I Come From Foreign

Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

All of nothing. Nothing at all.

A lot of times, being from too many somewheres can just make you feel like you’re from nowhere.

I’ve been living “in foreign” for about 9 years now–almost a third of my life.

I’m kind of forgetting what it’s like to be a true Trini (where I’m from) and as much as I love the U.S., it’s not necessarily home either.

But sometimes it is.

I started this blog because I like to torment myself about where I’m from, where I am, and how that relates to who I am now. I also suspect that there are a lot of people out there like me who wouldn’t mind celebrate and commiserate (I’m hoping for more of the former, less of the latter) the life and trials of a fellow insider/outsider.

I don’t deny in the least that my problems are all in my head and–to quote the doctor who misdiagnosed my acute appendicitis with an eating disorder when I was 15–”The only doctor who can help you is Dr. Dan.” (i.e. myself)

So hopefully writing about it will help me to work through my issues and maybe, just maybe, help others stuck in the same self-imposed boat.

And really hopefully, others stuck in my same self-imposed boat will want to share their stories of displacement and discovery with me. I’m accepting entries! I’d love for this blog to become a depository for stories of people “living in foreign” and how they’re hanging on and making the most of it.

You can email your submissions to me at danielle@icomefromforeign.com. Or feel free to email me with any ideas you have and we can hash it out together.

“Foreign” in context

Back home and in most of the other English-speaking Caribbean islands, “foreign” maintains its traditional English meaning, but is used in a slightly different context.

To “come from foreign” or to be a “foreigner” is to be a yankee–a non-Trini or non-Caribbean native, an outsider by virtue of one’s place of birth.

To “be in foreign” is to travel outside of Trinidad or the Caribbean in general.

Generally, this terminology is used even when outside of the Caribbean. For example, while I live and have lived in the U.S. for the past 9 years, I still tend to think of Americans as “foreigners,” although the term would be more rightly applied to me.

To be fair, in the title of this blog I’ve used the term its more accurate application, denoting myself as the “foreigner” and having “come from foreign.” However, within posts I’ll likely switch back and forth between foreign: U.S. and foreign: Trinidad depending on my mood. Be forewarned.

Oh yeah. And it’s pronounced Ah come from FoH-rin.