The Consciousness of Difference

Last night I went looking yet again for books written by expatriates/migrants in Japan and nothing I found on Goodreads or Amazon attracted me.  Not that there weren't books to be had, mind you.  Last week I downloaded and read Donald Keene's Chronicles of My Life:  An American in Japan which I found interesting but ultimately unsatisfying.  (Though I did note that Keene was on Attu and Kiska during WW II as was my grandfather.)  I may have to give this one another go when I am feeling less cranky.

Expatriate/migrant memoirs abound but the ones I appreciate the most are those that explore with brutal honesty what happens to an individual's identity when it is transplanted into an unfamiliar culture.  Eva Hoffman's Lost In Translation is the best example I can give you of what I look for (and if you haven't read it, I urge you to do so.)  Here is the frustration that she dubbed immigrant rage - the sheer fatigue of being unlike the people around you, having that difference pointed out and remarked upon incessantly (however kindly and well-intentioned the commentary may be), and resenting being defined solely by that difference wherever you go and whatever you do:

“I don’t want to be told that ‘exotic is erotic’ or that I have Eastern European intensity or brooding Galician eyes. I no longer want to be propelled by immigrant chutzpah or desperado energy or usurper’s ambition. I no longer want to have the prickly, unrelenting consciousness that I am living in a specific culture. It’s time to roll down the scrim and see the world directly, as the world. I want to reenter, through whatever Looking Glass will take me there, a state of ordinary reality.”

The last time I had that "prickly, unrelenting consciousness" of difference was 25 years ago when I first arrived in France as a young bride.  It is maddening to be reliving it now decades later.  Moreover this is not a world where I can hide difference because my physical appearance gives me away instantly.

The mind (as Sauve pointed out) is an unruly unreliable beast.  I no longer remember precisely  what happened in those first weeks and months in France 25 years ago.  All I know is that one day I was sitting on the bus and I felt "normal" and "at home" again.  Since the culture I found myself in surely had not changed one iota on my behalf, that meant that the change took place entirely in my own head.

That is what I'm looking for in an expatriate memoir:  the contents of someone else's head.  Not to get tips on "how to" live in Japan/France/China/Brazil but to hear stories and identify without judgement.

Native citizens and politicians seem to think that integration is like cooking:  follow the recipe, shake, bake, and out pops a citizen (or a resident with manners).  Expatriates/migrants themselves seem to have standards by which they measure how successful someone is in the role of "American in Paris" or "Expat in Japan (or Asia)."  (And I am mighty curious about the latter - could someone clue me in?)   

Piffle.  Since every individual is unique, and when, where and how he resolves his difference vis a vis the host culture will be unlike any other, there is potentially an almost unlimited number of original expat autobiographies. The ones I like best are a combination of personality and "a brain worth exploring."

It's not so much intellectual ability as it is awareness of the self and a willingness to expose it even if it forces the author to stray from the Life Abroad formula in ways that might disturb or destabilize the reader. Art, not reporting.

With that in mind, any recommendations, folks?

Free US Tax Webinar

Always happy to post about free resources for US Persons abroad (US citizen and Green Card holders) who need help navigating the US tax system.

Help?

Moi?

Well, yes.  Because the US tax system as it is applied to US Persons who live outside the US is a tricky beast.  Took me years to lose the pride and admit that the little knowledge I had was simply not good enough, and that asking for help didn't mean I was an idiot.

But cost was always an issue for me and from what I hear from Flophouse readers, I wager that cost is likely to be an issue for you, too.

So I'm pleased to pass along this resource from Greenback.  They are holding two free tax webinars next week at times that are hopefully convenient for you.  And they say they will answer questions - how cool is that?

I signed up for the one on Tuesday at 10 PM Japan time. (The registration page has a nifty feature where it shows the meeting times in your timezone).   Here's the info and I hope it helps.

The Top Five Things You Need to Know about US Taxes.

