Think On It

Moving to a foreign country

June 18th, 2007

Why is this not a blog about being an expatriate? Lots of my friends write expat blogs, and I am, after all, an expat, too. So why do I not often write about what is so different here and what it’s like being a foreigner?

I thought about this earlier today, and I think I know the answer. It’s as simple as that it is usually not so different and I seldom feel like a foreigner.

Italy is a stunningly beautiful country and I notice that. Italy is home, and like anyone else’s home, you are proud and happy to live in a beautiful place, but other places are beautiful, too, if in different ways.

I live in a language I had to learn as an adult. I’m not the very best or the most fluent in Italian, but it isn’t very hard and I don’t make embarrassing mistakes very often. The TV news can go on behind me and I understand it as easily as if it were English.

There are things I knew or had all my life that aren’t here. I’m used to most of it and friends and family give me a treat now and then by bringing the old stuff into this life. No more the desperation of wanting American birthday cake when you have nothing that goes into it. Sour cream was nice, but so is Greek yogurt. I can make a lot of things I once bought, like enchilada sauce. Who knew? Tortillas– yeah! Curry? Sure, the spices last a long time. Lobster, well for a price I can’t afford, so boo on that.

This is the stage you are hoping to reach when you move to a foreign country. This is like marriage as compared to a new love affair. This is taking things as normal that once weren’t, knowing what to expect, being taken for granted because people know you and aren’t curious before.