I have been living abroad for over 2 years now. It all started in Malta, then we (= me and my boyfriend) moved to Australia and now we're in Belgium. When I first moved to Malta to do my internship for 5 months it was amazing. Everything was completely new. New country, new climate, new language and new culture. That was exactly what I dreamed of when I was still living at home with my family. I was independent and doing what I wanted to do.
As a little 18-year-old girl I wanted to enjoy my life to the fullest! I finished school and chose to take a break from studying. So after my internship I decided to stay in Malta. That was really one of the best decision I ever made and I truly enjoyed my time there. However as time went by we started to get quite tired of that small mediterranean island. We wanted to go somewhere else, continue our dream of traveling the world. Europe wasn't really a choice for my boyfriend so I suggested Australia instead.
Fast forward to now, we're back in Europe and living in Belgium. This part of our journey has been one of the hardest ones for me personally. That's why I'm writing this blog post. Moving to Belgium wasn't really a dream of mine (don't get me wrong, I really like Belgium!). It wasn't like Malta was, I wanted to go there. We came here due to my boyfriend's work, and because I obviously love him and want to be with him, I don't want to leave this country.
Life as an expat is damn hard! I don't have friends in the city we're living and I don't have a job yet (I could write another blog post just how difficult that is). So.. I'm feeling pretty down, because I feel like I cannot live my life to the fullest. Through Instagram I show only the best things that are happening. Behind the social media mask I created there is a very lonely person. I have my boyfriend next to me, but anyone who has a significant other knows that sometimes you need to meet up with other people too, right? 😃
I'm currently learning Dutch so I can live here, but learning a completely new language is not the easiest job. Do you ever get that feeling that you wish you could just skip the hard part of your life and go straight to the good part? That's how I'm feeling right now. I tend to stress a lot so this situation is really bugging my nerves. Hopefully when I get all these things sorted out life will get easier.
So in conclusion it's not all fun and games being an expat! You need to adapt yourself to the country's culture and their way of living. You basically have to build your life from a scratch, again. It's hard, but not impossible. I wanted to share my thoughts about this, hoping that there are fellow expats who are or has been in this kind of situation.
So in conclusion it's not all fun and games being an expat! You need to adapt yourself to the country's culture and their way of living. You basically have to build your life from a scratch, again. It's hard, but not impossible. I wanted to share my thoughts about this, hoping that there are fellow expats who are or has been in this kind of situation.
"When you face difficult times, know that challenges are not to sent to destroy you. They're sent to promote, increase and strengthen you."
