How Living Overseas is Mentally Healthy

I do enjoy living overseas. I am a global nomad. Mild insanity works for me. Converting foreign currencies challenges me. Smiling and waving when I don't understand a single spoken word is normal to me. And foreign films with overacting and hideous eyeliner endlessly entertain me.

I've been contemplating personal changes since I moved back overseas. What strange thoughts pass through my head on their way to my journal every day? It's not just that I'm no longer a uni student or that I've entered the "young professional" stage of life.

Upon closer inspection of my contemplative life, I made several discoveries. I

get to talk about things I like all the time: spirituality, peacebuilding, development, cooking, and a greater appreciation for all unexpected details and conveniences. These are some of my favorite topics of all time. I never have to deal with domestic American politics (or really any American politics) pointless commercialism, internal church disputes and theological differences, or defend my decision to be "unsettled" or work against the root causes to social injustice.

I miss the people I love far away, but fellow global nomads understand. In my overseas world, people understand why my family lives in Sudan and the United States. It's a part of our overseas culture to live apart, sad yet inevitable (and I get total credibility with my family in Sudan!). And yet, we nomads find a way to fill the void with new friends, foreign languages, and for me specifically researching cause-and-effect of peacebuilding on poverty and development, and developing monitoring tools for sustainable social change.

I recently discovered that I'm a Generation Y Millennial. We are notorious for delaying life stages to explore ourselves and the world around us (remember, the global economy tanked just as we came onto the job market). I would never attribute my personal choices to American generational stereotypes, but there's a grain of truth to it. I'm a global nomad first, and as a global nomad, no matter where you go, you'll find something that slides into the culture you've carved out for yourself. There are parts of me that fit in Cambodia...and there's also an Americana side. If I was in the States, I would make it work. Part of being a global nomad is forcing yourself to make anything work. But I'm not in the States. The longer I'm here, the more I appreciate about my unique nomadic existence, the more I learn about peace, and the more my adorable $80 red Keens begin to pay themselves off.

There are benefits to a global nomadic existence. But then again, I'm a global nomad, and I've built my life around the interests that living overseas affords. It's my identity. Taking a step back from our countries of origin and living a step away from our guest cultures allows us to see objectively and learn the best from both worlds, even if it constantly reminds us that we don't fully belong.