Expat? Immigrant!
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
I am emigrating from the US soon to live in Mexico as an immigrant. I go to make a new dream, as did my Italian immigrant grandparents and my Irish immigrant great grandfather and my Irish immigrant great great grandmother and my Norwegian immigrant great grandparents before me. I will live outside my native country, as they did. Those from the US who do this are often referred to as expats (expatriots), but for me, it’s less about exiting and more about arriving and creating a new life.
I have long had the intention to live in a beautiful natural setting where I can live richly on what I have and use my own two feet for transportation to meet my daily needs. In 2017 I will be 70, living a simpler, quieter chapter of my life. And it will be 50 years exactly from the first time I set foot in Mexico as a twenty year old. I remember riding the bus from Chicago to Mexico with the other students that summer in 1967, excited to see the world outside my country for the first time. I can feel myself twisting in the seat to take everything in, can hear us singing our songs full of hope and joy.
I fell in love with the Mexican people then, and went back many times in my life. So my immigration in two months will also be a return— to a country that feels like home.
Have been following your story with interest! Do tell, where in Mexico will you call home?
I have noticed your facebooks posts for sometime and thought, “that is an exceptional person.” I hope Mexico is the place your heart is happy.
A Womansong soprano, Joyce Metayer, and her hubby are moving to Ajijic. They recently sold their house in Arden and all their possessions. They’ve lived in Mejico before, and wanted to go back. I am sure you’ll run into them there.
Strength and power to you, Susa. Yes, I won’t leave you in that foreign land forever. Nor will I arrive to rescue you, but to see your New World, and pre-write the history of NewMerica.