We’ve been living in Europe now for six months. I naively expected to be “all settled in” by now. In many ways, we are getting there. We love our apartment and our neighbourhood. We have developed daily routines, discovered favourite restaurants, and have even adapted our shopping and cooking styles to our much smaller European kitchen. We found a new (English speaking!) vet for our cat. And I have found a medical clinic and pharmacy that can meet my sometimes-complex medical needs.
With all that said, it has not been easy. Many days, it is still very hard. We’re living in a completely different culture. We are surrounded by languages we cannot speak or read. Languages so different from the English we know and the French we have studied for years that we can’t fake it. Constantly translating and communicating via charades can be exhausting. Never one to let a challenge bring me down, I have found tricks and strategies to help me relax, adjust, and thrive!
1. Make local friends. I’ll be honest, many of the friends I have made since we arrived are other military family members (and they are fabulous people, I am not complaining). But our host country is a wonderful, vibrant place with an intriguing history and culture. I want to know and learn from people who were born and raised here. Within a month of arriving, I saw a post on a Facebook ex-pats group about an English theatre production needing amateur actors. I haven’t been on a stage in many years, but I used to love it, so signed up before I had a chance to get scared and talk myself out of it. It’s the best thing I did since arriving. I have made friends both local and from other countries, and it keeps me busy and engaged.
2. Learn as much of the language(s) as possible. So far, I have struggled to find language classes that fit my schedule, so instead I am using apps and an online class. It’s not as good as classroom time, but I am learning the basics: greetings, numbers, days of the week, etc. Just that little bit has helped immensely. Next on the list is common phrases for shopping and restaurants.
3. Travel. At every opportunity. I am a firm believer that travel opens the mind and expands your knowledge in a way that no other experience can. Travelling to Europe from Canada is not only costly, it is time-consuming. As long as we are based here, we have so much opportunity. Whether it is historic, bustling cities or remote and barren islands, so many locations I have only dreamt of seeing are only a few hours away by bus, train, or airplane. So far we’ve been to the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Belgium on mini-breaks, with some more extensive vacations in the works.
What strategies are you using to adjust to life in Europe? Share your thoughts and ideas with us on Facebook at using #MyVoiceMaVoix .