...Living in a Fishbowl...

" Once upon a time, everything was simple. There was an established order that all creation respected. The sun shone in summer, and in winter the snow fell softly and covered everything. You got up in the morning, you spent the day studying, praying, working, eating, and in the evening you went to bed. Once upon a time.... "
~ Elie Wiesel, The Judges.

I had a conversation with a friend yesterday about the fact that living as an ex-patriot can mean living in a not-so-giant fish bowl where everyone one is aware of what you're doing, who you're doing it with, and why. For those of you who have never experienced this phenomenon, I can most closely compare it to the experience of spending of spending a summer at a residential camp. Everyone always knows everyone else's business, and everyone has an opinion about it. I try, as much as I can, to avoid the fishbowl-phenomenon. Sometimes it's a bit tricky. It's nice to spend time with people who understand your sense of humour, who won't ask you for your phone number after they say hello, or ask you to marry them after they find out your name. At the same time, the ex-pat community is very small and can be stifling. How to balance these two worlds is a challenge.

I think it's important to try to engage as much as possible with the Sierra Leonean community, hence why I value my Sierra Leonean friends, and why I wish to learn Krio. Living in a fish bowl is just one of the realities of working overseas. There's no way to completely escape it, but there are ways to learn how to work within it and make it work for you. At least, that's what I hope. I like to think that I live in a number of different fish bowls. I'm the fish that's always moved around from bowl to bowl...maybe I'm in one bowl because they're cleaning another, maybe I don't get along with the fishes in the other bowl, maybe I have a contagious fungus...don't you hate it when analogies go just a bit too far? Anyway, I hope to try to spend time in as many different fish bowls as I can while I'm here. I think that's part of the experience, and I intend to make the best of it.

All I know for certain is that swimming in other bowls can get pretty complicated.