You may or may not have noticed that my recent interview for Expatblog.com introduced me as a German/Dutch expat living in Turkey. Though I don’t officially have the Dutch nationality. My passports say that I’m German and Belgian. But because I was mostly talking about Amsterdam, the city I moved to Turkey from, I guess they decided it would be the best category to fit me in to, so that others, who can relate to my ackground, would be able to find me.
So this got me thinking a little bit about the term Expat. What does it mean anyways. Wikipedia describes it as following: Anexpatriate
(commonly abbreviated expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing. The word comes from the Latin terms ex ("out of") and patria ("country, fatherland").
(commonly abbreviated expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing. The word comes from the Latin terms ex ("out of") and patria ("country, fatherland").
In its broadest sense, an expatriate is any person living in a different country from where he is a citizen. Source: Wikepedia
I had a big part of my upbringing in The Netherlands and it shaped me in so many ways. So in that way living in Turkey permanently does make me a Dutch expat in a way. But during the years that I was living permanently in The Netherlands, I was considered a German expat because that’s where we had moved from and where I passed my childhood. Going back even further, while living in Germany permanently during my childhood and owning a ‘Deutsche Kinderpass’, I was also considered a Belgium expat, since that was my birth country and I had a Belgium passport. But even then, in my earliest childhood memories of visiting our Grandparents in Belgium and passing the holidays with our family, I knew (on a somewhat unconscious level at that age) I wasn’t just what it said I was on the papers. There was more to it. I did always feel part of my extended family. And definitely also partially Belgian, just never all the way like my nephews and nieces would. Because German was my mother tongue and I didn’t understand French or Flemish at that time. (We’re from a small part in Belgium where everything is bilingual; German/French). Also I had a ‘Grandmaman’ in Istanbul. And a Tante Tina in Rome. And it was very normal for me to hear my dad speak Greek, Turkish or Italian on the phone when calling family.
So maybe I never really changed my citizen status from patriot to ex-patriot but was I kind of born as an expat. Belonging to no patria in particular and to several at once. In which case ‘expat’ is not quite the right term to define my background then. Maybe we need new terms for multicultural people like me, and I know there are many at this time and day.
Maybe ex should not stand for Exit (out of) as in the ex of Ex-boyfriend. Because we never left our one and only patria behind. They are still a part of us.
Maybe ex could stand for Extra. An extra patriot, someone with more than just one citizenship and brought up in more than one culture.
Or, even better, maybe Ex should switch to Mix. I could be a mixpat then. Someone who combines two or more nationalities. Hmmm.. that could work for me I guess. It sounds very 21 century, covering the globalized, nomadic identity of our generation quite well. Just adding another status to what we have already experienced in the history of human migration so far: Pat. – Expat. – Mixpat.
Maybe ex could stand for Extra. An extra patriot, someone with more than just one citizenship and brought up in more than one culture.
Or, even better, maybe Ex should switch to Mix. I could be a mixpat then. Someone who combines two or more nationalities. Hmmm.. that could work for me I guess. It sounds very 21 century, covering the globalized, nomadic identity of our generation quite well. Just adding another status to what we have already experienced in the history of human migration so far: Pat. – Expat. – Mixpat.
Labels are tricky. And they can really fall short, failing to cover what they stand for. Yet, they can make things a whole lot more simple. So we do need them at times. In that case I could just answer: “I’m a mixpat” and the other person would nod knowingly, no further questions asked.
Think of it this way. If you eat tomatoes you say: “I’m eating tomatoes.” If you eat soup, you say: I’m eating soup. Maybe you’ll say: “I’m eating tomato soup. But that’s it. But you will definitely not say: “I’m eating tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil mixed with spices, salt and pepper”. Same thing goes for drinks. Maybe you’ll drink coffee. Or you drink coffee with milk and sugar. But if it comes to more than two or three ingredients you just say the name. Like with cocktails. You drink a Mojito. Not a cold glass of rum mixed with lime, fresh mint leaves, sugar and
ice cubes. Unless someone wants you to be specific that is (some people always do.)
Think of it this way. If you eat tomatoes you say: “I’m eating tomatoes.” If you eat soup, you say: I’m eating soup. Maybe you’ll say: “I’m eating tomato soup. But that’s it. But you will definitely not say: “I’m eating tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil mixed with spices, salt and pepper”. Same thing goes for drinks. Maybe you’ll drink coffee. Or you drink coffee with milk and sugar. But if it comes to more than two or three ingredients you just say the name. Like with cocktails. You drink a Mojito. Not a cold glass of rum mixed with lime, fresh mint leaves, sugar and
ice cubes. Unless someone wants you to be specific that is (some people always do.)
So maybe this multi cultural identity of so many of us is best described in one single term, that we yet have to define, rather than explaining it. Because you just can’t un-bake the cake. Just like you can’t un-mix a mixpat or nail a global nomad. They are like cocktails. As colourful and as individual as they come. And that’s just all there is to it. We are not coffee. We are also not latte’s. We are the white chocolate mocha’s on the menu. Which is why we love differences and diversity so much. Which is also why we rather ‘move on to’ than ‘move out of’ anything. And why ‘regular’ will never cease to fascinate us and 'normal' will never get boring.
Home does not necessarily need to be here or there. It can also be here and there... and even kind of everywhere.
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