If you don’t already know… One who leaves his or hers own native country to live in another country is known as an “Ex-patriot” or “ex-pat” for short. Ex-Patriot is made up of the prefix “ex-” and “patriot”. Supposedly “patriot” was coined in 1596 from the French word patriote and it’s meaning being One’s fellow country man. “Ex-” derived early too with the Latin meaning of “out of”, but the use of ‘ex hyphen’ started in 1929 and carried an added connotation of “not” (ex. Ex-husband, ex-girlfriend, ex-patriot, etc).

Why the English lesson today? Because sometimes when one leaves the US to become an ex-pat it’s due to a dissatisfaction with one’s own country. In my case it’s more of a neutral truce where I have reservations about the US (based upon personal convictions), but also a steaming passion and pride for my ‘homeland.’ In times of quandary I look to Mark Twain for wisdom… On this he wrote:

Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your county, let men label you as they may.- Mark Twain

I believe it comes down to a simple truth that Americans are ingrained with a special quality that makes them Americans for life… It’s an emblem or trait anyone can spot in one’s own nature, in their mannerisms, in their choices, or in their speech. Last time I was an ex-pat I stood on both sides of right and wrong–again that funny duality coming out again– at times I passionately defended America’s right to vote for Bush (regardless of whether it was right or wrong). While in other times I’ve found myself criticizing America for dumb decisions thousands of miles away. This was because I had the privilege of a new perspective.. one that was outside “the ring of American influence.”

It’s important one doesn’t get caught up in the whole ex-pat debacle– centralizing on the fact that you’re somehow “outside chaos” because of your location. Likewise, The US is by far a perfect model for all the world’s civilizations, and as such I should try to refrain from the phrase “in the US we did it this way.” It’ll be keeping a balance between making the right decisions and trail blazing which course is “shin-patriotic” (jp: new), while also doing my best to respect Japanese customs.

JET, after all, is an exchange program with Japan–The focus being to exchange cultures for the greater good of international awareness– which only comes from choosing the meaning of “Outside Patriot” rather then “not-Patriot.”

~J out

Next post will be about “Leaving the US- Traveling within a Global Village”

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