This week on BEEN THERE, 11-year-old Jenna, who lives in Austria, tells us what it is like to live overseas (from the USA)...

Hi, my name is Haylee and I am an expat kid! What does that mean you ask? It means that even though I am an American, I have lived most of my life in other countries. It has made my life so exciting so far and I really love it! Here are some of the places I have lived and some of the things that I have experienced in those countries.

I was born in The United States of America and the first foreign country that I moved to was Italy. I lived in Rome for 2 years. There I went to an International school but a lot of my friends were Italian. I learned to speak Italian and made lots of friends. We would play a lot of football (soccer), eat lots of gelato (ice cream), and I even rode in a gondola (a special boat in Venice). One of my favorite times of the year was Carnivale. We would all dress up in costumes for an entire month and go to piazzas and throw confetti and silly string on each other! It was so fun!!

Next, I moved to a place called Zhuhai. It is in China. If you have heard of Hong Kong, it was an hour ferry ride from there. Here I lived on the sea. It was really cool! I went to an International school and learned to speak some Chinese and also learned to write some characters. We ate lots of rice, noodle, and vegetables. My favorite thing was hot pot. We would have boiling water in the middle of the table and then we would cook meat and vegetables in it. It was really neat and the kids got to cook too! I lived here for 2 years.

I then moved back to Italy. We lived in Rome again. I knew a lot of people since most of my friends were still there. We toured a lot of little towns were I saw how to make cheese, wine, and even some types of salami. I went to Gaeta which was my all time favorite place. They make olives and I love olives!! This place is near Capri which has crystal blue waters and the biggest lemons you will ever see! We spent another 2-1/2 years there.

The last place that I lived in was Beijing. Beijing is the capital of China. There are many many people there. I have learned even more Chinese and how to write some more characters. I have learned Asian Art and also how to play the guitar. I went to an International school where my friends were from all over the world!

I like being able to meet people from all over the world and learn about their cultures. I have learned so much! I learned that it doesn’t matter where you are from, everyone can be friends. Even if you don’t speak the same language, you can still communicate with other means. That’s a little glimpse into the life of an expat kid!

– Haylee, 10, SC (aka ISB_girl)