The Transition Artist

Hi, I’m Kate, The Transition Artist.

That’s how I like to think of myself anyway.

I’m American. Franco-American, technically, because I’m a dual citizen. But I’m American first (Americo-French just didn’t have the same ring to it).

I was born in Texas, raised in Houston, and got my Bachelor’s degree in Nashville. Up to that point, my life was pretty average.

I’m not a huge fan of average, so in 2014, I decided to shake things up. I lived with a host family in the biggest slum on the African continent – Kibera, in Nairobi, Kenya – and threw myself into the most radical culture shock I had ever experienced. Over the course of about a month, my cultural context as an American became hugely important. Having left alone, I worked on navigating the transition from one culture to another on my own.

Two months later, I packed my bags and moved to Paris. I learned that my dad was able to pass on his French citizenship and suddenly was not only living in France, but became French. Since acquiring my French passport, I have moved permanently to the country and learned what it means to be French. I now speak the language fluently and feel integrated into the culture, but have found that the two are very different things.

After living in France for 4 years, I moved to the UK last year for work, and I’ve now lived away from the US for 5 years, traveled to 25+ countries (and counting), and continue to look for change any chance I get.

I am a creature of habit who likes building routines and systematically destroying them. I crave transition and change, but, like anybody else, I also love the comfort of the familiar. It’s maybe for this reason that common themes in my writing include strangers, home, and challenges.

I continue moving from one experience to the next and doing my best to “artfully adapt” (though at times it’s not so artful) along the way. I travel often and I continue to process how my cultural identity plays a role in my current setting. I write this blog to share the experiences, perceptions, and observations that I have along the way. It’s a public journal that I keep for myself first and foremost, a place to share with other expats, and a space for stories I want to write home about.

Here’s to change and forging new paths.