Long Time No Write!

It's been a while since my last post. But I've been off discovering some very interesting things. I met up with my high school friends for a mini-reunion back in February and it was wonderful. And I'll tell you something...I didn't crave food once. I didn't want junk food, I didn't eat a lot and I actually lost weight! When I finally sat down to think about it, I realized that with those people I didn't feel like anything was missing. These people are true friends. After all, we lived overseas together during our formative years which brings us close together now, even if we weren't necessarily friends in high school. We are what people call "Global Nomads." (Trust me, this is going to tie in with the general weight loss and healthy choices theme of my blog later. Please just keep reading.)

Here is some information from http://www.globalnomads-dc.org/ :

"A global nomad is anyone of any nationality who has lived outside their parents’ country of origin (or their “passport country”) before adulthood because of a parent’s occupation.

"Where am I from? and Where do I belong? are basic questions of human identity. Because global nomads have been crossing boundaries and borders of personal, social, national and cultural identity since childhood, it is no wonder many of us have felt and may still feel a sense of restlessness, conflicting loyalties, and the sense that we never completely fit in anywhere. As each of us defines, and redefines at various stages of our lives, the answers to such questions of identity in the context of the societal norms we function in, we can draw from the experiences of other GNs.

"According to David Pollock, founding director of Interaction and one of the foremost educators and advocates for this population, a Third-Culture Kid (TCK)--a term used synonymously with global nomad--is:

'an individual who, having spent a significant part of the developmental years in a culture other
than the parents' culture, develops a sense of relationship to all of the cultures while not having full ownership in any. Elements from each culture are incorporated into the life experience, but the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar experience.'

"In other words, our roots are not in a place but in each other. "

This last line is perhaps the most important. Most of my high school friends and I feel this way. So much so, that when we go back to our "normal lives" we feel a huge disconnect and have a hard time adapting for a significant period.

Realizing that I find my roots in these other people has been huge for me. That feeling I had when I was at the reunion...I've tried to carry it over. The feeling has filled a hole in me that I had previously been filling with cake, cookies, chips, grease, fat, sugar, salt. If I can hold onto these people, and reach out to them when I need them, I believe I can break this cycle. The challenge is not letting go, because, you see, letting go is a specialty of the Global Nomad. It's something we had to do constantly in our lives, changing countries, changing schools, saying goodbye to friends we would never let get too close. So, it's the letting go I actually have to overcome, not the food. Food's easy compared to that!