"Why can´t Argentinians be just normal?" The challenge of a global nomad in Buenos Aires

Many global nomads think that the real challenge of living abroad is exploring the new country. They can hardly imagine that there is a little foreigner inside each of us, waiting to be discovered as soon as we step off the airport.

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Moving abroad is yesterday´s news. People travel thousands of km every day to go places for pleasure, study, work, or family matters.

You just arrived in Argentina. So why is it important to develop cross-cultural awareness?

All of us perceive reality from one place: ours. Since we were born, we were taught how to perceive the world: what is a male or a female, the meaning of family, what is beautiful (and not so beautiful), and everything else in between you can imagine.
No need to say, most of this is given for granted. Like a fish in water, we never ask ourselves what the water smells like. It is there all the time. It is an invisible part of our daily experience.

Have you ever wondered how you perceive reality? Not yet? Let us help you.

-If you are angry or sad, would you allow yourself to cry in public?

-Do you consider multitasking is the correct way of getting things done at work, or your attention should be caught by one thing at a time?

-When looking for a job, is it more important WHAT you know or WHO you know?

There are as many answers to these questions as cultures on earth. In other words... Our perceptions shape our actions. We can only act based on the portion of reality we perceive. If you want to explore the invisible lines that shape you reality, it is a good start to ask yourself how YOU behave in every aspect of your life.


We know what you´re thinking... each person is different and we need to respect each human being´s uniqueness, right? Good point. However, research shows that beyond individual traits, we (yes, you too!) are greatly determined by the social and cultural conditions that surround us - like water shapes fish reality.
Our cultural background determines to a large extent our perceptions and behaviors. It prepares us to defend certain “universal” values and attitudes and get rid of others. It shows us how to be a good parent, an efficient employee or a loving partner. It even tell us whether and how to express our emotions and feelings. How essential is that?



The Newborn adventure




So what happens when you meet a foreigner? Or even more, when you move abroad to...let´s say...Buenos Aires, the beautiful capital city of Argentina?

Crash boom bang. Culture clash. And last, but not least… culture shock.

From the moment you step off Ezeiza Airport, you realize that something is missing. You become totally aware of the water that used to sustain you… simply because it is no longer there.
The smell of the new place, the humid weather, the loud noises of the crazy traffic, the impossible-to-figure out gestures that Argentinians use to communicate with each other, the kissing among men and men, men and women, children and men.. like a newborn exploring a whole new world, you are able to detect even the smallest differences. Buenos Aires embraces you with a mixture of surprise, excitement and fascination.

The days go by. Now you need to find a flat. Get a new job. Or if you already have one, you are expected to communicate effectively with your boss and colleagues ASAP. You were hired to deliver results. Sooner or later, the initial excitement goes away. Small differences that used to fascinate you can be disruptive now. You just don´t understand why all Argentinians are so rude, insensitive, narrow-minded. Your big question is: “Why can´t Argentines be just normal?”

Now, what is the meaning of normal or ab-normal? Judging Argentinians (or people from any other culture) as abnormal, rude or narrow-minded is risky: it leads to stereotyping. Prejudgements speak more about the judger´s perspective, rather than of the true characteristics of the person who is blamed by the judger.
Many expats get to this point and don´t know how to move forward. Nostalgia invades them. They start hating everything about the host country. So you hear comments like “The streets of BsAs are extremely dirty.” Or “Unlike my good old friends back home, Argentinians don´t know how to have fun” Or “I miss Europe! The Weather is too hot here”.
This leads many expats to lock themselves in and isolate from the unbearable foreignness outside. They prefer to stay home surfing Internet or chatting with good old friends (the only normal ones) rather than engaging in real life activities. This leaves them unsatisfied, clueless and with no chances of nurturing genuine relationships with others.

So what is the real challenge of being a global nomad ?

The real challenge is meeting yourself. Only when you explore your own cultural background and where you come from, you can perceive the dimensions of other people´s cultural realities. And last but not least, accept cultural differences. Forgive yourself and others. Embrace diversity.

When you become conscious of the role that culture plays in your own life, you´ll discover that Argentinian culture is not better or worse than yours.
Suddenly, you realize that right or wrong is just a matter of where you are standing. And you can start embracing Argentinian culture and its people, because now you can recognize yourself as a foreigner too.

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In Nómadas Globales Argentina, we help expats identify the color of glasses they wear to perceive reality. We understand that moving to a new country is not just getting another stamp on the passport.

Intercultural training with us will take your living abroad experience to a new level.

