(Jane Loes Lipton is my nom de blog)

HAVING EXPERIENCE vs. HAVING AN EXPERIENCE

I’ve done lots of different jobs, and many of those were obtained without having experience. Bit by bit, I’d add trial-and-error realizations to a foundation of skill or interest, and usually the end result was something I could not have imagined obtaining by any traditional means. The process is always an adventure, and the destination is rarely in the same place as it seems at the outset. This journey is no exception, even though it’s my own co-production. In short, I’m from perhaps the ultimate city of foreigners, New York, and now I’m living as a foreigner in Madrid. Years of experience observing others trying to navigate a foreign culture have only partly prepared me for having my own experience. One great benefit to being an outsider is the perspective that you can bring to others, as well as connecting people who watch, listen, and care about what happens. I hope, more than anything else, that I can increase the sense of community and cooperation among my friends and colleagues around the world.