My Expat Story: Rick Schleicher
An American expat in The Galapagos Islands
At Global Living Magazine we want to connect with our readers. We want to know what you’re all about, what you love, where you’ve been, and where you’re going. The best way to do this? Hear it straight from you!*
Rick Schleicher is the owner of Come to Galapagos (www.cometogalapagos.com), a travel company that specializes in ecologically- and economically-sustainable, community-based, private tours of the Galapagos. He moved from the U.S. to the Galapagos a decade ago after a series of events that included marrying a local woman he had met on a trip there. When Rick isn’t working on his business, he spends a lot of time in the ocean or with his son; due to the nature of his job, he’s been able to spend several hours with his son every day since he was born. Here is his Expat Story.
What is your favorite part of expatriate life?
I like that I know all of my neighbors, and that they all know me.
What has been the hardest part?
The corruption in the country.
Where have you lived around the world? Favorite places?
I’m pretty well traveled, but have never lived anywhere else, except here and the U.S.
Where would you want to move to eventually?
I could see myself returning to the US and posting up somewhere in the Rockie Mountains.
What’s your sense of ‘home’?
A visiting guest once told me I belong here in the Galapagos. It got me to thinking… Would it be possible to be completely involved in a community and still not belong there? Then it came to me that belonging was not something that someone else qualifies, it was something you do. Then I started thinking I could maybe sell an instructional manual about belonging and how to go about it. I could call it “Belonging For Idiots.”
What advice would you give to first-time expats?
Don’t plan to be one; if it happens, great! (Or maybe not.) You take yourself with you wherever you go. Usually most people’s problems are not geographic.
What has been the most helpful thing in adapting to your home abroad?
A sense of humor.
Share anything else about your expat life that you’d like us to hear!
Do not think for a minute that you are going to be more content simply because you’ve changed your address.
*If you’d like to be featured on our ‘My Expat Story’ section, send an email to Alison at info@globallivingmagazine.com and tell us about your experience as an expatriate by answering the above questions.
Don’t forget to include a picture of yourself, your website/blog information, and/or Twitter handle so we can help you connect with other expats from around the world!