Join our Intercultural Coffee Meetings for expats in Buenos Aires (for individuals and small groups) to learn more about ins and outs of Argentinian culture and how to make your experience abroad a once-in a lifetime experience.
As of January 13th 2010, we will hold presentations and group discussions every week in different locations of Bs As dowtnown. Check this blog for upcoming events!

Contact us for more details: nomadasglobales@gmail.com

Join us! NEW Intercultural Coffee Meetings for BsAs expats (January 13th 2010)

Are you a NewComer in Buenos Aires? Would you like to understand the Argentinian way, from the perspective of an Argentinian Cultural Specialist, while meeting new people in a friendly environment?

Then join us in our Nomadas Globales - NEW Intercultural Coffee Meetings!
For expats, international students, travelers and all those interested in understanding Argentine locals idiosyncracy.

Agenda: "How to communicate effectively with Argentine locals?" (Jan 13th) Dissertation & Round Table of Natalia Sarro, Argentinian Psychologist and Intercultural Trainer. Followed by open discussion.
When? Every 2 weeks, starting January 13th 2010 - 5.00pm
Where? Gran Café Tortoni. Avenida de Mayo 825. Capital (BA)
How long? 90 minutes.
Cost: 20 Ar$

We organize one-on-one and small group coffee meetings on several intercultural related topics all over BA downtown.

Limited capacity for January 13th meeting. Pre-booking needed.

To book your place, contact us today on: natalia_sarro@yahoo.com.ar

Newcomer in Argentina... what could go wrong?

You just came out of Ezeiza airport.

Could it be any better? This is your new home!

The hot weather and the waves of Spanish speakers walking around you are postcards of a dream coming true.
You finally arrived to the beautiful Buenos Aires, promising land of tango, soccer and beef. You heard many wonderful stories from other expats about life in Buenos Aires. You know it is the European capital of Latin America. Great food. Cheap prices. Extroverted people. You heard Argentinians inherited an interesting European style from their Italian and Spanish ancestors.

What could possibly go wrong?

You came down to spend a nice season in an exotic culture: A Semester study abroad. An Expat assignment with your family. Maybe you met an attractive Argentino/a and you came down following an adventure. Or you are just making another stop in your trip around the world.
This is not your first living abroad experience.

However, things start to get difficult...

Let´s put it this way:
You meet some nice Argentinian locals and you are invited to a birthday party. You are so excited about it! You arrive at 10pm on the dot, as agreed. But surprisingly, you´re the first guest to arrive and the host is not even ready to receive you. What is wrong with Argentinians´ clocks?

A possible answer to this is… the concept of time. Argentina is a fluid time culture. Time is there to serve people´s needs, and not the other way around.
In social events in Argentina, such as parties or lunches with family or friends, start times are usually indicative, and arriving 30 to 40 minutes is frequent. Argentines are generally late, because they will not leave the previous meeting – obligation to the person you are with, outweighs inconveniencing everybody else. However, avoid generalizations.... Punctuality is more important in business meetings than in social events.



Our customized Intercultural Training Programs will help you understand the ins and outs of Argentinian culture and answer some of these questions:

1) What´s the Argentinos and Porteños (Buenos Aires citizens) mentality like?
2) What motivates Argentinians?
3) What are their values and how does this influence their behavior and communication style?
4) How can you relate effectively with Argentinian colleagues and managers at workplace?


We deliver affordable trainings to:

-expats and their families (children, trailing spouses)
-international students
-travelers
-occasional visitors

Where? We can visit you at your workplace or meet in one of the stlylish Coffee places of Buenos Aires downtown.

Contact us to work together on a customized intercultural training session to make the most out of your overseas experience in Argentina!


Email us: Natalia_sarro@yahoo.com.ar

My last Intercultural Training: Argentinean Students at Deutsche Schule Hurlingham (Buenos Aires)

Last November 24th, my colleague Gisella Lopez Becerra and I spent a great day at the classroom of Deutsche Schule Hurlingham (Bilingual School German – Spanish in Buenos Aires), training 30 Argentinean students in process of preparation for their Study Abroad Program in Germany.
Mission accomplished! Through games, role playing and lively discussion, we achieved our goal: generate tolerance and respect toward differences, improve students´ intercultural communication techniques and help them understand the importance of “putting oneself in people from other cultures´ shoes” before judging others.

