I recently made it to a new country where I’m studying and hopefully will migrate to. It’s been a while since I last talked here and things then were very difficult for me. Thank you for your support then I really needed it. It’s still difficult to be honest but I’ve been doing so much better here. It took me years of seriously looking into and over a year of getting legal stuff lined up and doubling down on savings.
I’ve gone through a divorce and watching multiple good friendships dissolve over long distance. I’ve been fighting with bureaucracy every day, I don’t have a phone plan or internet at my home yet because of it. Without a phone plan I can’t connect to the internet to translate stuff or get directions anywhere when I’m away from the school wifi. I miss my cat but for now he’s being fostered by really good people who love him.
But I’m here, I’m away from the US, I’m making it work every day. I already know a lot of basics about what I’m choosing to study here so I’m spending most of my effort early on building new relationships and helping other students learn. I’m project lead in our current assignment which isn’t something I thought I’d like but I think I’m actually not bad at it. I’m really proud of what I’m doing in part because it’s so difficult for me and I’m pulling it off.
Congrats! As someone who’s moved countries (twice now), friends are invaluable. Go make some! Part time jobs (or full time) are great, so are language schools and climbing gyms if you can afford them
I love climbing and used to go 2-3 times a week. Unfortunately not only can I not really afford one right now but the nearest one from me is like an hour away. I’ve taken up walking for hours on end again and found some cool hiking places near me. Bilberries grow all over the place here. They’re not so much in season anymore I caught the tail end of that, but I was making friends earlier by foraging and making bilberry muffins from scratch to give to people
It’s been a bit difficult for me to feel comfortable making friends though, I’m in my thirties and most the people here are in their early twenties. We have such different life experiences like I’ve already been in professional settings, gone through school once, divorce, already gone through being an alcoholic and quitting, etc. Most the people I interact with are just out of high school it’s a bit weird for me how little life they’ve experienced and the difference in kinds of things we value talking about. I’m still trying though and I’m making friends where I can