“I’m a foreigner even to the language I think in, I feel in, I dream in. “
I feel the same. And depending on the level of exhaustion at night or full brain capacity in the morning, I have even more subtle levels of feeling like a foreigner in a language that still feels like home somehow
That's an interesting take on it, Carmen. Sometimes the language we speak can feel both foreign and like home, so true. We look for cues of where home is in everything, but maybe even more when we are tired and we need a homely feeling.
I can definitely relate to the language aspects. I spent a couple of years in the US when I was a kid. Ten to twelve. It was in that period that I discovered my love of reading, and since then, I have read thousands of books in English. The result is that whenever I think of writing something, I do it in English. It just feels natural to me. I have written ten books in my native Portuguese, but they were a mostly professional endeavor, not works of passion.
Thanks for reading my piece, Mauricio. I agree that language can have a great impact on our experience while living in different countries. We try to express ourselves, we learn - as you say, through reading, we communicate with others through it. I find that I can relate to different areas of life in different languages, just like you say about making art in English rather than Portuguese.
YES! Being a foreigner abroad and in your own country after you've travelled. 100% resonates with me. I was reflecting about the feeling of belonging 'from the outside' just recently, when I realised I never felt at home in England and also never looked like I was at home myself (despite the place being quite multicultural!), whereas in Melbourne I look like I was born here due to the high number of European immigrants from back in the day. Looking the part, somehow, does help. Plus I am called Barbara... the foreign barbarian who cannot speak! nomen est omen (=a name is a sign).
I think once you become a foreigner, you'd be a foreigner in most places. It's interesting you never felt at home in your country of birth, I thought it only happened to me.
It's interesting you associate feeling at home with looking like a local. It's exactly a conversation I had with a friend the other day. She was tired of people looking at her one extra time because she doesn't look like the locals...
About nomen est omen, what can I say, Latin doesn't lie. 😉
Love it! I identify so much to the "permanent foreigner" too😊
You definitely are one too, yep! 🤗
“I’m a foreigner even to the language I think in, I feel in, I dream in. “
I feel the same. And depending on the level of exhaustion at night or full brain capacity in the morning, I have even more subtle levels of feeling like a foreigner in a language that still feels like home somehow
That's an interesting take on it, Carmen. Sometimes the language we speak can feel both foreign and like home, so true. We look for cues of where home is in everything, but maybe even more when we are tired and we need a homely feeling.
❤❤❤
I can definitely relate to the language aspects. I spent a couple of years in the US when I was a kid. Ten to twelve. It was in that period that I discovered my love of reading, and since then, I have read thousands of books in English. The result is that whenever I think of writing something, I do it in English. It just feels natural to me. I have written ten books in my native Portuguese, but they were a mostly professional endeavor, not works of passion.
Thanks for reading my piece, Mauricio. I agree that language can have a great impact on our experience while living in different countries. We try to express ourselves, we learn - as you say, through reading, we communicate with others through it. I find that I can relate to different areas of life in different languages, just like you say about making art in English rather than Portuguese.
YES! Being a foreigner abroad and in your own country after you've travelled. 100% resonates with me. I was reflecting about the feeling of belonging 'from the outside' just recently, when I realised I never felt at home in England and also never looked like I was at home myself (despite the place being quite multicultural!), whereas in Melbourne I look like I was born here due to the high number of European immigrants from back in the day. Looking the part, somehow, does help. Plus I am called Barbara... the foreign barbarian who cannot speak! nomen est omen (=a name is a sign).
I think once you become a foreigner, you'd be a foreigner in most places. It's interesting you never felt at home in your country of birth, I thought it only happened to me.
It's interesting you associate feeling at home with looking like a local. It's exactly a conversation I had with a friend the other day. She was tired of people looking at her one extra time because she doesn't look like the locals...
About nomen est omen, what can I say, Latin doesn't lie. 😉