Tag: Rachel Pieh Jones

Expatriates are often put into positions of leadership simply by nature of our physical presence or because of a certain number of years lived in a place. Sometimes it is because a person is a gifted leader, sometimes they are a reluctant leader, sometimes it happens organically, and sometimes it is an appointment.

At one point, I was a comer. One day in the future, I will be a leaver. But for the past twelve years, I have been a stayer. And I’ve passed through all the feelings: joy at new friends, sorrow at goodbyes, anger at goodbyes, self-righteous judgment of newbies, carelessness about my current circumstances, delight in my situation. It isn’t easy to stay well and to stay healthy emotionally, while staying. How can stayers, stay well?