What moving around the world actually entails (part 3)
Imagine this. You land in a foreign country with nothing but your suitcases and the boiling heat hits you in the face. You've left your friends and family behind, sold your childhood house and have no idea what awaits you.
There's a strange lady waiting for you at the airport. You get in the car and she drives you around town. You silently watch out the window as your new life rolls past. Once you get over the palm trees, there's one thing that you can't get over.
They still have Blockbuster here.
Strange, I know. Who cares about Blockbuster, right? But that stuck out in my mind. (I don't think it's here anymore, though.)
Dad's company rented a house out for us for six weeks. There were only three bedrooms, but we didn't mind too much. Even though we were in a pretty big city, we decided that we wanted to move to the town closer to the coast. We enrolled in school there, so for the next six weeks we drove half an hour to and from school every day.
We all had trouble adjusting. Dad had a new and very different job and us kids had to adjust to a different school system and a different way of life. (My sister and I jumped a grade and a half while my brother jumped six months of school, so that took some getting used to as well.) Mom struggled because she had six hours every day to find something to do, and she didn't know anyone. (She didn't want to work so she could take care of everyone.)
One thing that really made life difficult was that there were rats in the ceiling. They jumped from the trees outside to the roof and we could hear them at night. We ended up moving into one bedroom so we could all be together while Mom and Dad had the other. The last bedroom stayed empty. The house was also right on the highway, so if the rats didn't keep you up then the cars did. I remember that one night I ran back and forth between bedrooms, trying to escape the rats, crying. I ended up watching a movie and trying not to think about what was above my head. To this day, if a bird lands on our roof I have to fight off a wave of panic.
It was hard. I missed my friends and family and my old life. Thankfully, once the six weeks were up we moved to the coast, closer to school. Life slowly got easier and easier, especially once we got our own house. The bizarre faded into normalcy, new friends were made, new memories.
It still hurts, I suppose. Whether I'm in Canada or Australia I don't think I completely belong anymore, but that's alright. It's just part of growing up and trying to figure this wonderful world out.
***
Also, I'm back! We landed at about 9am yesterday. (I fell asleep at 12pm, woke up at 7pm then fell asleep again at 12am and woke up at 5:30am. GO JETLAG, GO, GO, GO JETLAG!)
If you've noticed that I've been neglecting your blog lately, it's probably because I have been, but I will be better from now on, seeing how I'm sleeping in my own bed now. Thank you all for being lovely to me while I've been gone, and thanks to my guest bloggers! (You shall be hearing more about my trip in the coming weeks :) )
There's a strange lady waiting for you at the airport. You get in the car and she drives you around town. You silently watch out the window as your new life rolls past. Once you get over the palm trees, there's one thing that you can't get over.
They still have Blockbuster here.
Strange, I know. Who cares about Blockbuster, right? But that stuck out in my mind. (I don't think it's here anymore, though.)
Dad's company rented a house out for us for six weeks. There were only three bedrooms, but we didn't mind too much. Even though we were in a pretty big city, we decided that we wanted to move to the town closer to the coast. We enrolled in school there, so for the next six weeks we drove half an hour to and from school every day.
We all had trouble adjusting. Dad had a new and very different job and us kids had to adjust to a different school system and a different way of life. (My sister and I jumped a grade and a half while my brother jumped six months of school, so that took some getting used to as well.) Mom struggled because she had six hours every day to find something to do, and she didn't know anyone. (She didn't want to work so she could take care of everyone.)
One thing that really made life difficult was that there were rats in the ceiling. They jumped from the trees outside to the roof and we could hear them at night. We ended up moving into one bedroom so we could all be together while Mom and Dad had the other. The last bedroom stayed empty. The house was also right on the highway, so if the rats didn't keep you up then the cars did. I remember that one night I ran back and forth between bedrooms, trying to escape the rats, crying. I ended up watching a movie and trying not to think about what was above my head. To this day, if a bird lands on our roof I have to fight off a wave of panic.
It was hard. I missed my friends and family and my old life. Thankfully, once the six weeks were up we moved to the coast, closer to school. Life slowly got easier and easier, especially once we got our own house. The bizarre faded into normalcy, new friends were made, new memories.
It still hurts, I suppose. Whether I'm in Canada or Australia I don't think I completely belong anymore, but that's alright. It's just part of growing up and trying to figure this wonderful world out.
***
Also, I'm back! We landed at about 9am yesterday. (I fell asleep at 12pm, woke up at 7pm then fell asleep again at 12am and woke up at 5:30am. GO JETLAG, GO, GO, GO JETLAG!)
If you've noticed that I've been neglecting your blog lately, it's probably because I have been, but I will be better from now on, seeing how I'm sleeping in my own bed now. Thank you all for being lovely to me while I've been gone, and thanks to my guest bloggers! (You shall be hearing more about my trip in the coming weeks :) )
I so relate to this post. (And I'm so sorry you had to deal with rats--one of the houses I lived in for five years had bats all through the walls, and they made so much noise and you could smell them on a warm day, so I can relate somewhat.) It's hard to have moved, and I understand what it's like to always feel out of place. It's been eleven years since leaving Africa, and I'm thinking I won't ever feel at home.
ReplyDeleteBut I love your great attitude, and I think it's wonderful that you're making the most of it :) *hugs*
Oh, I think that's worse. Yeah, that's a lot worse. *sends virtual hugs*
DeleteIt's actually weird how much you understand. I didn't have it nearly as hard as you, though, and you've just been so amazing considering what you've gone through.
*accepts virtual hugs*
Delete:P It's funny how my various experiences have given me a point of reference for a lot of things. I guess that's one good thing that's come out of it. You had difficulties though, and I would never want to underplay those. *nods* And thank you! I really appreciate that. :)
Oh wow - it must be hard to move around the world where everything is unfamiliar. I've never thought about it before, and we haven't moved in over fourteen years now, so I barely remember what's it's like to move at all. Keep being courageous & I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip! :)
ReplyDeleteIt was extremely difficult but I'm glad we did it and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Thanks for your kind words! (And I'm looking forwards to writing about it!!)
DeleteReally looking forward to hearing about your travels!
ReplyDeleteThanks, RM! I'm looking forwards to writing about it!
ReplyDelete