When you're an expat you can hear an American accent across a room; you hear that twang and immediately know you're not alone and you have to find that person. My last guest post is by the lovely Erin from an American Mom in England who's originally from Oregon (but went to university in Ohio) and after an initially difficult adjustment loves living in England. This might seem a bit odd, but I have to admit that one of my favourite things about living in England is meeting other Americans who live here. It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is for Americans living abroad to connect.
There’s something almost magical about the ease with which friendships are formed among expats. All the differences that might have separated us in the states don’t matter over here. Instead we bond over the things we miss from home: macaroni & cheese, mountain dew, pop tarts, Mexican food, good sushi. I think it’s because we share a common cultural literacy with one another that simply makes friendship easy.
Unsurprisingly, my husband disagrees with me. His theory is that since there are substantially fewer Americans over here we expats substantially lower the level of oddity we’re willing to tolerate accordingly.
Yet, I know for me that’s not the true. The expats I keep in touch with are some of the most amazing women I know.
A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to get to spend a day in Manchester at a BlogCamp with the lovely Melaina and Lindy.
(Please forgive the crazy frizzy hair, it had been pulled up until moments before Lindy took the photo!)
Besides the obligatory expat chat: Where are you from? How long have you been here? How did you meet your husband? This is followed by shared geographical knowledge (in this instance Dayton & Cincinnati, OH) and then the inevitable mention of Costco.
I met two strong independent women who have the self-confidence to be themselves and those are the kind of friends I like the best.
