One of my good friends sent an email asking, “Is everything o.k.?...You haven’t been blogging?” I decided to “come clean”. The past two weeks have been Just Plain Ole HARD learning to live as an expat- but I didn't want to complain. Everyday I give myself the talk, “what is there to feel sad about…you are in a great country with tons of new experiences.” Everyday, I answer back, “just be quite” No matter how hard I have tried, I can’t shake this “Expat Blues.” I wrote her back explaining that I don’t really write when I don’t have “fun and positive” things to say. Her response to my email (the reason I am writing this post); "Just remember that you ARE doing a great job and it is ok to let your friends and family know that some days are just plain shitty!: not everything will always be great." (She is an Expat in Nigeria-now tell me most of her days don’t fall under the category “hard times”).
So, yes, I have been quietly singing the Blues the past two weeks. I’ll tell you just a few things that are harder than I could have ever imagined living in another country …
- I miss hearing my telephone ringing with my friends on the other end. (It can get it get lonely at times)
- I miss my brother and his weekend visits.
- I miss my close friends and our Sunday night dinners at our house.
- I miss sweating in March (it is still cold here)
- I miss my best friend, my husband, who is working long hours and very hard to provide for our family.
- I miss my tennis friends…and the game (I made the choice not to fit that in between 8 hours of weekly German lessons, studying, AND caring for 2 high energy children)
- I miss the “early morning drop-in” my friends would make while I was getting the kids ready for school..I think they liked our coffee!
- I miss people understanding my “craziness” and considering it somewhat normal.
- I miss being able to communicate easily.
- I miss my hair being frizzy….HA! Don’t have that problem here.
- And last of all, I miss “Frank’s RedHot Original” ….the Tabasco my niece brought is close enough, but Frank’s is just heaven….
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| THE END of Whining |
"THE END" of what “I miss”. I do enjoy living in Germany and will hopefully get out of this “Funk” in the next day. On that note, I leave you with some pictures of our “Family outing” this past Sunday. We (and Karina’s friend) went to the Ritter Chocolate Company
http://www.rittersport.co.uk/#/en_GB/company/history/ and a FABULOUS Beer Garden that had a “farm” and great playground.
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| Ritter Chocolate |
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| We did a little damage in this store.. |
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| Yes, this is a Beer Garden... |
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| "Hey-Tell her what you Miss" |
I'm glad I could help a little. It's hard to live in a different country...I'm always there for you...or at least on skype for you:)
ReplyDeleteLet me tell you from an Expat point of view: Your feelings are typical and normal. The first year, you miss about everything and everyone, the second year you come even and the third year you do not want to go back anymore.Then, once you are back home, you start missing the things in the other country, e;g; Biergarten, playgrounds, certain food etc. Bottom line, once you have moved abroad, it is hard to be satisfied deep inside the soul because the human being wants the best of all worlds. And let me tell you, I still have days where I would like to pack my suitcase and move back to Germany, but I know exactly that if I did, it would not last for long before I pack again and come back.
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