Posts Tagged ‘native’

language of stones

Korpi_141214_114

Poplars at Sunset, Caselle Landi, Italy © Jim Korpi

“A language is a flash of the human spirit. It’s a vehicle through which the soul of each particular culture comes into the material world. Every language is an old-growth forest of the mind, a watershed, a thought, an ecosystem of spiritual possibilities.” – Wade Davis, TED Talk, Dreams from Endangered Cultures

There are pockets, small bubbles, hidden in the crevices of the United States, where, if people stay long enough, their language takes on a character of their place. Time, weather, and the minerals in the soil form something unique, similar to the way these influences shape a jagged stone.
Urban life somehow polishes these rocks smooth, tumbled by movement into a conformity. One stone is undetectable from the next.

patriotic expatriots

Proud Patriot, Marietta, Ohio © Jim Korpi

Conversations with Expatriots Abroad:

#1
“You should get busy having kids here. Have a few. Maids are cheap.”

#2
“In Spain if my washing machine breaks I call the repair man and he says he will come fix it on Friday. Friday is a week a way. I have clothes to clean. Here (Saudi) if my machine breaks down I call the compound office and they send a maintenance man to come fix it 10 minutes later.”

#3
“In Saudi you have time. In places like the U.S. you have so many things to grab your attention. Here there are few distractions. You have so much time.”

#4
“When I go to a place like China woman look at me. I’m a 50-year-old guy from Canada. In Canada finding a 50-year-old woman who will give me attention is impossible. Never mind some good sex. Sure, in these places the woman are in it for the money, but I know that. I understand it. We both know what we are getting into, so isn’t it OK? All I want is to feel like I’m desired.”

#5
“In the UK both my wife and I were working but we couldn’t save. We wanted to buy a house in Spain, so we came here (Saudi) to save money. I haven’t been able to save a bit since arriving.”

#6
“The children love the compound. It’s like a neighborhood back home: kids running everywhere, stores, bars, a gym… everything you need.”