When you move abroad are you able to let the real you shine through a new language and culture? Or is part of you hidden away? Is authenticity the biggest challenges of moving abroad?
Do You Wear Different Masks?
I once read an article in the NRC, a Dutch daily newspaper, about how people wear ‘masks’ according to the situation they find themselves in and who they are with.
In essence, people are only really one hundred percent themselves when they are alone. With a partner most, if not all, of the facades come down. However, when people are amongst strangers a wall goes up, or a mask goes on. We adapt to the group we are with.
It was an article that struck me at the time because I can relate to that idea. I’m an introvert. I’m uncomfortable in unfamiliar situations and that means there are very few people on this planet that know the real me. Living abroad made the idea of wearing a mask in some situations even more poignant.
I have a British mask, my mother mask, my daughter-in-law mask, my writer mask – and my local Dutch mask……. and I’m sure this is just a selection of my mask collection.
Living Abroad Means Adapting
The very nature of moving abroad means adapting. It often means communicating in a foreign language. It means hanging with people you don’t know. A life abroad means following a steep learning curve. It means starting again. It means taking on parts of a new culture. In short, it means reshaping everything you know and moulding it into a new daily life.
Can You Truly Be Yourself Abroad?
How many masks then do you have at your disposal if you live abroad?
How many versions of yourself are there?
Do people living abroad hide a part of themselves away to blend in with their surroundings?
Can we really be truly ourselves and let our personality shine though when we are communicating in a foreign language and wrestling with cultural quirks that feel alien and uncomfortable?
Does leaving our friends and family behind mean we leave a little part of who we are elsewhere?
“Authentic human interactions become impossible when you lose yourself in a role.” said Eckhart Tolle. Is a life abroad at the expense of our own authenticity?
Over to You
What do you think? Is a part of yourself hidden because you live in a foreign country? Do you feel that you are only part of the person you were back in your birth country?
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