A bit of an explanation

ex·pa·tri·ate n
1. somebody who has left his or her homeland to
live or work in another country, usually for a long
period of time
2. somebody who has renounced his or her
citizenship or whose citizenship has been revoked

adj
relating to people who live outside their own country

v
1. vi to settle in another country
2. vti to deprive somebody of native citizenship,
or renounce native citizenship voluntarily
3. vt to send somebody away from his or her own
country as a punishment

Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999
Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

My friend asked me about calling myself an "Ex-pat" Yank. He brought up the idea of the 2nd definition (noun) in my Encarta Dictionary (courtesy of Microsoft Word) and I want to stress not the 2nd definition, but the 1st one here... I'm an American living in Britain... I've lived here for almost two years, I'm marrying a Brit in a few months, and I have serious ties to this little island in the Northern Atlantic.

I'm NOT revoking my citizenship from the US. Anything BUT! In fact... As you read more entries by me, you'll soon understand JUST how politically and socially an American I actually AM.

I guess the big reason that I am calling myself an "ex-pat" is because in a lot of ways beyond the definition, I actually AM an ex-pat. I've always felt a bit cut off from my fellow Americans. Whereas in Britain, I fit in surprisingly well. After living in England for only a few months, most of my "new" British friends started saying how I wasn't really an American, I was just a Brit who happened to be born in the wrong country.

At the time... Desperate to "fit in" as it were, I was rather HAPPY that they thought that of me... I thought, HECK, I finally fit in somewhere... My big nose and the noise it makes when I blow it... My political rather "tree-huggy" sort of views were shared by many around me... My height, my build... Everything physical and emotional seemed to be so "British."

Now that I'm coming to the end of my stay in Britain, I've slowly begun the change BACK to being an American. The fact that I'm a liberal, tree-hugging, save the whales, environmentally motivated person does NOT make me less an American... Damn it... I AM an American. Just because I find the current government in America to be a fucking mess does NOT mean that I'm not an American... No matter WHAT Karl Rove says. (Article)

Ger...

Anyhoo... I'm done for the day, enjoy yours!
-Tuckmac