Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Ex-Patriots

October 29,2012

Here in Kenya there is a huge ex-patriot population. Most are from England, Ireland, and the United States. The question of why people chose to leave their culture, country, and family to live in a foriegn land has always interested me. Most immigrants leave for economic reasons or for safety. They often have dreams of someday returning to the familiar

Ex-patriots I find leave for different reasons, freedom being a main one. It is not a freedom to leave behind their previous comforts, lifestyle, or mores, for these seem to be little changed. It is not the desire to someday return to their native land, although they periodly return to visit left behind family. The freedom is of being released from the pressure of their native cultural norms.

It is like being a bird, but without the pressures to fly. It is the challenge to live your life on the ground with the full knowledge you have the ability to be in the air, but never do.

 Ex-Patriots from South Africa, Edina, MN, and Ireland
on a tea plantation walk

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