them were running from the law or an ex.

 

An article on the different theological beliefs of Christians in your area. For instance two of the new students here said they consider anyone who uses Easter Eggs as probably not being Christian. Easter eggs come from the old religious beliefs concerning fertility ... and as they said no where in the Bible are Easter eggs mentioned.

 

I am an ex-pat from England and living in Canada. I have dual citizenship and yet I have no interest in returning to live in England. I am totally Canadian.

I always like to hear about cultural differences between the mission field and the homeland.

I always remember the evangelist from India who visited America with Billy Graham. He was asked about his greatest impression of America. "The size of your garbage cans!" This was back in the 50's. I wonder what he would think to-day.

I have always been interested in Africa. It is amazing to see the eyes of youth there. They are so deep and expressive. The sense of wanting; depth of emotion; the look of bewilderment. Something that is missing in the homeland.

Are missionaries expected to change their own culture to adapt to the new country? How far are they expected to go? Or, does adjustment come automatically with time?



Cheers,

Jim

 

A few things that would be interesting to me are:

What was the biggest surprise in the new country?

What do you miss most about your homeland?

Have you made close friends there? Do you keep in touch with your old friends and family?

How would you describe the culture there?

What are some funny language mistakes you have made or heard?

What have you learned to love that you never thot you would even try?

How have your children adjusted?

Price differences there compared to your homeland?

How are clothing/make-up/hair styles different?

What kind of religious diversity is there in the new country?

These are probably very trite questions, but they're the ones I'd want to know about! :wavey:

 

What I would like to know is--what is "expat"?

 

What do you miss most about your homeland?
I'd like to learn about daily life--all the tiny little details that might differ from one country to another. Little things like water usage, laundry, cooking, cleaning, home decorating, clothing, customs, etc. How people dress and speak and what they find strange about us.

For example, I read that one missionary lived in a home on "stilts" and they had tadpoles in their water lines! Furniture was different, gardening techniques were different, and the language mistakes were hilarious.

 

From Wiki:

An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin term expatriātus from ex ("out of") and patriā the ablative case of patria ("country, fatherland").

 

We have friends who live in the Middle East. They moved out there three years ago with a five year contract. He is an engineer and it was a terrific opportunity for him both professionally and finacially. Plus, it has been an interesting journey for them as a family. Here are the things that we have enjoyed learning from them:

What is it like living in a predominately Muslim country?

What is school like for the children? (They go to the American School and it is somewhat similar to a private school in the states.)

What is their church like (especially in a Muslim country)?

What is daily life like? What do they eat, where do they shop, etc. It's been interesting to learn how similar life is and at the same time, how different how life is.

What is the hardest thing to get used to?

What are their challenges?

What do they miss the most about living in the states?

How is life like as a woman (again, especially in a Muslim country)?

What is the weather like? Answer - hot, really hot.

 

Tell about native wildlife and plants. Any special animals or tropical fruits? What do they wear? What are they afraid of? (compared with US gals who are afraid of bugs and snakes)

What do they do in their leisure time, if they have any? What is a "status symbol" in that country? How do they view Americans compared with how we view ourselves?

 

Thanks for that explanation. The only other country I lived in was England from Nov. 1967-Nov. 1969--compliments of the US Air Force. The only thing I liked was the fish and chips.

 

You're welcome, Jon-Marc. When I was in England, (only vacation--never lived there) the only thing I DIDN'T like was the fish and chips. LOL

 

I'd want to know TONS! I wrote a big long answer a few days ago and lost it, so sorry! Must have been a hint to condense it. hehe

1. What political beliefs did you once hold dear and have now changed viewpoints on because of what you've witnessed?

2. Has your view of poverty been redefined? How so?

3. What initially took you by surprise, something no amount of education or reading could have taught you, it had to be by seeing/experiencing it?

4. If you returned to the country of your birth, what would you bring back and keep, as far as habits or ideas that you didn't have before you left?

5. If you returned to the country of your birth, what would you be more than happy to leave behind?

6. What is one thing you thought you'd never, ever be able to accomplish, live through, or deal with, but ended up having to because of new circumstances in your new surroundings, and now you look back and just can't believe you did it?

7. What was your biggest disappointment...everyone has a dream, an illusion of what reality will be, then reality hits. What was it for you?

8. Would you do it again? Why or why not?

9. Why did you go in the first place? What are you accomplishing there that you accomplish where you were?

Another one just ran out of my brain and down the hallway. If I catch it I'll bring it back.

 

Having jumped the ditch from Oz to NZ I was surprised at food items. Now these 2 countries share quite a lot of cultural similarities but when you find you cannot buy favourite biscuits and such it makes you have those "what the..." moments

Clothing also should be included....folk here wear jandals, at home we wear thongs (not those things in USA)....do you call them flipflops or something.

..and of course the tv ad that usually have as the fall guy....an aussie:tonofbricks:

 

How has your view of your home country changed?

How has your opinion of the people in your home country changed?