This is weekend marked my two-year anniversary of living away from the UK, away from my family and friends, away from a language I understand, away from (almost) endless job possibilities. Scary stuff eh? Sometimes I underestimate just how much I have achieved because I am constantly comparing myself to others, people who live in the UK, in a city where they have been building up contacts and a social network for years, who are going through the daily grind of climbing “the ladder”. So what have I achieved?
I became fluent in a second language – French – which was my main purpose for moving away to Paris in the first place. I got myself a permanent job in a vintage shop just two weeks after arriving and my shy self managed to settle in (albeit slowly) into a French working environment, where I stayed for almost two years. I experienced some severe ups and downs during this time but what kept me going were the amazing people around me.
It can be extremely difficult to form real and solid friendships in a new city, especially abroad. People come, people go and it can be quite unsettling and even heartbreaking when someone you have become close to so quickly, leaves. You meet people from all walks of life, from other countries and from different backgrounds, who you may not normally be friends with or get to meet if it was not for one common love for a particular place or foreign language. This is one of the beautiful things about living abroad. Of course these people become your family when you are away from “home”. I met some of my best friends fo’ life in Paris – we worked together, we played together, we laughed and cried together and I do not know what I would have done without them. Well I do – I probably would have sacked it all in and gone home.
You will get homesick. No matter how old you are or how happy you are, you will get that pang for a Sunday lunch with your family, dancing in your favourite bar with your mates or even just being able to get hold of a decent block of cheddar cheese. The sickness can be hard to get through but it is normal and living abroad is all about adapting.
Perhaps the greatest change you have to make is culturally and linguistically. I kind of knew what to expect with Paris but now I am in Spain, Barcelona to be exact so I guess I should say Catalonia, and it is completely different. When I arrived seven weeks ago, I knew next to no Spanish and even if you can get by without knowing much, that is not my approach. I’m a linguist so it can be frustrating but I have to keep reminding myself that I have learnt an impressive amount of Spanish already and that learning a language takes years and requires a lot of motivation, time and patience.
I am a bit worried that this post isn’t positive enough about my experience but this is just kind of what came out. If you are thinking about moving abroad, here are my words of wisdom. It is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have – it’s an adventure that you’ll remember for the rest of your life and how awesome are the grandkids going to think you were?! It can be tough as hell but it’s so worth it. And finally, don’t be put off by not being able to speak the language: learn. If I can do it, you can do it too. The world is a big place, go and explore…
So where next? You’ll just have to wait and see…
Izzie x
November 13, 2015
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