American Ex-Pat Comrades

After a while living on the other side of the world, I’ve come to covet my American comrades.  With them I can be silly, goofy, open, let down my guard, I don't have to explain my random sense of sarcastic humor that no one else laughs, my direct way of speaking, or desire to walk fast at times.

They are few and far between in some of the pockets I comfortably slide into; broadening perspective, readjusting expectations, opening heart, mind & soul.  After all that is a major part of why I live where I do.  Asia is a hub for spirituality, hosting multicultural international communities who come together for one aim, often depending on the city, a very niche focus.  What tends to happen is that the focal point of a given community is an undying topic of conversation and familiar, familial, well-rounded individuals are diamonds in the rough.  No doubt I am beyond blessed that these experiential, living communities are at my fingertips in Asia and by no means do I take this for granted.  In this write up I simply wish to make observations about my experience and appreciate those diamonds in the rough I do meet.  

There is just something about being a healthy American and human, for that matter, which makes me appreciate certain things that perhaps others do not, and it is fabulous when I meet fellow Americans on my same wavelength.  As much as I love Asians, Europeans, Aussies, and other foreigners, most do not get that, for example, I covet being able to sit through an entire meal (especially breakfast) without cigarette smoke blowing in my face.  It is also a rarity to meet individuals who are diverse and well-rounded but when I do they are usually the open-minded American ex-pat folk.  They are people with whom I can relax, be my well rounded self, enough to live in a yoga or spiritual community and not be ashamed to LOVE eating sushi and eggs, and the occasional red meat.  After all, I am blood type O; I'm not going to deny my genetic makeup because of the spiritual/ dietary beliefs of one sector of a radical New Age community.  

I want to be able to have conversations about expanding consciousness, transformation, enlightenment, blessed amulets, Quantum Physics, and dub step (and every other kind of music), Seinfeld, Super Mario Brother’s 3, Hinglish, wanderlust, world travel, past lives, and not be stuck in conversation after conversation repeating a tape recorder about the same niche topic that often happens in focused communities.

Some beautiful, intentional, focused communities were been created purposefully, around specific themes, while others organically grew to become what they are today.  

Mysore, for example, is a hot spot for all things yoga: Ashtanga, Sanskrit, Bhagavadgita, Kirtan, anatomy, yoga sutras, philosophy and has been this for the past century.  Cigarette smoke can be expected blowing in the street, but certainly not at Western, organic yogi cafes where devotees are "eating" their raw food smoothie, discussing Patanjali and the yoga poses they reached that morning.  

On the rare occasions I wind up in conversations about breakdancing, or UFO’s, for example, this acquaintance has won a friend for life. 

A city such as Ubud developed over the past century to become a center for New Age Spirituality, especially for foreigners. The palpable qualities of fantasy and magic in Ubud have attracted and keep spiritual seekers coming back year after year.  No doubt there are pockets of people in Ubud, which is what makes it appealing, interesting and oh so yummy.  I can bounce from the spiritual seekers, to spiritual healers, to yogis, to hip hop crew, to musicians, to performers and dancers, to world-renowned artists and designers.  Often what I observe happen is that people, regardless of the city, quote-on-quote label or clique they are in – as open-minded as they are, get stuck nonetheless -and ironically - in their open-mindedness; so much so that they are no longer in-tune, in-touch, well grounded and well-rounded. 

Then there are cities like Chiang Mai which are rich with studies of energy healing, Buddhism and also a melting pot of ex-pats from all countries and cultures.  I am the first to admit that it has been quite an adjustment settling into this place, proper city that it is.  In retrospect the journey is one of growth and expansion.  Prior to my “move” here, I was quite comfortable traveling a certain path in set destinations where I would live for extended periods of time, supported by the familiar, openminded, openhearted, zany spiritual communities.  Chiang Mai, on the other hand, is a little bit like the Wild West for me as the small town girl I am.  So many different circles of people, no one set “spiritual community” to provide padding for me to be absorbed in, I’ve had to exercise my good ole’ conversation skills, diverse interests, communication & friendship building skills.  These are powerful tools to exercise and I’ve undervalued their worth in my repertoire. 


What I've come to appreciate is that I am a being who is as down with talking expanding conscious awareness as I am with dancing all night with the partiers to hiptrip electronic DJ music in some exotic locale.  There are a few friends I've made while living in Chiang Mai who brought me back to my American roots in their own expanded way, reminding me that getting "stuck" in any sector of society, no matter how liberal and open minded, is still getting stuck.  It is always good to step outside, breathe some fresh air, mix it up and remember we are complete, whole individuals at our best when we embrace every aspect of ourselves.  

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