I consider myself an expat, but I hate the term. It implies a kind of break up and severance, and though it is that, it was never meant to be intentional or permanent. Five years ago I was traveling around the world as a freelance writer. I wrote from Australia, Bali, Vietnam, Thailand, and eventually Europe. I spent about two years homeless by choice, living out of my car in the U.S. and then abroad after I called off my engagement. Some of my friends still call me the runaway bride. Five years before that, I was working as an attorney in Manhattan before I quit, and got escorted out of my office at 30 Rock. And about five years before that, I was wearing an orange jumpsuit, handcuffed to a bench in a holding cell somewhere outside of Seattle. In one of my few remaining boxes that have moved around with me, I still have a copy of the mugshot.
I’ve had more than a few turn arounds in my life, and, that’s what this podcast is going to be about. How do we get where we’re going and what does it all mean anyway?
As a way to tell my story, I recorded a conversation I had with my friend Sam, who you’ll get to know in a later episode. We talked about the concept for my show, but also the story that got me here.
