Expatriate
If you asked me fifteen or twenty years ago where would I be now, for sure my answer would not be Canada. First of all, it is a choice, I choose to be here and I take responsibility for my life. But it was not always like this.
Last week my husband and I completed 5 years in Canada and amongst obstacles and victories, I learned some precious lessons and got the certainty that this is just the beginning.
New words have been added to my life, such as foreigner, expatriate, permanent resident, citizenship, overseas, homeland, homesick, and the international community, which brought me more than a new vocabulary, actually it brought me a new point of view.
It reminds me of when I used to work on Human Resources in Brazil and some immigrants from Haiti applied to our job postings. How shallow were my knowledge and empathy with them. For sure, the context was totally different from my personal experience, but there is something that all immigrants have to cope, the ability to recreate themselves and dealing with the “saudade”.
“Saudade” is a Portuguese word that is very hard to translate to English, in a few words, it is the feeling of missing someone or something you love.
Let´s make this journey lighter!
4:25pm
5 Comments
Amanda
It is hard. But at the same time it fills me up to know that this journey also brought me closer to amazing people like you!
We are on this together ❤
Tenile Oliveira
É amiga, muita muita mudança, muita coisa na cabeça, muitas coisas para se aprender, para aceitar, mas tudo isso é tão bom para nosso crescimento espiritual. Tão bom ter te conhecido, muita gratidão a Deus!!! Bora bombar esse blog 🥰. 😘😘😘
Amanda
We never know where life will take us, we can only hope to enjoy the journey. Beautiful words, thank you for sharing ❤️
Marina Basto
I agree with your feelings, especially when you talk about the ability to recreate themselves. New language, new culture, and the opportunity to start again. It is exciting, but at the same time, it could scare you. I love the way you write; please continue doing it.
Juliana Prebianca
Oh gêmea, lembro bem desse dia, da nossa despedida, do meu choro vendo o avião de vocês partir… Quantas vivências pra contar, quantos sentimentos… Que tua experiência transcenda e continue te recriando.