Expats and Ex-culturists
That may not be a word, but it is a thing
These are thoughts inspired by JoAnn Ryan´s story which you can read here.
I was born in the state of Louisiana, but by the age of four, I was living in Puerto Rico. While Puerto Rico is technically part of the United States, it is definitely a different culture. Often when we would visit the US or later when I lived in the States, I felt I was in another culture. I often didn’t understand cultural references or comments because they just didn’t apply to my experience in Puerto Rico.
I attended University in New Mexico. There are parts of New Mexico where the people hardly speak English and live a life more reminiscent of Mexico in the 1800s. Truchas, New Mexico where “The Milagro Beanfield War” was filmed is an example. My son and I passed through there once and were regarded as intruders. People stared at these strangers with gazes that were not friendly.
Outside of the major towns, there are many places in the state like Truchas that seem foreign. Once people realized I spoke Spanish I was given more of a welcome. In the small mountain towns, many people still practice traditions from Mexico.
Puerto Rico and New Mexico are two places I’m familiar with that have a very different culture from the United States. Even some of the Cajun peoples in Louisiana live a lifestyle vastly different from the rest of the US. They may not be expats - or even have been born in the US, but they are ex-culturists.
My partner Marie is Canadian. She is from Trois Rivieres, Quebec. She has traveled all over Canada. English Canada is very different from French Canada. Not just in the language spoken, but in the culture. If she were to live in Vancouver she would certainly be in a different culture. She would be an ex-culturist.
Being an expat — or an ex-culturist doesn’t mean that you dislike the other country or culture. More often there is an added richness to life as a result.
There are expats that never get into the culture in their new country just as there are ex-culturists that have a different culture from their native country. In the end we’re all inhabitants on this one small planet hurling through space.
