Fragmented - What it means to be constantly moving around/going abroad -

I am often confronted with the feeling of being an outsider and insider.

If you are a Kikoku-shijo, or someone who is constantly moving across the world, you can relate to this feeling, right?

You don't feel like you belong to anywhere -- What am I? Where is me? What am I doing? What is me? A myriad of questions frustrate you, no?

One of my best friends I met here in Austria is from India. He identifies himself as gay or non-binary, (if I have to label him). He once said, "I feel fragmented"

Fragmented --
This word encapsulates so many things actually.

If you are moving constantly, that means, every time you meet someone new, you have to prove yourself that you are "something"

Sometimes, you can name a list of credentials or affiliations but what if none of them means anything to people you are talking to?

Nobody on the streets here knows me or that I am Japanese. Nobody knows I speak three (maybe two, to be extra humble! lol) languages. Nobody knows my schools, my friends, my background.

Then, situating yourself in a different place all the time means you are constantly defining yourself in a certain way. I feel like I have a millions of ways to do "self-introduction" ever since I came here lol

While doing this, I have gotten better at introducing myself to people. And at the same time, I became better at "reading the air" - aka "kuuki-wo-yomu"

I thought it is a skill highlighted and only needed in Japan but looks like this is pretty useful even outside.

The ability to quickly adapt to the immediate environment is something I think those who move around should have...

tbc… <3