So what is a global nomad?

Basically, global nomads are shifted-around kids who've spent significant proportions of their childhoods in countries other than those where their parents have citizenship.

There are all sorts of reasons someone might be a global nomad. Perhaps your parents are missionaries, or one of your parents is a diplomat. Or just one or both of your folks has a job that requires moving to various countries every few years, and feels it's important to have the family along. Anyone who's spent several years in a country where neither parent has citizenship, I would count as a global nomad.

You'll be able to tell someone's a global nomad when you ask them one EVIL question.....

WHERE ARE YOU FROM????

A true global nomad will get this kind of hunted look, and sort of glance away, and go something like, "Well, I was born in ______ but I've lived in ______, ______, and ______, my mom's from ______, my dad's from ______, and I'm a citizen of ______. I've moved around so much because my (mom is/dad is/parents are) ______." Fill in the first seven blanks with country names (feel free to add as many more as necessary! or remove one or two), pick mom/dad/both, and name their occupation.

In my case, the blanks are filled in by South Africa, Israel, America, Jordan, Norway, South Africa, South Africa, dad, and diplomat.

There are some definite pros and cons to being a global nomad.

Pros:

You get to see the world. You're interested in foreign affairs, not because you're that type of person, but because you want to see what it's like in the places you used to live. You learn lots of languages. You experience all sorts of cultures and ways of life. Once you get to college, people think you're fascinating. You learn how to deal with all sorts of people, from all over the place.

Cons:

You leave your friends all the time (or if they're nomads, too, they leave you all the time), which means there will never be such things as high school reunions or seeing all your friends at the same time. You don't really have a place to call home, since you're partly loyal to all the places you've lived and loved. You can't relate to people in what's supposed to be your "home country". You feel like you don't belong anywhere, really.

But weighing up the pros and cons, I'm glad my parents gave me the opportunity to see so many places and be a part of so many different worlds. I think it's made me a more interesting person.

And I love meeting other global nomads! They're the only people who can possibly understand what it's like! So if you're a global nomad, drop me an email! Fill in the blanks! Yeah, I know, you hate the question in red letters. But here's someone else who isn't really FROM anywhere. You don't have to be! Just be yourself.

Here's a link to a website for global nomads.

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