okebet The Delights and the Challenges of Expat Life

To the Editor:

Re “The Hard Reality That American Expats Quickly Learn,” by Paul Theroux (Opinion guest essay, Jan. 5):

Mr. Theroux’s description of the “existential, parasitical, rootless” nature of expat life struck a chord with me. Despite living in Germany for decades, I will never be a German. I never planned to stay permanently. A university exchange program blossomed into a German romance, husband, son, friendships, career and mortgage.

As an American, I am a familiar, nonthreatening outsider. Nevertheless, I sometimes yearn to move home, imagining a life where I understand official texts at a glance. Reading in German is a painstaking process, with verbs popping up at the ends of phrases crafted out of tapeworm-like words. In my fantasy,aaajili casino old friends stop by, getting my jokes and love of pillowy-soft bread. German bread, like German sentences, can be hard work.

The U.S. does not miss me back. While the E.U. considers me a contributor to society, I fear that the incoming administration would consider me a parasite. I’ve made the mistake of not being independently wealthy, developing a chronic health condition and self-determining when to have a child.

In the E.U., I can afford medicine that would bankrupt me in the States. My son has never participated in active shooter training. He is on track to finish his university degree without crippling debt.

The clarity that expat life has given me about the world and home has done the opposite of what Mr. Theroux says is true of many expats. Instead of driving me back to the States, it has inspired me to stay put in a society that values health and education.

Sarah J. MakowskiGütersloh, Germany

To the Editor:

As an expat myself (in Mexico), I read with some interest Paul Theroux’s opinion on the inevitable disillusion facing anyone attempting the expat life. He writes: “Anyone with money can live abroad. It’s a sort of an extended holiday.”

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Among national universities, Princeton was ranked No. 1 again, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. Stanford, which tied for third last year, fell to No. 4. U.S. News again judged Williams College the best among national liberal arts colleges. Spelman College was declared the country’s top historically Black institution.

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