Identity is fluid

When Papas and I were in Barcelona, we had one of the greatest things happen to us, that one can only hope for when you go travelling...

We stumbled across a tiny and awesome retro bar (called "Pile 43". Weird name. Good Bar.) that was just what we were looking for. I promptly ordered us some drinks and we seated ourselves amongst the bar dwellers. Two girls in a bar - of course, the recipe to have people start talking to us.

We met some expats, I mean, internationals that all worked at Hewlett Packard.

Guy 1: English
Girl 1 : French
Guy 2: Dutch
Guy 4: Born in Egypt but considers himself more Irish.
Girl 2: Unknown. She didn't say and I couldn't place her accent.

Guy 4 was of interest to me. He was 2 days away from going home and he was very, very excited.

"I can't take the heat here, I need to go back to Ireland."

Born in Cairo but preferred Ireland's weather.

Odd, right?

Or is it?

Who am I to say where this dude belongs and what he should prefer, just because I have ideas about his birthplace and his genetics? I don't. In fact, I think it's more of a cute juxtaposition. And this global village I live in is full of them.

I met a lady at a housewarming party last month who was raised born in the US, raised French, but also has an Israeli passport, lived in Amsterdam for 14 years.

In fact, nearly half the people I meet here can not give me an introduction about where they are from without a 45 second spiel as opposed to a one word answer defining their nationality.

My point is moreso about a couple of things that have been primary considerations in my motivations to experience life here: What is identity? Can labels really serve the function of describing something so multi-faceted as a human being? And does it soley rely on being the feeling of belonging, whether it is to a culture or a country or a race? Can the outside world serve as an accurate mirror to project to yourself who you really are, and where you should be?

I read somewhere that you shouldn't get too attached to any ideas of who you were, who you are now, and especially who you are likely to become - identity is so fluid.

I just read a blog article, written as a self interrogation by an Indonesian born, American raised, Belgian living mountain climber about identity and settling down, entitled, "So, what is home, to you?".(You can read it here.) I loved his description of himself:

"Indonesian by name, birth, and food-culture... American by upbringing, dreams, and aspirations ... Chinese by work ethics, humility, and compassion ... Franco-Flemish by pragmatism, appreciation of life, and beer-passion ... Small-town boy at heart with a global perspective in the mind ... Confused by identity and values but a big believer in the culture of tolerance at the end. Or so I would like to see myself to be ... (the rest see my blog, or decide for yourself)"


I also just read on the same website, an article about repatriating - the return home after living life abroad. "Going home", which you can read here. Blogger and author talks about our bodies holding the same water that comes from our place of birth. Interesting concept- home is where our genetic and physical structure matches the environment of our birthplace. But the author also talks about our concept of home being affiliated with a culture or a people, or a sense of belonging, and some internationals say "the source of contentment is within you and you don’t really need to change country to find that."

My friend Sarah says that she makes her home wherever she is. With her belongings, and her touches on the house, and her relationships with her environment, her inspirations and the people she loves.

Personally, I love all of these ideas. And after having Papas stay with me for a week, and being able to show her " a week in the life of" full of all my little hotspots, and my super cute apartment and introducing her to the people in my life right now, I can definitvely say, Amsterdam is a home.