Thanks everyone & have a great intercultural experience!
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El pasado 24 de Noviembre, junto a mi colega Gisella Lopez Becerra pasamos un día fantástico en las aulas del Deutsche Schule Hurlingham (escuela bilingüe español – alemán en Buenos Aires) capacitando a 30 estudiantes argentinos para su experiencia de Intercambio con Alemania.
Misión cumplida! A través de dinámicas lúdicas, role playing y vivo debate, alcanzamos nuestro objetivo: mejorar las técnicas de comunicación intercultural de los estudiantes, generar tolerancia y aceptación hacia las diferencias, y ayudarlos a comprender la importancia de ponerse en los zapatos del otro antes de emitir juicios de valor.

Gracias por participar y que tengan una excelente experiencia intercultural!

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Algunos comentarios de los estudiantes que participaron de nuestro Taller:

"Aprendí que no somos todos iguales. Ni mejores ni peores que otros"

" El Taller me sirvió para aprender a estar más abierta culturalmente y que debo disfrutar de esta experiencia de intercambio"

"Me gustó mucho el espacio, fue sorpresivo y concreto. Al ser más bien práctico, y no tan teórico, me llegó a nivel personal y me tranquilizó con respecto a mis miedos y dudas. Me entusiasmó mucho!"

"Me siento más emocionada por aplicar todo lo que llevamos a cabo. Me llevo las experiencias que nos contaron y estrategias para enfrentarlas."

"Gracias por esta gran exposición!"

Relationship matters: Business Entertainment in the land of Tango

Bonding plays a significant role in Argentina´ s relationship oriented culture; and business culture reflects the importance of the socializing in corporate settings.

In comparison to European countries and English-speaking North America, workdays are longer (office hours are usually Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 7.00pm/ 8.00pm), while workplace productivity is lower. One of the main reasons for this is the amount of time devoted to establishing and nurturing relationships. In large cities such as Buenos Aires, executives tend to spend considerable time and energy at extending their social networks by attending long work lunches or dinners, business meetings or the so called “after office” events, which take place after work hours in trendy bars. This is a very adaptive behavior in a society where a personal circle of powerful contacts, usually helps speed up bureaucratic transactions and facilitates access to certain benefits leading to business success.

Establishing relationships is also related to the need to get to know the people involved in a project and gaining trust before getting down to business. Newcomers arriving in Argentina should be prepared to allow time to build relationships with prospective partners and colleagues, rather than sticking to tight schedules and strict rules.

Typical social events to attend with business colleagues are business meals (eg. teams designate one day/ week to go out for lunch with colleagues), joint sport activities (usually soccer, but also golf in upper management level), birthdays, farewell parties, end of the year celebrations and achievements of common goals.

Since it is customary to work long hours, business dinners in restaurants can take place at as late as 9.00pm or 10.00pm.
On average, Argentines eat 68 kg of meat every year. Since vegetarianism is not commonplace, it is worthwhile mentioning meals preferences to the counterpart before making restaurant reservations.
When receiving international visitors, Argentine business people are usually very welcoming and hospitable. It is common to take newcomers to a tango show or to trendy restaurants. In upper management level, it is also usual to take foreign visitors to spend the day on the countryside in an “estancia” (cattle ranch).

Picture source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/levt/2119219568

Working With Argentines – How to communicate?

Written with support of Labs Relocation Services

(Thanks Lorraine and Susan!)

Means of Communication

Argentina ´s general style of communication is indirect: there's often more information in the body language than in the verbal content of the message. People are not as direct as North Americans, but at the same time not as indirect as some Asian cultures.

On first encounters, it is always safer to be formal. Nevertheless, the Argentine partner will most likely ask his foreign counterpart to move to a more relaxed and informal style. Argentine business people dealing with international partners pay more attention to the formality of the communications (especially in first-time meetings), while they tend to be more informal when dealing with local customers or vendors. The informal communication style can be identified by the use of "Tú" or "Vos" (2nd person singular) in verbal messages, while "Usted" (Spanish expression for "you") is the safest option to establish a higher level of deference and distance. Usted is usually used to address an individual one meets for the first time or that deserves a formal treatment, due to age or higher rank..

Preferred means of communication are face-to-face meetings and telephone calls, over email exchange. The phone is better than an email when a confirmation and some sort of commitment is required. Emails are mostly used for sharing information that needs to be persistent in time (i.e. for contractual purposes, key decisions, planning issues, etc.). Also, for informal communication among colleagues within the same organization, email is widely used, as well as internal messengers (which has been increasingly adopted by many companies to speed up the internal communication processes).

Emails

When it comes to email exchange, Argentine business partners prefer to be formal when establishing first contact. The frequency of email response varies upon the type of company and level of familiarity of their employees with latest technologies.