Monday, February 16th at 8:00pm EST / February 17th 9am HKT (Hong Kong Time)
Tuesday February 17th at 8:00am EST / 9pm HKT (Hong Kong Time)

Join our friends at Greenback as they give you an in-depth look at the US expat tax topics that impact you most! They will provide the facts that can help save you hundreds (if not thousands!) on your US expat taxes.

In this informative, in-depth discussion Greenback will outline what you need to know about:

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
The Foreign Tax Credit
FBAR
FATCA
Filing late US taxes

Greenback Co-President David McKeegan and their expert accountants will make sure you are armed with the most accurate information when filing your US taxes. Make sure you bring your questions—this webinar is interactive for a reason!

To register, simply click here!

A Day in Kyoto

Got up bright and early this morning and took the shinkaisoku train from Osaka into Kyoto where I met my guide/counselor/interpreter (and I hope to add friend to that list) at the Starbuck's just outside the station.

A day is not nearly enough to see all that Kyoto has to offer but I got a taste and it was extraordinary. Part of the time the sun was shining and it felt almost springlike.  At other times it snowed and the Japanese gardens viewed through flurries of snow made for an exceptional visual treat.  We took a local bus to a district with many temples (some quite famous) and had a delicious lunch.  Then we just walked along a path called the Philosopher's Walk until we decided we had had enough fun for the day.

Here are a few pictures that won't do it justice but it will give you some idea about how the day went.

The first temple we visited.  The garden was amazing.  

With guidance I threw my coin into the wooden box, put my hands together and then took a stick of incense, stuck it in the pot and used my hand to wave the smoke in my direction.

An aqueduct near the Nanzen-ji temple.  More pictures here.

One of the gardens at the Nanzen-ji temple.

The bento part of my lunch.

And the tofu part of the lunch.  Under the pot was a flame which heated the dish above.  It was boiling quite nicely by the time I got through most of the bento.  The tofu is under the vegetables and you fish it out with a little strainer.  Shoes off,  we were led to and seated in a room with sliding doors and several low tables.  We sat right in front of the window overlooking the garden.

At some point during the meal the snow began to come down very hard and the combination of the snow, the rocks, the waterfall, the trees was just sublime.  A perfect moment.

And finally the Philosopher's Walk.  If it is this lovely and peaceful in winter, it must be extraordinary in the springtime.  I guess I will have to go back and see it again in a few months.

2014 Was A Great Year for American Exports (People)

The Name and Shame List of US citizens renouncing US citizenship just came out yesterday and looks like 2014 was an outstanding year for one class of exports - people.

Last year 3,415 U.S. citizens and Green Card holders cut their ties to the U.S. This is up from 2013 when there were just under 3,000.

I'd say this might have merited a mention or two in the President's State of the Union Address.  Well, he had a few words to say about immigration, but not about emigration and expatriation.  

The numbers keep going up and the news generates headlines both in the domestic and international media.  However, those who are in a position to actually do something about it are silent and it does not appear to be a hot issue burning its way to the top of anyone's agenda in Congress.

Is it because members of Congress do not know (or understand) the issues facing Americans abroad?

This has been suggested to me and I regret to say that the folks in Washington (both politicians and officials)  have indeed been informed by both their consituents abroad and by the organizations that represent the interests of Americans abroad to the US government.(AARO, ACA and FAWCO).

Within the next month or so folks from these three organizations will once again be trekking to Washington D.C. for Overseas Americans Week where they will diligently walk the halls and talk to anyone willing to give them 20 minutes.  I went last year and it was a great experience.  However, my conclusion at the end of the week was that the politicians had all the information they needed, just not the willingness to act on it.

So what would it take to light a fire under their collective asses to take the concerns of Americans abroad seriously?

I don't know but I am reflecting on the futility of continuing to ask ever so politely for change.  To be honest, there is no reason for any American politician to expend political capital, time and money on our behalf.  Over 7 million Americans abroad, most of whom have no money to speak of (English teachers, stay at home moms and college professors, for example), can't make big political contributions, and whose votes in any one state are a clear minority.  Finally, Americans abroad have multiple small non-profit organizations representing their interests whose collective membership is a mere fraction of that population of 7 million.  Furthermore, awareness of these organizations outside of their bases in Europe and the US is nearly nonexistent.

