Defining Moments: Where We Begin And End In A Globalized Life
Change is in the air. This month we're redefining things we thought we knew. Where we begin and end. If democracy means we have to live with choices we wouldn't chose. The new social order of virtuality mixed with what many insist is "real life". And if we're signed up for life with a local -- no relocation services, no cost of living allowances -- are we even expats at all?
We're also taking a look at a clever new voice in the blogosphere and a weekend event in Holland meant to create breakthrough action in the lives of its international participants.
+++++ AT expat+HAREM
Global businesswoman Rebecca Self wonders if her mobile career changes the pleasure of travel, or is it a fuller expression of her traveler nature?
In our second expat+HAREM interview, online psychotherapist and Internet media theorist Dr. Leon Tan challenges us with today's "digital diasporas" and the role of mixed reality -- a continuum of virtual to actual life experiences -- in a globalized life.
A Third Culture Kid had a free-floating perception of herself, but now planted in one spot she's drawing personal borders. Meanwhile after 10-years abroad, a Brit realizes some expats are more equal than others. (Count us as expat type #2.)
Plus, a biculturalist (and 'Turklish' speaker) struggles to make sense of an emerging landscape: Tea Parties in her Missouri neighborhood, and turbans in Istanbul parks...
+++++ AROUND THE WORLD & AROUND THE WEB
In these sketchy, xenophobic times, our favorite new-smart-fresh blog by ex-expat/repat/neopat ML Awanohara starts giving awards to Americans unafraid of 'the other'.
We're charmed by the concept of Seen the Elephant, defined as a desire to seek out amazing sights in far corners of the world, a jaded expression of "been there, done that", and the famous Indian legend of six blind men feeling up a pachyderm.
And if you're a social entrepreneur or intrapreneur in Amsterdam mid-month, expat+HAREM poster Rebecca Self's European Summit for Global Transformation is *the* place to gather for "a weekend to change the world."
+++++ YOUR THOUGHTS
Commenters about last month's burqa piece at National Review include: Zaharr Hayatti, who "detests the idea of a government which insists either TO veil or NOT to veil. This, I would pray, would/could be the woman's choice."
Arriving in Turkey 13 years ago, the ban on head scarves in government institutions seemed "rather primitive" to Kirsten Karahan, "reflecting prejudices against tradition, religion, economic class and gender." Now, the visual arts educator in Ankara says: "I have come to see that the practice contributes so heavily toward the general subjugation of women that it really must be kept out of public life. I don't have research to cite, but I do have personal observations and experiences."
And Catherine Bayar: "Cultures change from the inside, not by having change imposed upon them. It's not just the men who are the imposers of tradition cloaked in piety within the family."
As a global citizen, what are you in the midst of redefining?
Hot Seat: On Gender Bias, Ethnocentrism And Xenoconfusion
Summer's not over -- yet. Just like the mercury in hotspots around the world, we're still fired up. Enduring and recently sparked provocations include gender bias in the business world...the fact that we continue to judge books by their cover (and people by their name!)...the nonsensical segregation of creative work (by makers, distributors, buyers) based on the creator or consumer's skin tone...plus, a controversial take on this summer's French burqa ban guaranteed to bring your own issues to a boil.
+++++ AT expat+HAREM
Our interview series with hybrid characters debuts with the real Canadian woman behind powerhouse web firm Men with Pens, and her career-enriching choice to let business associates assume she's male.
Another new feature: the Hybrid Ambassadors blog-ring. On their own blogs nine Dialogue2010 participants address a polarizing book promotion in an international writing community, taking on the xenoconfusion of an interconnected world, "the whitewashing of our differences", and the risks of committing strong opinions to a digital footprint.
Among the best blog-ring comments:
"it takes guts to empathize with people of different heritage";
interpreting others' meaning with an eye toward middle ground makes us "catalysts and alchemists rather than victims and bullies",
"we are all hybrids, of life and circumstance, of beliefs and ancestry."
+++++ AROUND THE WORLD & AROUND THE WEB
Here's a hot ticket for Pacific Northwest thinkers, entrepreneurs, artists and optimists on 10/10/10: TEDxRainier celebrates the intellectual soul of Seattle.
The one day event is curated by expat+HAREM pal global nomad and physician Nassim Assefi who "gets a kick out of saving lives and celebrating life" and organized by Phil Klein, who's known to tweet such profundities as "ethnocentrism overtrusts ingroup loyalty, cultivating arrogance; nurses outgroup hostility, encourages ignorance of outsiders."
And an Istanbul-based foreign correspondent tackles what may be the most burn-worthy topic of all: can civilization ban the burqa and survive?