International Living Postcards– Sunday Edition
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Few and far between are the expatriates who leave home and never look back.
Two months into our move to Ireland seven years ago, we weren’t happy. We couldn’t say why, exactly, but the excitement of being in a new place had worn off, the honeymoon period was over, and we became overwhelmed with the practical challenges.
The renovation of our home, a 200-year-old Georgian manor house, turned into a much bigger project than we’d bargained for…and a dramatically greater expense. The Irish are said to speak English, but we began to wonder. We had trouble being understood…and we had trouble interpreting. The Irish don’t use the word "mañana," but they seem to embrace the concept. "Urgent" and "efficient" aren’t words you’d use to describe them after having lived among them for a while.
The cultural differences were unexpected. Ireland is so familiar to us Americans, after all.
We began to reconsider. What have we done, we asked ourselves. Did we take complete leave of our senses? This will never work.
I complained to a friend, who gave me the best advice anyone ever has: "Wait it out," he said. "Give it another month."
We did…and, in that month, spring arrived. We realized that, more than anything, our unhappiness had been a result of the Irish winter. Cold, gray, dark by 3.30 in the afternoon some days. We missed the sun. When it reappeared, in April, suddenly Ireland didn’t seem so bad.
Shortly thereafter, the renovation of our stone house in the country was complete. The workmen were gone, with their noise and their plaster dust. We were left to savor the peace and quiet of Irish country life. Green hills, low stone walls, white sheep, and spotted cows. It’s everything you imagine it to be.
My point is this: If you’re considering following your daydream and moving yourself and your family to foreign shores…by all means–go, dear reader. Take the chance.
But be prepared, at some time during your first year in your new home, to wonder what in the world you’ve done. No, you weren’t nuts. Wait it out. The panic will pass. Just on the other side is the life you came to find.
Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living
[Don't miss out. Get your free IL Postcards subscription today.]
