We're coming up on the 6 month mark of living abroad and man has it been an adventure. Mark and I are constantly pointing things out that we do and say that make us feel like official ex-pats. If you're unfamiliar with the term, Wikipedia says, "An ex-pat, short for expatriate, is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country or culture other than that of the person's upbringing." So, we finally made a list.
You know you're officially an ex-pat when:
1. You don't even hesitate when referring to soccer as 'football' and football as 'American football.'
2. Stop signs and turn signals mean nothing. Roundabouts rule and if you run a stop light you go to jail.
3. The parking lot is now called the 'car-park.'
4. The labor camp outside your bedroom window is no longer an eyesore, but instead a conversation piece.
5. You've started a sentence with, "Back in The States, we..."
6. You've almost totally lost your accent. People (even Americans) ask you where you are from and you can't believe they don't automatically know you're from the South, North, Midwest, etc. Someone actually asked if I was from California (come on, y'all!)
7. You actually understand the metric system and military time.
8. You are so used to speaking broken English at work, government offices, and restaurants, that you find yourself speaking to your friends and family that way. Then, you feel like an idiot.
9. You can exchange the local currency automatically and not even have to think about it.
10. You are now an expert at getting your American shows and movies on the Internet.
11. You are totally spoiled because you haven't pumped your own gas or bagged/loaded your purchases in far too long.
12. You can tell time by the call to prayer, "...hmm, must be about 3:30..."
13. You refer to gasoline as petrol.
14. You no longer fear taxi rides.
15. Going to Dubai for the day is no big deal.
16. Your favorite foods are now 'local' foods (which also happen to be the cheapest.)
17. You have trips planned to places you never dreamed you'd visit when you lived in the Western Hemisphere.
18. You have friends literally from all over the world.
19. Cold is 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot is 110.
20. You are so happy in your new country that you can't imagine going back to the American (aka stressful) way of life!
You know you're officially an ex-pat when:
1. You don't even hesitate when referring to soccer as 'football' and football as 'American football.'
2. Stop signs and turn signals mean nothing. Roundabouts rule and if you run a stop light you go to jail.
3. The parking lot is now called the 'car-park.'
4. The labor camp outside your bedroom window is no longer an eyesore, but instead a conversation piece.
5. You've started a sentence with, "Back in The States, we..."
6. You've almost totally lost your accent. People (even Americans) ask you where you are from and you can't believe they don't automatically know you're from the South, North, Midwest, etc. Someone actually asked if I was from California (come on, y'all!)
7. You actually understand the metric system and military time.
8. You are so used to speaking broken English at work, government offices, and restaurants, that you find yourself speaking to your friends and family that way. Then, you feel like an idiot.
9. You can exchange the local currency automatically and not even have to think about it.
10. You are now an expert at getting your American shows and movies on the Internet.
11. You are totally spoiled because you haven't pumped your own gas or bagged/loaded your purchases in far too long.
12. You can tell time by the call to prayer, "...hmm, must be about 3:30..."
13. You refer to gasoline as petrol.
14. You no longer fear taxi rides.
15. Going to Dubai for the day is no big deal.
16. Your favorite foods are now 'local' foods (which also happen to be the cheapest.)
17. You have trips planned to places you never dreamed you'd visit when you lived in the Western Hemisphere.
18. You have friends literally from all over the world.
19. Cold is 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot is 110.
20. You are so happy in your new country that you can't imagine going back to the American (aka stressful) way of life!
Nicely said!
ReplyDeleteAll so TRUE!! Especially the call to prayer... I wondered if other people did that :) Sometimes my husband and I talk in broken English on accident... oh the joys :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete