Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Frustrations

It's been just over a week and a half and while I am having the time of my life so far, there are a few things of course that I'm starting to have some frustrations with.

1. Language
Well Duh.  I've gotten so much better since the first day, and I'm excited knowing how much I'm going to improve by the end, but as I get better I start to want to say more, but I don't have the words and I don't know the grammar for the more complex sentences I want to say.  I'm starting to become very frustrated because there are so many things I want to say, ask, and comment on... But I simply can't.  And while everyone is VERY nice and patient, it's hard to carry on a good conversation with my nose buried in a dictionary.

2. Living Arrangements
I love my mom.  She is older, but she is very kind, caring, patient, and does everything to make sure I'm doing well.  But the new living arrangement is hard to deal with : She washes all my clothes.  I do my own laundry at home home.  She makes ALL my food.  I have yet to come up with a meal on my own.  And it's not just lunch or dinner : It's all three meals.   I also now have someone to be accountable to.  At home home, if I want to go out and do something on a school night after 8, I do.  I don't have to ask permission or tell anyone what time I'm going to be home.  I just go.  I can't do that here.  Which brings me to :

3. Making friends and hanging out
It gets dark here very early.  By a little after 6, it's pitch black.  And the people here (our families) are very, very worried about us being on the streets after dark.  If I want to go anywhere, I need someone who can walk me there - preferably a guy, and also someone to walk me home.  In the first two weekends, I've met a lot of people who I really like and want to get to know... But it's next to impossible to spend time together when most of them work until 5 and it gets dark at 6, and I never know if I'll be allowed to leave if it's not clear who will walk me there and who will walk me home.  I also don't have a cell phone to communicate with anyone which is becoming frustrating.  If I was someone who wasn't interested in the local people, this wouldn't be so much of a problem.  I could get by just using the land line to call the others in the study abroad group if I needed to.  But for me, building relationships with these new friends I've made is one of the best ways to experience the culture, and one of the most fun.  And I'm starting to see the difficulty in making this happen as completely as I would like.

That's really all I have.  I don't want it to appear as though I am not enjoying my time -- I AM.  I already know how difficult it will be for me to leave.  But with any new place, there are adjustments to make and some are harder than others.

1 comment:

  1. This post made me laugh.. lol
    It remind me of my grandmother that does the same as your host mum. She does the laundry, the meals. I actually enjoy that,(it was hard for me here (i had to do laundry and make MY bed :s ) but the culture in USA is different :)

    ps. The day will be bigger soon :o) it should be at least :)
    Love,
    Sash <3

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