For example, if the company is Argentine-owned and it is managed by older people, it may take 3-4 business days to get an email response. Nevertheless, most companies have full access to Internet and utilize email as a primary communication tool. In some industries, especially when working with foreign clients, the responses happen within the course of the day or even within the next 2-3 hours.

Work from home

Work from home is not a general rule in local organizations and Smartphones (eg Blackberry or Palm) and work laptops are not as widely spread among employees as in other more developed countries. Therefore, foreign visitors can't always expect a business partner to reply to a work-related email after normal business hours or during weekends. However, most medium-sized or large organizations provide their upper/ mid-level level Managers with work cell phones and expect them to be reachable at all times. Text messaging is very common among young workforce, but it is still considered an informal style. When communicating something urgent or important, a phone call is by far the most recommendable mean of communication – over email and text message.

If a foreign visitor intends to initiate contact with a local organization or individual, the most advisable option is through a referral/ recommendation eg. being introduced by a current employee of the organization or a close contact person. If the visitor doesn't know anybody within the organization, a safe choice is sending an email and following up with a phone call.

Initial approach should be done with care and politeness, looking at building relationships gradually, paying attention to the other person or organization´s timing. Pushy or invasive approaches are not effective or welcome. While exaggerating the formality is not the best option, it is recommendable to be slightly more formal, than to force a too casual approach.

When organizing a meeting, it is recommendable to arrange it on the phone and confirm it by email afterwards.

Where is home to an expatriate? What are you doing to build your home these days?

Where is home to an expatriate? What are you doing to build your home these days?

By Natalia Sarro – Sept 2009

In modern travel, we are sold exotic touristic destinations, which we visit hoping that they are going to be “the place of our dreams”. However, we often don´t realize that, rather than traveling to experience a genuine immersion and close encounter with a new culture, it is just an ephemeral incursion to “wherever”, another place in the tourism industry´s list of exotic places.

In his book “The Naked Tourist”, Lawrence Osborne criticizes modern travel and introduces the concept of “whereverness” as a way to define the current tendency of seeing a plurality of places merged into one single, uniform place. According to Osborne, travelers are like perpetual strangers “wandering through an imitation of an imitation of a place they wanted to go to”.

In addition to this, I was reading a book by a French Writer and Anthropologist Mark Auge, who created the concept of “non-place” to refer to locations that lack the characteristics needed for the definition of a place. Examples of non-places are international airports, shopping malls or hotel rooms, typically populated with anonymous individuals, always in transit from one location to the other. These non-places lack identity, relationships or history and the footprints of their residents can´t be tracked.

Osborne and Auge´s writing inspired me to think about expatriates and their sense of identity and attachment when transitioning from one place to the other, far away from what they would call “home”.

So, where is home for an expatriate? We are facing an era of uncertainty, anonymity and loss of identity. How can expatriates introduce a difference and leave marks in a world of pure transition?

Since Sigmund Freud´s contributions to Psychoanalytical literature in 1930, we know that living as part of a culture is always the source of both joy and suffering. As the little human being grows up, he/she is educated within the common rules of their culture. This involves declining one´s instinctual tendency of unlimited satisfaction, in aid of gaining a place in the society and benefiting from establishing and nurturing social relationships with others. Ambiguous as it sounds, these relationships give us a much needed attachment to ourselves and to our roots, facilitating our growth. In other words, social interactions with significant others are the source of personal transformation and development of a person´s uniqueness.

Due to permanent change of locations, communities, jobs and friends, expatriates are even more exposed to the risk of limited personal growth and disruption of their sense of identity throughout the time.

In our days, the concepts of space and time – traditionally considered as fixed, closed structures- are clearly in transition, leading us to think of them as unpredictable and unstructured settings. We no longer can call home our country of origin. Home is not even the house we built or the place where we were born. Rather than a physical place, home is what we do with others. Home is an action, rather than a noun. The sense of belonging, traditionally attached to a physical place, is now evolving in a new conception of belonging based on actions that relate one person to others. Basically, the sense of identity and of being at “home” is constructed by people when doing a common task with others. So, where is home for an expatriate?

What are you doing to build your home these days?

