Displacement as an expat loses its meaning. Or rather, it alters its meaning. Being an expat makes you a master of avoidance, of curating a different version of yourself over and over again. It’s also something that makes others expect too much of you. To adapt to the new you immediately, to abandon the old you instantly. It makes you lose sense of yourself, who you pretend to be and who you really are.
I moved between Pakistan and the UAE throughout my childhood, with a different school, different people and a different place every few years. In the UAE, this displacement is something I witnessed in increasing amounts. The students were from all over the world, uprooted and displaced from everything they knew. After leaving everything behind, dropped in a new place in the middle of the semester, they too were expected to adapt instantly.
I saw myself in all those expat students expected to move on with hesitation. Their exhaustion in trying to understand the cultural, societal and social nuances of a new place. The pressure to fit in, and the need to present yourself in the best light possible, so others can like what they see.
This is why I created the Cultural Fatigue Mapping Project. I wanted to map the emotional trajectory of expat students. Where they feel out of place, where they feel at home and how they navigate the external and internal pressures of socialising. More than 100 students participated anonymously, giving data on cultural and racial misidentification, and instances of feeling welcomed. The results showed most students felt out of place in a classroom setting, feeling misunderstood or ignored. While other times, they felt the most comfortable in informal social settings.
This is also what led to me starting an initiative, BridgeLab. A system which aimed to offer academic, social and cultural support to new mid-year transfer students in my Dubai school. It helped students decode stereotypes, expectations and cultural norms that they might need to navigate explicit and implicit school rules.
My experience of being an Expat helped me understand the challenges and gaps with the expat communities in schools, and led me to successfully address these challenges. My goal was to help these students feel supported and less isolated, as well as helping them slowly transition into the culture of a new place.