You might be thinking, do expats get homesick?
Of course we do!
After all there is no place like home. Home is where the heart is. It’s where the memories of a lifetime reside. We expats carry those memories with us to our new home. We carry them stored in our memory banks, but also in tangible items, like photos and videos, as well as the family and life-long friendships we leave behind.
Being an expat doesn’t mean one has to burn the ship, in the fashion of a Hernán Cortés. As if that’s the only way to successfully invade and conquer our new homeland. We can and should maintain ties to our motherland.
For some, that feeling of being homesick can grow overwhelming. That’s usually the result of maintaining too much “linkage” with what you left behind. After all, you are now living in a far different place, in terms of just about every experience of life…from the language you read, hear and try to speak, to the products you see on the supermarket shelves and the programs that appear on your television set in the evening.
In short, you ain’t in Kansas anymore.
That’s part of the challenge and adventure of being an expat. That is, having to learn to function, to make yourself feel at home, in a place that looks and feels far different from your actual home. Granted, it can be a daunting challenge, but with an open mind and a good dose of patience and good humor, you can do it.
I maintain close ties with my home country primarily by being a bit of a political junkie. Costa Rican politics is quite boring. But U.S. politics is and will always remain fascinating for me. I try to retain some sense of an influence with my peers in this realm, via expressing my opinions in blog posts and social media. I get a kick out of it, but it also makes me feel as if I am somehow making an impact by contributing to the discussion.
Other expats maintain close ties via sports, following their favorite teams and struggling to create the same level of excitement as was felt back home about the “big games.” It’s a little harder to do that down here, but with a little effort, you can be an avid “athletic supporter” of U.S. sports in Costa Rica. You’ll get along and make friends with the locals a lot better if you also embrace their sport, soccer, or fútbol, but that’s your choice.
Now there are some expats, too many actually, who try to convert Costa Rica, at least all the parts of it that annoy them, into an “American pie-like” experience. They are usually frustrated and often fail in that effort, or spend far too much money in the attempt. And I believe going this route detracts from the joys one should experience as an expat. The joy of adapting to a new and strange place, rather than trying to force that place to adapt to you!
There’s a little give and take involved in settling in and feel at home in a country like Costa Rica, as I’m sure there is with any other foreign country for that matter. Remember, you are the alien. You are the one with the strange habits and customs. You are the invader. However, you’ll never be a “conquerer”, so best not even try.
As the old saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans. Same goes when in Costa Rica…try, as best you can, to do as the ticos. After all, they consistently rate as some of the happiest souls on the planet. So, the effort might really pay off for you!
But at the same time, it’s good to remember that there is no place like home, the one location on earth that best defines who you really are.
Hey, my new book The Definitive Guide to Costa Rica Expat Living is live on Amazon. If you’re thinking about making an escape from the rat-race, whether for political or mental and physical health reasons, or all of the above, The Definitive Guide to Costa Rica Expat Living was written just for you!
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