Natalia Sarro
Intercultural Specialist, Psychologist
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Natalia_sarro@yahoo.com.ar
Blog: http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enomadasglobales%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F&urlhash=U568&_t=disc_detail_link (Spanish/ English)
Linkedin Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elinkedin%2Ecom%2Fin%2Fnataliasarro&urlhash=xmSO&_t=disc_detail_link

El extranjero: un exiliado de sí mismo

“El extranjero te permite ser tú mismo, en tanto hace de ti un extranjero”.
Edmond Jabès


Se sabe que el extranjero representa la constante incertidumbre y la otredad; es una presencia persistente de esa “otra cara” que obliga al ser humano a confrontarse con un extrañamiento que se resiste a ser eliminado.

Ahora bien, cuáles son las raíces de tal extrañamiento y cómo influye esto en la integración del migrante a la comunidad receptora?

Uno de los mayores legados del Psicoanálisis proviene de la inquietante idea de que en la subjetividad humana coexiste, junto a lo familiar, un vasto campo de significados desconocidos que llevan al sujeto a extrañarse de sí mismo. Muchas de las conductas y emociones del sujeto no encuentran una explicación en el orden de lo racional o lo dado a la consciencia, produciendo desconcierto e incertidumbre.
De este modo, el concepto de lo inconsciente exige conceder que el comportamiento humano está multideterminado por diversas fuerzas e instancias psíquicas contrapuestas, entrelazadas de un modo complejo. Solo una exploración de las profundidades de la subjetividad humana permitirá develar la singularidad de la trama que caracteriza a cada ser humano, y hacer retornar a la consciencia aquello que debió ser relegado al campo de lo inconsciente.

En su artículo acerca de “Lo Siniestro” (1919), Freud echa luz acerca de este extrañamiento potencial que existe en cada sujeto. Introduce el concepto de “lo Unheimlich” como la transformación de lo familiar en lo opuesto, en algo extraño, ominoso y destructivo, lo cual genera incertidumbre y desconfianza (Lutenberg, 2002).

Lo siniestro (unheimlich) refiere a objetos o situaciones que ahora espantan, pero que antes fueron conocidos y familiares (heimlich). Por lo tanto, aquello muy conocido o familiar puede aparecer, bajo ciertas circunstancias, como aterrorizante y desconocido. Freud agrega que el concepto de Unheimlich, dadas sus múltiples acepciones, también debe ser entendido como todo lo que debería haber quedado oculto, secreto, pero que se ha manifestado. (Aguinis, 1987)

Relacionando los aportes de Freud al fenómeno migratorio, es entonces factible suponer que los sentimientos de extranjerización impulsados por la inquietante presencia del otro confrontan al sujeto con lo siniestro en sí mismo, es decir con aquello que, en lugar de quedar oculto, se manifiesta a partir de la presencia de lo diferente: el nuevo contexto, el nuevo idioma, las nuevas personas y costumbres. Tanto para el migrante como para el ciudadano de la comunidad receptora se pone en juego lo extranjero en sí mismo, hasta entonces oculto, a partir del contacto con la otredad.
En este sentido, se puede concluir que el modo particular de elaborar las vicisitudes de este encuentro dependerá de la capacidad del sujeto de admitir su propia alteridad y aceptar que será siempre, desde el concepto de lo inconsciente freudiano, un exiliado de sí mismo.

En definitiva, tal como afirma Julia Kristeva (citado en Chambers, 1984): “El extranjero (…) empieza a emerger con la conciencia de mi diferencia y concluye cuando todos nos reconocemos como extranjeros”.

Crisis cultural e identidad

Si bien la literatura psicológica ha hecho referencia a numerosos tipos de crisis, entre las cuales pueden contarse las vitales, las patológicas y las accidentales, entre otras, algunos autores (Bar, 2001; Eiguer, 2002) han hablado de la “crisis cultural” que atravesará el migrante, al verse obligado a enfrentar la nueva cultura del país receptor y a dar por perdido el apuntalamiento constitutivo de su identidad cultural proveniente del país de origen.

Los sistemas sociales de representaciones (los mitos, los modos de vida, los modelos educativos y culturales, las formas de socialización) constituyen códigos comunes de referencia transmitidos desde la temprana infancia, primero sobre la base de los gestos maternos y el grupo primario de pertenencia y reforzados luego por la pertenencia a los grupos secundarios de la vida social (escuela, amigos, compañeros). Esta base cultural compartida es uno de los elementos constitutivos del psiquismo dado que representa la parte cultural de la identidad, garantizando el cálido y cómodo sentimiento de “lo familiar”. Solo a partir de la ausencia de este marco cultural se vuelven visibles para el sujeto aquellos elementos que compartía con otras personas de su mismo medio.
Durante la estadía en un sitio con una cultura distinta a la propia, el contexto grupal deja de cumplir esta importante función de continencia y de confirmación del sentimiento de pertenencia, desencadenando regresiones y angustias extremas.
Se puede producir entonces un “conflicto de lealtades” que pone al sujeto frente a un dilema. Por un lado, siente deseos de integrarse a la nueva cultura e incorporar lo novedoso. La amenaza de marginalización lo apura a adoptar gustos, costumbres e idioma. Por el otro, sus deseos de integración están refrenados por el temor, no siempre consciente, de perder la propia cultura y renunciar a sus orígenes.
Para el sujeto, su ser se confunde con sus raíces y éstas le resultan inconciliables con la supervivencia en la nueva sociedad.

