My Ideas OnLiving In A Foreign Country Thousands ofpeople emigrate annually. For many, living andworking abroad for extended periods of time becomes the adventure of alifetime. Many set off to unknown lands to fill a gap of time in their lives,improve their fluency in a foreign language, meet new and interesting people,and build self-reliance. The reasons for emigration are quite different political or religious persecution, poverty, awful living
conditions, climateand many more. But the fact is that people take the plunge in search ofbetter life. Decent conditions and the opportunity to spend more timetogether as a family attract them inspite of the threat of being frustrated very soon. However, I m surethat living in a foreign country can be rather interesting, and yet has itsdisadvantages also. Theexperience can be so powerful, and alter the traveller s way of thinking sogreatly, that he can
lose his cultural identity. If one integrates into a newsociety, he ore she will almost certainly meet difficulties when they try toreadjust later to their own culture. Another potential problem is that one maybecome a victim of discrimination, and lose their confidence as a result. Sincethe behaviour and customs of the guests may be very different from those of theinhabitants of the host culture, they may encounter negative reactions -unfriendliness, or even hostility, for example.
However,no matter what the reasons are for working or living abroad, you are bound tomeet many interesting characters, collect a wealth of tales to bring back home well, if you are happy to return, of course! and learn a lot more aboutyourself.Anyway, I don t approve of living in a foreign country. As I see it, you shouldwork for the country that you were born in, that has brought you up, educatedyou. That s why I see emigration as somehow unfair. Being homesick canalso be a reason.
As for me, I wouldn t feel at home.So I guess thatsaying Home Sweet Home has a stronger meaning than meets the eye! Alexander V. Myskin, gr. 3o1