Moving abroad is pretty great, but... way harder than it sounds or looks (Courtnee)
8:48 AM
My thoughts before moving abroad...
Last January, literally days after getting married, we talked about the things that had to happen in order for us to be able to come to Spain...mostly just financial stuff that had to happen (and him getting accepted of course). We decided we needed to be able to pay his first year of tuition in cash (9,000 euros) plus save at least 13,000 dollars. In my head this was impossible. I really thought we wouldn't be able to do it. But I wanted it badly because I knew this was one of Nathan's dreams. Plus who wouldn't want to move out of the country for two years and experience new cultures, people, wards, and to travel to new places, right? Nathan tried telling me it was going to be really hard to be away. I didn't even think twice, I was just thinking how awesome it would be and how much I love traveling. So we worked our butts off for the next nine months. Nathan worked overtime at a job he hated and I picked up three extra jobs in the summer. I worked as a specialist at the district, I did summer school, worked at a fruit stand, and I worked with a student for two weeks before leaving. Needless to say WE DID IT! We somehow paid for his tuition in May and then saved 15,000 dollars to come here. I am still wondering how in the world we did that? I know we wouldn't have been able to do it without each other's support or without the help of our Heavenly Father.
(trying to pack for two years)
(Our luggage for the next two years and yes you
better believe that we brought all our climbing stuff)
My thoughts one month in (October)...
I remember thinking, "How have we only been here for three weeks it feels like three months." It was hard for obvious reasons, not being able to communicate to anyone, walking everywhere, and missing everyone back home. But mostly, I missed my job. I actually did not love or even like my district job before we left. I think it was more of a feeling of being needed, wanted, and appreciated by others. I didn't feel like I was benefiting anyone here. I would try to be positive and say that I was benefiting Nathan by supporting him in his schooling and myself by also getting a Masters online. For some reason I just felt empty and sad here, I wasn't myself. I missed the gym, my people, students, work, the food, and the climbing especially (we would climb 3 days a week in Utah). My list could go on and on of all the things I was missing. Luckily I had Nathan. He was so patient and so understanding. I still don't know how he didn't just tell me to shut up and to suck it up. He really is something. Not only did he listen but he helped me find a gym and he found a place for me to volunteer, with people with down syndrome. Let's just say I had a rough time transitioning into this new life we were living. Without Nathan it would have been 100 times worse.
My thoughts now (February)...
It has now been four months. I would say I am doing much better and have a more positive attitude, although it is still slacking sometimes. My Spanish- isn't great or even good but it has definitely improved. I said something in Spanish to a Spaniard and they said, "no hablo ingles." That just shows how bad it is still. And now I can walk for longer than 10 minutes without my legs tingling and I can walk up our hill without complaining (that's a big improvement haha). I think now, I am not focusing on all the things I don't have or what we aren't doing that we did at home. I now have the mindset that it is just going to be different here. I am not going to be doing all the same things that I loved doing at home but I will be experiencing new and different things. Different is not bad. Different is actually really good. Different usually means challenging. And with challenges we can choose to learn and grow from them or we can choose to hate it. So here's to choosing to learn a whole lot because it has challenged me to the max, haha. We are meeting new people, making great friendships, experiencing a new culture, trying to learn a new language, traveling to beautiful places, and we get to experience living and exploring in our current city, Granada. Our most recent find and my favorite thus far is a little mountain (hill) only a ten minute walk from our house. Sheesh...when I put that way, how has is it been so hard? Seriously though, I need to just focus on that stuff and take advantage of everything that I have and be grateful for all the things that I have. I think the most important thing that I have realized and learned through all of this is how lucky I am to have Nathan. I have had some bad moments here and I am hoping he still loves me as much as he did on our wedding day (sorry for all the times I have been a brat, babe). I would not want to do this with anyone else but him, he is the best. Although my attitude has improved a lot, I know I have a lot to improve on and I still have my bad days or even weeks.
(My new favorite spot)
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