When living abroad, it's easy for
others to believe that your life is all rainbows and sunshine. After
all: You left the country! You're taking pictures from all these
exotic locations, and filling social media with pictures of amazing
food. Why wouldn't your life be something from a fairy tale? It's
easy to pretend that going abroad and “living the dream” is where
your problems end, and for a lot of people, that's all they want to
hear. However, there is a dark side to all of this. There are things
that make it hard to be where you are, and certain things you must
accept in order to make this choice.
For example: My mother has been in the
hospital twice this year and now my grandmother, her mother, is in
the hospital. And there is absolutely nothing I can do. I can only
sit here, make calls over the internet, worry, and cry. Don't forget
the crying. When you move to another country, you accept that things
will happen at home, and you won't be there. We watch our friends'
and families' lives: engagements, marriages, births, and deaths, over
the internet. It is a decision that we make, and a choice we must
live with. There is no easy way around it.
Living as an expat is not always fun.
You have the same things to deal with in your home country. Sometimes
it is in a different language, thus increasing the fun (just kidding,
there's nothing fun about opening a bank account, renting an
apartment, or other fun stuff in a language you barely speak). No one mentions the things that also come with being an ex-pat: The isolation, the comments, the stares, the homesickness, the depression, the helpless feeling when something happens at home, the uncomfortable feelings when encountering cultural norms, etc. I plan to talk about these things more in this space. There have been some AMAAAAAAZING times I've had here in Spain, and there have also been lows. They are not uncommon, but I don't always know how to deal with them. I will find a way to overcome certain things that [occasionally] make me forget what an opportunity I have here. I will find a way to deal with my decision, even when I have to return home to bury my dead.
Sorry for the morbid post. I told you: It's not all rainbows and sunshine.
-K-