I stand by what I said before - I think our best bet, given the situation, is the lawsuits (for more information see this post on Lee and Bopp).  They are taking the lead in what is basically a leadership void.  There is no organization out there that really speaks for Americans abroad and could organize the kind of  international campaign necessary to fight the more nefarious and life -destroying aspects of the US tax system as it is applied to Americans and Green Card holders who live outside the US.  

And in fairness, part of the problem is us - Americans abroad.  We are not joiners and frankly our deep desire when we leave the US is to be left alone by the homeland government.  We set up our lives in another country, pay our taxes and generally go about our business.  It is still a huge mental leap to even consider the idea that the homeland government has no intention of letting that happen, and that new rules and new technology now make it possible for the US government to extend its jurisdiction to the smallest village in the smallest country.  This is not paranoia, folks, this is reality.

We can meet that reality in different ways.  Last year 3,415 US citizens exercised their right to expatriate.  That is one way.  But there are others if we had the will to unite, inform, inspire and, above all, act (and fight) in our own defense.

My .02.

Second Thoughts and First Actions

Yesterday it snowed here in Osaka.  Not much and it didn't stick, but I could hardly believe my eyes as I stood on my 14th floor balcony and stared out over the city.  Little flakes that whirled and twirled and melted the moment they hit the rooftops.

If you think of Japan as a hot and humid country, you are partly correct.  Late summer is like that.  Winter, however, is cold, windy and it does snow sometimes.  When I go out these days I wear a hat and gloves and a warm coat.

Yesterday I also heard something that is staying with me because I found it such an odd idea.  A new way of looking at things and it goes like this:  "We are accountable for the second thought and the first action."  What does that mean?

My interpretation goes like this:  Our thoughts come and go all day long and we have to be careful about the first one that pops into our head because it all too often comes in the form of a judgement or negative thinking.  Things like "Japan is this or that" or "The Japanese are [insert adjective here]" or "I'm not going to be happy here..."  These examples are from my current experience as a newly arrived expat/trailing spouse.  These are the snap judgements or thoughts based on feelings.  They are a reaction to encounters or the lack thereof - isolation being the breeding ground for all sorts of strange thoughts that tend to linger and poison everything if they are allowed to spin in one's head too long.

So far my experience as an expat wife has been about fighting First Thoughts and isolation.  This time around I don't have a job to go to and I miss that.  Even more insidious is this very comfortable apartment which is warm and cozy and has a great view.  With the weather being so bad, it's easy to just stay put, make another cup of tea, and surf the Internet.

Are we accountable for these First Thoughts?  I'm opening to the idea that, no, we are not and that maybe fighting them so strenuously is a lot like being in a net where the mesh gets tighter the more one struggles..  Thoughts come and go and stopping them from popping up is not possible, particularly when strong emotions are involved.  But we do struggle to control them because many First Thoughts are probably not ones we would like to see on the front page of The New York Times or Le Monde. We are ashamed of them - all the more if we are vaguely aware that we are making terrible politically incorrect judgements about others or ourselves based on insufficient experience in response to feelings that are not facts.

The saying implies that we are not responsible for these thoughts that simply arrive in our consciousness and we can no more control them than we can hold back the tide. It's the Second Thought that matters.  Or, to put it another way, it's where we go with the First Thought that counts.

We could, for example, use the First Thought to spin ourselves into a mighty fine depression.  A particularly awful Second Thought would be to beat ourselves up by agreeing with the First Thought and then telling ourselves  that it's because we are inadequate/old/not smart enough/too sick/too tired/too different/no fun and so on and so forth.  Sound familiar?  I know that I do it all the time and I sure didn't have to move to another country to feed those First Thought storylines.

Or we could do something different.  A Second Thought could just be an admission that we don't really know - it's just random thinking - and we could let it go. This is the way I feel/think right now but I won't judge the thought. Instead I'll drop it for today and check back in tomorrow.

