Citizens of the world

Being an emigrant is not easy, more so if you need to learn two languages of the host country. Apart from having to work hard in the beginning to settle down, including setting up the most basic requirements, there's the longer term process of integration and acclimatisation. I don't think this process can ever be fully completed, although some emigrants do get very close.

In five days, on 15th November, it will be fully four years that I have been living in Belgium.

In the beginning, I used to fly back to Malta to visit Sue and Roberta, and the rest of the family, once every fortnight. It was almost as if I was leading two lives in parallel. It felt that, in Belgium, I was living in a bubble, the inside of which was Maltese territory, sealed off from the Belgian surroundings. I watched the same, non-Belgian, mostly Italian TV stations that I used to watch in Malta, by means of satellite. I was in contact with my family by means of the internet. I read Maltese newspapers on line. Even my colleagues at work were mostly Maltese, and we spoke my native language at work. The process of cultural integration with my physical surroundings was very slow indeed.

The process hasn't speeded up any much, but one can't help eventually getting used to one's environment. And, unless the environment is awful, which is certainly not the case here, you 'mould' yourself to it. The place becomes a bit like home, and the more you get used to it, the balance of "where is home" shifts inexorably towards where you are staying long term.

This has affected my outlook in various ways, but mostly in my general perspective on things. Again, it's inevitable, and my colleagues report the same effect. We have acquired an international perspective. This is the biggest gain that we have made by moving abroad. The world has become our country, and we follow the international news with great interest. From this perspective, and with all due respect to my dear fellow country men and women, some shenanigans that happen in Malta seem so petty and puerile. I'm doing my best not to be misunderstood here. That which is happening in Malta is also important, but it's given exaggerated weight in the overall scheme of things. Especially the political soap opera, which is truly fantastic entertainment value...

I now realise that it's my entire home country, and not only myself, that has been living in a bubble, sealed off from the outside world. To overcome this drawback on our development, it should be made compulsory for all Maltese schoolchildren not only to look out of the bubble, but also to venture outside it, even if for a short educational trip. Later, those that take up tertiary education should be required to live abroad for a period of at least six months. The EU actually encourages this, and now that we are members we should make the best possible use of this wonderful opportunity to truly feel and act like the citizens of the world that we are.