What being an American abroad is like during COVID-19, 2020 election - Business Insider

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Opinion | I'm an American who has lived abroad for 10 years. Between the pandemic and the election, 2020 has been the weirdest year to be away from my home country. By _rebeccaholland.

Other countries have handled the coronavirus pandemic better than the US, and Americans are scared to return home.Rebecca Holland is a freelance journalist based between the Midwest and the Middle East.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more storiesThis has been an exceptionally weird year to be an American living abroad. I've watched the coronavirus pandemic wreak havoc across the country and been thankful I wasn't home.

We cried over people dying and beloved restaurants closing and lectured our parents over Zoom about staying home. We felt relieved to be in a place taking the pandemic seriously, and when life returned to normal in Dubai in early summer and we were able to travel and drink in bars, we felt a little guilty too. Expats always end up in positions attempting to explain the US, and always find it's impossible.

I hate to admit it, but sometimes it's also hard not to want to turn the question around. "Your country isn't so great either!" I want to fire back when I've had enough. "Look at the human rights abuses! There is no press freedom! This is not a democracy!" I want to shout. People around the world always ask me if Chicago, where I sometimes live when in the US, is safe, because they've heard on TV it's very dangerous. "Yes, mostly," I reply.

Like more than half the country, I cried in relief when the election was finally called for Joe Biden. My fiance was at an Indian restaurant in Dubai and the waiters rushed over to tell him and express their relief. Joyful texts flowed in from Iraq, Lebanon, and Turkey.

 

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_RebeccaHolland thank you very much for your work

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