 A Second Thought could also be an awakening where we could choose to honor the thought/feeling and ourselves by acknowledging it and considering what we could do about it.  "I'm hungry, lonely, angry, tired, thirsty, lost" and that's OK.  It happens. But instead of dropping it, we could think about a positive First Action.

I'm hungry.  Eat something.
I'm lonely.  Call someone or send an email.
I'm depressed.  Walk to the subway station and back.  Feel better?  Yes.  Walk two subway stations away and back.
I despair of ever learning to read Japanese.  Learn two Kanji.  Just two.  (I chose bowl and plate.)

There are negative First Actions, too:  being lonely and choosing to stay in splendid isolation savouring those terrible feelings, nurturing the negative thinking, for example.

I'm finding a lot of solace (and practical help) in this simple idea:  We are accountable for Second Thoughts and First Actions only.  I'll keep working on it and see how it goes.

Your thoughts?

Culture Shock: Fast Trains and Funny Addresses

This week I made my first attempt to get out of Osaka and head for a nearby city using the train system here.  I left early (2 hours) but I barely made it to my meeting on time.  Why?

Outbound from Osaka to Kyoto I found the platforms for the JR Kyoto Line no problem but then I made the mistake of getting on a Local (普通) which did what one might expect - stop at every single station between the two cities. It was nearly an hour before I arrived in Kyoto.  Since it was early evening and dark I couldn't even admire the countryside as the train clickety-clacked along the track.

But I now know all the stations on the line and if I ever have to go to Suita, well, it won't be a problem.  I also ended up (by some strange twist of fate) in the Woman's Car.  Yep, they have cars that are only for women (and I'm one so I felt right at home).

I did arrive safely at Kyoto Station and took the subway to where the meeting was.  People there were more than happy to clue me in.  The train I should have taken, they said, is shown as the "S. Rapid" on the display.  This is the Shinkaisoku or Special Rapid Train (新快速).  Can't miss it because it shown in red.  So on the way back home I took that one and sure enough it got me back to Osaka Station in a swift 28 minutes.  Oh my, was that one fast train - I felt like we were flying along the tracks.  Very spiffy.

Whenever I go out, I have these little cards that I keep in my purse with my home address in Japanese.  This is in case I get lost and have to ask for directions or tell a tax driver to take me home.  It's a very long address and not so easy to interpret even in English:  1-15-25 Shimanouchi.  What does that mean?  Well, it's not the name of the street, it's the name of the block/district.  Here's a good video that explains how it works:



And for a even more detailed explanation see this site: How the Japanese Address System Works.

Once you have the principle down, it does make a lot of sense.

Not Everyone Wants to Be a Citizen

I thought I would dust this one off and repost.  Articles about citizenship and dual nationality cross my path daily and it seems to me that many of them start with two assumptions that are, in my experience, erroneous:  1.  Everyone wants to become a citizen and 2.  Becoming a citizen is in the best interests of all migrants.

This is simply not true.  Not every migrant hits a distant shore with the intention of seeking full citizenship.  This may be because he or she does not plan to stay very long (though he might change his mind over time) or because he or she sees that it is clearly not in his best interests.  Yes, you heard me - becoming a citizen of a nation-state is not necessarily a good deal for everyone.

Today let's take off the rose-colored glasses and examine a few reasons why many prefer to be legal residents (they seek the Right to Reside) and may never choose to become citizens in their host countries:

The Rights of a Citizen are not Attractive: Many migrants are not interested in voting or running for office and some do not intend to reside permanently in that country.  Many migrants are not planning to bring over their families and they have no desire to work in sectors restricted to citizens like the defense industry or to become a "fonctionnaire."  In some places migrants see that full citizenship does not guarantee them the same level of rights as other citizens.  Within the spectrum of citizens from birthright to natualized, they see clearly that some are more privileged than others.  Why would they want to go through the hassle just to become a "second-class citizen" with fewer de facto rights than the native born?

