Expatriate is not Ex-Patriot

Just because I am an expatriate (one living in a foreign country) does not mean I am an ex-patriot.

I may be harsh with my words about the government at times but that is how the American system works. The people are supposed to question their government, that is what keeps it in check. It does not change the fact that we love our country, in fact I think it epitomizes what it is to love your country.

I do love America, I just choose not to live there for many reasons. The major reason is adventure. I have done things I never thought I would do since I left America a year and a half ago. I have learned things, both about myself and life in general, that I would never have learned if I had not left. I am living in a culture that is very different from the American culture, yet it is still not so different that I cannot handle it.

I choose to live abroad for the adventure. I choose to challenge myself everyday by attempting to exist in an environment that is difficult and that requires me to do more than I would normally need to do. I still cannot fully communicate in the language, and they say it takes 7 or 8 years to be able to do it, yet I continue to try.

I have found that I can adapt to the rules and traditions of other cultures. I can accept the differences and see them as just that, different. Not bad, not good, but different. People in some countries don't drive on the 'wrong' side of the road, just the OTHER side. People don't read backwards, they just read in the opposite direction.

In the end life is the same wherever you live. I still get up to go work everyday. I still play video games, listen to music, watch film, live, laugh and love.

I just choose to do those things in a place other than the country I was born in.

This does not make me an ex-patriot. It makes me an adventurer. People say I am living the dream and live vicariously through me.

I say why live vicariously when you can do it yourself? Why live by sitting in an armchair admiring the boldness and courage of other people. We are all capable of doing grand things, it's just a matter of getting started. It will not be easy, but it is possible.

And for the record, I am still an American, no matter what some people may say. I am and always will be unless I willingly choose to give up my claim to that. But as of right now, I am an American. If you don't agree, that's tough because it is not an opinion or open for debate.

It is a fact.