Everybody’s business
I’m pretty new to the world of blogging, although I have read random posts from random blogs a little over the last few years. Its only since I started blogging myself a few months ago that I started to really follow other people’s blogs as well. Although we’ve had our own “traditional” website for a number of years for keeping in touch with friends and family back home, the blog is an entirely different beast. Maybe part of the beauty of anonymity is the freedom to present more than a travelogue, but opinion as well.
Now, not only do I share my thoughts and experiences, every day I also catch up on the lives and opinions of a variety of people around the world. Some people are going through similar expat adventures, like Penny, Misschris and Rupal, others have beautiful illustrations to share, like Secret Agent Josephine, or make me think about important issues and get my brain working again, like Legal Eagle.
And then sometimes you come across a blog (through some link trail that can never be remembered or re-created) that shares some amazingly personal experience or thoughts, like Lag Liv, the blog of a mother from Chicago who, while seeing the doctor for her 12 week old son’s reflux problems, requested an x-ray to check out the popping noises in his ribs, only to find herself and her husband under suspicion for abuse when they discovered healed rib fractures. Of course, the blog is only one side of the story and the presumptions of abuse are there for good reason (to protect defenseless children), but her story is a harrowing one.
What amazes me is the way people open up on their blogs, sharing such personal experiences, like Dooce, a very famous blogger who has recently suffered a devastating miscarriage. Reading their stories feels vaguely voyeuristic, yet, these bloggers have chosen to share with the world. I’m sure their blogs provide some comfort for those who’ve experienced the same things or help those who haven’t to understand.
At the risk of sounding soppy (which I am loathe to do) I underestimated the power of blogging to become part of a virtual community, learn new things, engage in reasoned (sometimes) debate and “compare notes” on similar experiences.
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Hi! i just found your blog and is really interesting, i live in ………. (you live here?? because your post saying that you lives 3 hours south of the border makes me think that), and i’m planning to move to australia in a few years ago. I find your blog interesting because is really hard to find a blog written by an aussie living in mexico.
At the risk of sounding like a loon I have to admit that there are certain blogs I read regularly to the point that, even though I have never met some of the authors, I feel connected to them. Some because they are going through similar expereinces as I, but I think more so because, as you said, they are sharing such personal thoughts and experiences that you can’t help but feel connected to them. And given that I am a tech novice (to put it nicely), I am still amazed at the power and reach of the internet.
You don’t sound like a loon at all. I do the same thing and find myself checking in on blogs to see what people are up to, how they’re going with whatever issue/crisis they are having or what funny story they’ve got to tell me today. I think too when you are away from home, you feel the need for that connection more - its comforting to read about and talk to people going through the same things as you, and particularly with the expat experience, it can be something your family and friends back home don’t fully understand.
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