I’ve been an expat in Costa Rica for a long time now, 20 years almost!
From a purely physical perspective being an expat means absence from one’s home country and long-term presence in some foreign country.
However, to be an expat has more than just physical connotations…
What does it mean to be a Costa Rica expat?
Well, let’s first discuss what it doesn’t mean…
To be an expat does not mean one is unpatriotic in any way. Some may feel that it does, but they’d be dead wrong. Of course, some folks may become expats out of a sense of betrayal by their home countries and therefore develop a desire to escape…
In short, there’s a myriad of motives for becoming an expat!
Personally, I feel that I’ve grown more patriotic as a result of living out of my birth country for so many years now. I believe that in large part stems from my being an observer, or someone on the outside looking in. I’ve been able to observe with a heightened sense of objectivity certain things about my country of birth that concern me deeply…
For example, I’ve been able to observe how U.S. interventionist or imperialistic polices have affected people negatively, especially latinos. I’ve been able to discern that if that has been the case in Latin America, perhaps our interventions in other areas of the world, such as the Middle East, have also been less than laudable.
I’ve been able to observe with a heightened sense of objectivity how the form of capitalism run amok that prevails in my country of birth has widened the inequality gap. It has also led to a reckless disregard for how the pursuit of money and material has taken a heavy toll on the well-being of people and planet. Sometimes those effects aren’t as readily apparent to those on the inside of a wealthy nation like the U.S. as they are to those in the so-called 3rd world, even expats like me, on the outside looking in.
The U.S. has in large part lost its way in that regard. And the entire world is suffering for it. The world needs the U.S. to lead in a positive direction, away from soaring income and wealth inequality, and away from dependence on fossil fuels. But at least for the last four years, the U.S. has steadfastly refused to lead at a time when the world has desperately needed its leadership.
To be an expat means to have one’s eyes opened to these realities…
To have the privilege to really see things from the perspective of others who are very different…
It provides ample opportunities to exercise the empathy muscle and to improve one’s capacity for altruism and impact…
I call that expat mindfulness.
To be an expat does not have to mean permanent physical removal from presence in one’s country of birth. The ability to go back is always an option and many do. Of course, one can be a part-time expat.
I believe time in a foreign country can truly heighten one’s ability to make an impact in one’s country of birth, even in the world at large. It sensitizes you to things you might otherwise be desensitized to. It heightens your sense of awareness…
You might become a more well-rounded human being.
All those are very positive traits one can develop from undergoing the expat experience and increasing expat mindfulness.
I’ve written much in the past in my blogs and books about how being an expat in Costa Rica has changed me. It has made me a more humble and compassionate person. Granted, many of my former friends and family members back in the U.S. will say that it’s turned me into a left-wing loon!
Well, it has made me more progressive!
It has made me more inclusive.
It has allowed me to see the error of capitalism run amok in ways that I probably would’ve never detected without having had a very intense expat experience.
It has made me care more about my impact than about my economic self-interest.
It has allowed me to see things more from the perspective of the Big US than the small one.
It has removed many of the impact blinders that I came to Costa Rica wearing.
It has been responsible for implanting impact mindfulness as my current mindset and worldview.
In that sense, I guess it has turned me into what I like to call, a Revolutionary Misfit. However, I don’t view that transformation in any negative light.
If you’re thinking of taking the plunge and moving to a foreign country, perhaps motivated by recent political events, remember this…no matter where you go, you’ll still be an “American” by birth!
If you love your country it can actually make you love it more, albeit for different reasons. It will make you long for change and might even provide the motivation to be a catalyst for that change yourself.