Un modo de resolución posible de este conflicto puede ser el surgimiento de patologías de la identidad que le permitan conservar el vínculo íntimo con la cultura de origen y a la vez adaptarse a la nueva cultura.

La hospitalidad

“Un día comprendí que, de todas las cosas, la más importante para mí era cómo me definía a mí mismo en tanto extranjero… Entonces me di cuenta de que el extranjero, en su vulnerabilidad, solo podía contar con la hospitalidad que otros podían ofrecerle”.
Edmond Jabès

Jacques Derrida (1997) vincula la migración con el concepto de hospitalidad en relación a la pertenencia y ocupación del espacio público, introduciendo “una dimensión ética al tomar conciencia de la existencia del otro, de la alteridad y ajenidad del otro” (Puget, 2006).
En su interpretación de la obra de Derrida, Puget afirma que se necesita tanto que el huésped (hostis) como el anfitrión (habitante-ciudadano) se esperen mutuamente para que se inicie un proceso de hospitalidad.
Por la presencia del extranjero, se construirán nuevos espacios de reclusión, nuevos adentro-afuera.
Para estos autores, la hospitalidad conlleva la idea de que durante el proceso de acogida del extranjero -quien es pura alteridad ante los ojos de quien lo recibe- tanto el huésped como el anfitrión deberían ser capaces de establecer las pautas del nuevo encuentro. Esto implica la puesta en juego de la solidaridad, como un nuevo modo de convivencia donde ambas partes deben renunciar a algo para alojar al otro.
Sin embargo, continúa Puget, parece haber en muchos casos una incapacidad de crear este espacio común, lo cual lleva a una obstaculización en el proceso de hospitalidad. Dicha incapacidad está dada por dos grandes factores. Por un lado, cierta tendencia en el anfitrión a desmentir las dificultades propias de alojar lo ajeno, y por el otro, la necesidad en el migrante de negar parte de su pasado, resignando la posibilidad de capitalizar el aporte enriquecedor de la suma de experiencias novedosas. Se parte en muchos casos del presupuesto de que el migrante debe perder rápidamente su condición de tal, renunciar a su doble pertenencia a dos culturas y olvidarse de sus orígenes, con tal de asimilar el nuevo contexto. Sin embargo, concluye la autora, la clave no está en perder la condición de anfitrión y la de huésped sino en realizar un “trabajo en común”.
Desde las nuevas concepciones espaciales y subjetivas se han ido desechando los modelos de la modernidad que atribuían a toda estructura reglas de funcionamiento estables y conexiones de causalidad lineal, todo lo cual permitía pensar en cierto grado de previsibilidad de los fenómenos y en cierta ilusión de solidez. La representación de estructuras sólidas ha cedido lugar a nuevas propuestas que, desde distintos contextos científicos, admiten “la regularidad de lo imprevisible”. Los nuevos espacios son pensados como medios líquidos (Bauman, 2000), siendo cada época y región generadora de sus propias cualidades de incertidumbre.
Este concepto trabajado por Puget, Bauman y muchos otros autores puede ser trasladado a la noción de migración, a fines de comprender los distintos grados de inquietud, perplejidad y falta de certezas que atraviesa un migrante con la llegada a un nuevo país. La noción de pertenencia transferible de un espacio a otro, sostenida durante la modernidad, ha evolucionado a una nueva concepción de pertenencia que se entiende como aquello que une al sujeto a un conjunto determinado: la pertenencia se construye al hacer “algo en común” con el otro.

Esto implica, inevitablemente, otro sentido de la “morada” y de estar en el mundo. La morada debe ser concebida desde esta perspectiva como un ”hábitat móvil” (Chambers, 1994) donde el tiempo y el espacio ya no constituyen estructuras fijas y cerradas.

Homelessness, dice Martin Heidegger (1977), se está convirtiendo en el destino del mundo.