Posted by: Captain Haddock February 22, 2007
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Some very interesting stuff there, Bathroom Coffee. I went through some of them. But jeez, my fingers are a bit sore from all that copy-pasting of hyperlinks :P
This thread reminds me a bit of the Cinabon ad - "you are what you eat". By the same token, I wonder are we what we read? :) Or more scarily, do we become what we read? :D
Anyways, I found this rather interesting article about finding your voice when you are living in a foreign country. Something I am quite a few expats can relate to:
(This is page one of the article. If you are interested the link to page two is at the bottom)
- http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/26/news/avoice.php
Speaking up, regardless of your accent
Expats can effect change despite hurdles
By Gretchen Lang
Published: January 26, 2007
BERLIN: One day last winter I was struggling up the habitually icy sidewalk with my daughter when I saw an older woman slip and fall right on her behind. I was horrified. Why weren't these sidewalks ever cleared of ice? Someone should do something about this!
But then the usual passivity settled over me. It isn't my country, I thought to myself. It isn't my problem.
One of the things I miss most living abroad is my right to complain, in my own language, about problems in my community — and the chance, even the obligation, to fix them. Community participation — everything from raising your hand at a town hall meeting to voting in a presidential election — is entirely taken for granted by those living in their own countries. For those of us living as the Eternal Guest, it seems a wonderful gift.
If I try to fight a rate increase from the local utility company, or get the playground equipment fixed at the local park, or simply object when someone takes my parking place, I risk being ignored or, worse, told, "If you don't like it, go home."
This is no exaggeration. David Gordon Smith, editor of the expat Web site Expatica Germany, recently joined in the debate over flying the German flag during the World Cup — something every German was talking about. His opinion, that patriotism is unhealthy, was shared by many Germans. But the response from German readers was swift: As a non-German, what right did he have to talk about this? "If you don't like Germany, you should leave," one reader wrote.
Foreigners are at an inherent disadvantage when speaking up in their host country. They don't vote, although many pay taxes, so local politicians don't have to take them seriously. They may live in fear of running afoul of a legal system they only dimly understand. Many do not speak the language of their host country. Poor immigrants from minority groups are least likely to stick their necks out, but even middle-class expats find it daunting to try.
The temptation, as a foreigner, is to keep your head down. But how long can you live like that? Maria Balboni, who recently moved from Austria back to the United States, put it this way: "After nine years abroad with no voice, I felt castrated."
"It scares you," said Carol Albers, a psychologist, when I described my reluctance to attend a local community board meeting to bring up the icy sidewalk problem.
I have to admit that this is so. If I raise my hand and complain, I fear, I will invite all kinds of unwanted attention: anti-Americanism, xenophobia or just plain scorn for my atrociously accented German.
The last outcome is the most likely. Language is the barrier that separates most of us from our host countries. The shared joke, the ripe insult — language is the glue that holds a society together. "You are really shut out of the community until you learn the language," Albers said.
But there are a host of other things that shut us up and out. We may know the language, but we do not know the territory. Common sense would dictate that we stay quiet, listen and learn for as many years as it takes to really know a country. This is a lot to ask.
And then there are good manners. Many people — and I include myself in this group — were taught that a guest never criticizes the host's home. One of the first rules we learn as foreigners abroad is that when asked by a local, "Do you like it here?" the only acceptable answer is "Yes."
Of course, there are those who ignore all that and charge ahead. Smith, the Web site editor, has lived and worked in Germany for eight years and argues he has the right to speak his mind. "I write about Germany because I live in Germany," he said. "I am a long-term resident. I pay German taxes. I am a part of German society."
Smith said he often felt that long-term residents who pay taxes should be able to vote. "I don't think we can participate like we would at home, and I do feel frustrated sometimes," he said. "It would be nice to have more ways of influencing the society."
Some long-term expats consider applying for citizenship to gain the right to vote in their adopted country, but generally only if they are allowed to keep their birth citizenship. Fewer than half of European countries allow dual citizenship, so those immigrants to countries like Germany and Austria can expect a lifetime of taxation without representation.
More here
Speaking up, regardless of your accent
Expats can effect change despite hurdles
By Gretchen Lang
Published: January 26, 2007
BERLIN: One day last winter I was struggling up the habitually icy sidewalk with my daughter when I saw an older woman slip and fall right on her behind. I was horrified. Why weren't these sidewalks ever cleared of ice? Someone should do something about this!
But then the usual passivity settled over me. It isn't my country, I thought to myself. It isn't my problem.
One of the things I miss most living abroad is my right to complain, in my own language, about problems in my community — and the chance, even the obligation, to fix them. Community participation — everything from raising your hand at a town hall meeting to voting in a presidential election — is entirely taken for granted by those living in their own countries. For those of us living as the Eternal Guest, it seems a wonderful gift.
If I try to fight a rate increase from the local utility company, or get the playground equipment fixed at the local park, or simply object when someone takes my parking place, I risk being ignored or, worse, told, "If you don't like it, go home."
This is no exaggeration. David Gordon Smith, editor of the expat Web site Expatica Germany, recently joined in the debate over flying the German flag during the World Cup — something every German was talking about. His opinion, that patriotism is unhealthy, was shared by many Germans. But the response from German readers was swift: As a non-German, what right did he have to talk about this? "If you don't like Germany, you should leave," one reader wrote.
Foreigners are at an inherent disadvantage when speaking up in their host country. They don't vote, although many pay taxes, so local politicians don't have to take them seriously. They may live in fear of running afoul of a legal system they only dimly understand. Many do not speak the language of their host country. Poor immigrants from minority groups are least likely to stick their necks out, but even middle-class expats find it daunting to try.
The temptation, as a foreigner, is to keep your head down. But how long can you live like that? Maria Balboni, who recently moved from Austria back to the United States, put it this way: "After nine years abroad with no voice, I felt castrated."
"It scares you," said Carol Albers, a psychologist, when I described my reluctance to attend a local community board meeting to bring up the icy sidewalk problem.
I have to admit that this is so. If I raise my hand and complain, I fear, I will invite all kinds of unwanted attention: anti-Americanism, xenophobia or just plain scorn for my atrociously accented German.
The last outcome is the most likely. Language is the barrier that separates most of us from our host countries. The shared joke, the ripe insult — language is the glue that holds a society together. "You are really shut out of the community until you learn the language," Albers said.
But there are a host of other things that shut us up and out. We may know the language, but we do not know the territory. Common sense would dictate that we stay quiet, listen and learn for as many years as it takes to really know a country. This is a lot to ask.
And then there are good manners. Many people — and I include myself in this group — were taught that a guest never criticizes the host's home. One of the first rules we learn as foreigners abroad is that when asked by a local, "Do you like it here?" the only acceptable answer is "Yes."
Of course, there are those who ignore all that and charge ahead. Smith, the Web site editor, has lived and worked in Germany for eight years and argues he has the right to speak his mind. "I write about Germany because I live in Germany," he said. "I am a long-term resident. I pay German taxes. I am a part of German society."
Smith said he often felt that long-term residents who pay taxes should be able to vote. "I don't think we can participate like we would at home, and I do feel frustrated sometimes," he said. "It would be nice to have more ways of influencing the society."
Some long-term expats consider applying for citizenship to gain the right to vote in their adopted country, but generally only if they are allowed to keep their birth citizenship. Fewer than half of European countries allow dual citizenship, so those immigrants to countries like Germany and Austria can expect a lifetime of taxation without representation.
More here