Nov 10, 2008
Being an Expat Isn’t Always Fun
Being far away from home, exploring the world, meeting new people and blazing new trails are fun side effects of being an expat. But then there are days when it sucks. You want to be home, you want the call of the familiar, you struggle with the language, you miss your kitchen knives or people at home need you. Or maybe you need them.
Today is one of those days for me. Grammy (my grandma, who everyone calls Grammy - even her mail carrier) is in the hospital and has lung cancer back home in Portland, and it’s a tough time to be away from family.
During sad times and when people you love are hurting or sick, it can be really hard to be so far away, where you’re calling and talking at weird times (like I accidentally woke my dad this morning at 5 a.m. and probably scared the crap out of him), or when you just feel really isolated from family when you want to be near them.
I guess these are the times I am thankful for the rapid speed of airplanes, which means that I could be home in 24 hours if I needed to be. The world is indeed quite small, at the end of the day, even though that only brings limited comfort when you’re feeling half a world away.
I’m not sure if its worse to be in a foreign country and unable to help her or to be sitting next to her bed, yet still unable to help her. Pretty rough. We definately miss you guys.