Adjusting to life in a new country

I always dreamt of moving to another country and learning a new language but there has been some huge challenges that I didn’t expect. A large part of my identity, it seems, has been wrapped in my ability to speak and express myself in company.

I’m getting to a point I’m competent in Spanish. I can order a meal, I can make an appointment, I can buy food. What I can’t do though, is express my thoughts and feelings in any depth. I don’t understand the subtle differences in meaning and usage between words that have the same dictionary definition. I can’t make the distinction between feeling sad and feeling melancholic, between joy and happiness or between feeling tired and feeling weary.

I also can’t make a joke. I love wordplay and puns and I just can’t make the connections yet. I don’t have the depth of language.

It makes it hard to make real friends beyond parents of my kid’s friends and co-workers. I’m so blessed to make this journey and I know this is just a stage but I don’t want to forget this point in my experience. I know that it’s part of the empathy for people from other countries that I will take home with me when we do get back to Australia.