Sunday 16 May 2010

An Alien in the World



Remember the song I'm an Englishman in New York, I'm an alien...? Well I'm an alien in the world. I was born in England but was flying over to Spain only three months later and I've lived here ever since.
     
However, I can't say I'm Spanish either, I'm always an outsider wherever I am. This has its advantages, as it justifies any weird things I might say or do. People will attribute them to the fact that I'm foreign and I get away with lots of mischievous behaviour in the name of bilingualism.
     
But it also has its disadvantages, like I never get the feeling of patriotism I admire in other people, or people give me wary looks when I say my name is spelt with an h, or my name is pronounced in the strangest ways possible, which has earned me a suppressed smile or two.

On the whole, I enjoy being both Spanish and English, it means I get the best of two countries and it has become the perfect tool for my job as a translator. But please don't ask me which football team I support, I'll probably give you the name of an F1 team. I'm useless at sports whichever the language or country; in some cases, there's no nationality to blame.



23 comments:

  1. Yay! Welcome to Blogger! Great first post. I can't wait to meet you for real in July!

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  2. Well done, Sarah! Sounds as if it's going to be an interesting blog. Look forward to reading the next one.

    Liz X

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  3. Thanks Talli and Liz. This is daunting but you are both very encouraging.

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  4. Patti Przybylinski17 May 2010 at 01:24

    Goodness Sarah! You've done a marvelous job creating your blog on Reverie. You must have been island bound all day Saturday and Sunday to pull this off. As resilient and creative as Robinson Crusoe! I am honored to be a your "bubble" friend (dropping the cow). Patti P

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  5. Thanks Patti! You always make me laugh. Bubble friends we are, cows we are not!

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  6. Well done, Sarah! I am very bad at updating my blog, but then, I get so few comments on it I don't think it matters - nobody reads it! As it's supposed to be there as a marketing tool, this is Not A Good Thing. Looks as though you'll have better luck.

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  7. Thanks Lesley, I'm not sure I will get many readers, but I hope it's worth the try.
    I didn't even know you had a blog, you keep too quiet about it!

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  8. Hi Sarah - congratulations on the blog!
    Love Janice x

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  9. Great blog Sarah! Good luck with your new venture - my hubby is very like you having grown up in various parts of the UK & Spain, much better to live in warmer climes I suspect...
    Best wishes, Lisa x

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  10. Hi Sarah! I'm here by way of Talli's blog. Welcome to Blogger!

    I can relate to your post -- I'm an American who has lived in Africa and Europe (France). Now I live in the American deep South, where I feel more like an alien than ever before! I label myself "citizen of the world" and leave it at that :))

    Hope you enjoy your blogging experience. I look forward to reading more from you!

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  11. Thank you so much Nicole. I love Talli's blog too.
    Gosh, you have moved around. I love your "citizen of the world" identity.

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  12. Nice to meet you. I right there with you on football teams (being american I know you mean-- not american football). Although, I would love to attend a game. It seems so exciting. My husband is big F1 fan so I probably could name an F1 team quicker than any other sports team.
    Welcome to the blogosphere,I look forward to reading more.

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  13. Thanks Christine. Spain is obsessed with football and we're always getting TV programmes cancelled for football matches. It is so annoying.

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  14. Welcome to the blogosphere!

    As a dual national myself, I can relate, although I didn't move to the UK until I was 30ish.

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  15. fabulous first post and welcome to blogger!! we're so happy to have you :D

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  16. Thanks India and Tahereh, you've both got such exciting and exotic names!
    I just hope I can find interesting subjects to talk about.

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  17. Hola chica.

    Well done! I started a blog, once...I think I made two entries. It's still out there in cyberspace, gathering (volcanic) dust.

    Jan xx

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  18. Hi Sarah, welcome to the blogosphere! I'm looking forward to reading your future posts! :)

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  19. Just popped over from Talli's blog to say hello and welcome to the blogosphere! I've lived in Idaho almost my whole life and still feel like an alien here, so I'm not sure not feeling like an alien has anything to do with staying in one place your whole life.

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  20. Hi Angie and Laura, thanks for the welcome and I'm looking forward to exchanging opinions.

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  21. Nice blog, Sarah.

    I can relate to your first post. I call myself a mongrel. English, Scottish, Irish, American who has lived in France for 17 years. Daughter is more native as she's half French.

    And I hate football - dreading the World Cup!!

    Look forward to reading more.

    Bex xxxx

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  22. I laughed out loud at your "mongrel" Bex.
    I'm dreading the Bull Fighting season which is due soon. Lucky we've got writing and books to escape to.

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  23. Me han encantado tus primeras entradas y me he sentido totalmente identificada con la segunda. Sigue escribiendo, me gusta tu estilo, tiene ese sello inconfundible de humor british que me fascina! Besos. ;D

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