I have started writing a post that describes my recent trip to Melbourne. I will probably finish it, but right now the words seem a bit ho-hum. That's likely due to the fact that the post is more or less a blow-by-blow description of where I went and what I did, with a few photos thrown in for illustration. It fails to address the emotions behind the trip. Now that I am out of the habit of writing (and therefore of thinking) about expat issues, it is difficult to organize my thoughts in a coherent way. Generally I try for about five minutes at the most before I give up and go back to scrolling through social media feeds.
But over the past two days I have read two relevant articles (thanks to Expat Child) that have helped to clarify my thoughts about return visits. The first one, "I was an expat kid: here's why I'll probably never return to the country where I grew up," relates the author's disappointment when she returned to the countries where she spent her childhood. Nothing was the same, she explains, and the pain of her failure to reproduce her memories for her new husband was great enough that she never plans to return. It was relationships with people that formed the essential core of her memories, she realizes as she retraces her steps, and without those people, the places meant nothing. I nodded my head as I read her words. Often it is difficult, if not impossible, to go back to a place or to an experience without suffering a massive let down.
The second article, however, resonated much more strongly with my current frame of mind. Not only did I choose to return to Melbourne a second time, I would like to go again if circumstances allow. If I needed a reason to explain this desire, the second article provided it: "Hello Again" -- The Unanticipated Bright Side of Perpetual Goodbyes." In this article, cultural trainer Jerry Jones discusses the joy of claiming "Lifers" in all parts of the globe. Lifers, he explains, are the people with whom you have formed bonds so close that you can pick up with them again no matter the amount of time and geographic distance that has separated you. If the good-byes that expats must say are painful (and they are), the joys of reunions with Lifers offer compensation for some of that pain. "It seems as if you never left" were gratifying words that I heard more than once during my recent trip. The ability to reconnect deeply with so many made the journey worth while, and will sustain me I think through the lonely moments ahead.
I didn't take photos with all of those I count as Lifers on my most recent trip. Cameras can feel intrusive, and I preferred to keep mine tucked away for the most part in order to concentrate on faces and conversations. I do have a couple of photos which I will share, but more importantly, I want to say thank you to all those who made my trip possible, and to those who welcomed me so warmly. It was certainly a bright side (although not entirely unanticipated) to the good-byes we said two years ago.
Hello!
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Sincerely,
Lisa Kok
Junior Project Manager
https://mrpromocode.com.au/
Posted by: Lisa Kok | 08/16/2017 at 01:06 PM