A Guide to French & American Expat Integration, Part 4
Ashes are rich in opportunities when cool, calm and collected.
An Open Letter to anyone who finds a new fish in your pond--you have the opportunity to pause, look within, gather perspective and grow without leaving your tank of familiar waters.
PAUSE LONG ENOUGH, LOOK DEEP ENOUGH, GATHER ENOUGH PERSPECTIVE TO SEE YOURSELF WITH A NEW SENSE OF CLARITY IN YOUR NEW ENVIRONMENT.
Photo by Ruvim Noga on Unsplash
Breathe.
As a recipient of a foreigner, understand that a compassionate, empathetic support system eases the expat’s exhaustion and exasperation that arrives when one feels like they’re constantly coming up against walls (or, as you might resonate with more easily, being asked to take your walls down). It’s difficult to be unable to express yourself fully in a new language and the cultural contexts of that language. A foreigner doesn’t get to bring or share the full expression of themselves in a translatable way.
So, to avoid a culture fail or years spent in dissonant discomfort, allow yourself to fail. Learn. Burn and rise from the ashes, but do it quickly, in rapid succession, and in a controlled way so you don’t burst into flames or burn-out with nothing left to give. Learn to contain your flame, to use it to fuel you and never to burn another.
Failing fast is a prevalent insight and practice within the startup culture, now pervading the younger French and American cultures, so it will be interesting to see if sharing this ‘startup’ cultural platform will indeed bring the two cultures together in a productive way.
The best we can expect and hope for is to come to a place of mutual understanding, learn from each other, open ourselves to others in a way that is comfortable to match, so we can all grow together.
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Please note, this is a grossly (French word for largely, though one of those weird words in an American context) blanketed statement and overview to comparing cultures biased by my own experiences and perspectives and privileges. It is my hope that it helps to create bridges of understanding, to connect and transform people (with love) across the world.
With love and light,
Jennie Souiade
CEO & Founder, Magentic
HelloMagentic.com
jennie@hellomagentic.com