The Duties of a Citizen are Unacceptable:  Military service in that country, for example, or taxation. The U.S. taxes ALL its citizens at home and abroad regardless of where they are living.  Why would a bright young highly-qualified global migrant take that deal?  Let's say he moves to the U.S. to work for a few years, becomes a citizen, and then is offered a wonderful opportunity in Asia.  Since he is a U.S. citizen, the US government taxation and reporting requirements will follow him to China and he will spend much time and energy staying compliant.  If marrying the United States means having the American Internal Revenue Service as a mother-in-law for life, then, frankly, for many migrants that is a ball and chain they do not need or want.

Loss of Other Citizenship: For some it is possible that they will lose or put at risk the citizenship of their country of origin.  Most states now accept dual nationality but not all and some migrants do not want to deprive their future children of the right to be born citizens of the country of their parents and grand-parents.

Loss of Protection: Citizens have the right to ask for the aid and protection of their states of citizenship. In the case of dual nationals the principle of "dominant nationality" may be applied and they may no longer be able to ask for help of the country of which which they are a citizen but not a resident.  So a French/American in the U.S would in theory not be able to ask France to help him in the event he falls afoul of U.S. law.

Political Ambitions: Just because some democratic nation-states allow dual nationality does not mean that the public accepts it.  If a migrant would like one day to run for office in his home country or serve in a high position in the government, his other nationality may be a problem. Even where it is allowed by law, there is a real possibility that he won't be selected or elected by the home country constituents if he voluntarily naturalized on another country.

Loss of property and inheritance rights: Apparently this used to be true of certain countries. It is still, theoretically, possible. Imagine a migrant has an inheritance or property dispute in the home country. The sheer effort that will be required to defend his rights (not to mention the look on the judge's face when he/she find out that the migrants lives in and is now a citizen of another country) will be substantial which gives a distinct "home court advantage" to his adversaries.

Family Responsibilities: Many migrants have aging or ill parents in the home country. If taking on another citizenship means that they cannot easily go back to the home country to care for them, that's a problem for the migrant, for his family and even for the country they live in.  Who will take care of them if the migrant cannot return?

Social Pressure: The people in the home country may be genuinely offended that a migrant is considering becoming the citizen of another country and they let them know it. Even where the law permits dual nationality, public feeling is against it.

Security:  It's not terribly fair but, let's face it, people have opinions (and lots of stereotypes) about citizens of other countries.  In some parts of the world a citizen from a particular country may be the object of suspicion, or he may even be confronted by people's anger about the policies and actions of his country of citizenship.  The protection offered by the country of citizenship outside of the national territory is very limited.  Even the U.S. has limited resources and influence when it comes to its citizens abroad and Americans should know that evacuation services provided by the U.S. government are offered for a fee. (This is not true of all countries.)   Taking on a citizenship that could cause controversy, make a person less safe in some parts of the world, and that doesn't even offer basic protection and assistance as part of the basic citizenship package may not be a good deal if one travels a lot or intends to live in another country.

Integration Seems impossible: Some migrants do not have the sense that the citizens around them like immigrants much (regardless of whether they are undocumented, legal residents or citizens). and the society is either ambivalent or actively hostile to their presence. The political climate makes the migrant uneasy. Some may feel that, no matter what they do, they will never be accepted by, and will always face discrimination from the citizens of the host country even if they become citizens themselves.

Citizenship is Nothing Special: the citizens of the receiving country do not seem proud of their country or of their citizenship. They don't see it as having value. When asked, they are unsure as to why anyone would bother.  Most citizens themselves don't vote or participate in any meaningful way in the political arena.  Many citizens talk openly of emigrating and renunciations of that citizenship are common or rising.

Any others?

Just as no state can make citizenship laws in a vacuum, no individual makes a decision to ask for citizenship without doing some very deep thinking within his own particular context. Even where both countries accept dual nationality and the process is relatively simple, the choice to ask for citizenship is a complicated moral, emotional, and financial calculation where the individual must weigh all the factors for and against before making a decision.  If it is the desire of a nation-state to add to its citizenry, then it must take into account as many of these factors as possible.  

Failure to do so means more undocumented aliens, more legal residents and fewer and fewer citizens. 

Is that necessarily a bad thing?  

I'll let you be the judge of that.