My first post in The Weekend community
I've seen the posts every single week since @galenkp started this community and I've read some posts, voted and commented on them but I've never participated with my own post. Sometimes simply because of timing, other times because I had other content to publish and before I knew it, the weekend was over. There's only so much time at the weekend and I always go with the flow whatever tickles my fancy at this moment, that's the thing I will write. This morning, I read this week's The Weekend post and instantly knew that I would participate this week.
Why now?
I was reading the questions and when I read question two, I was like "heck yeah, that's one I love to talk about because I take pride in what I did and I feel it's a story that can inspire others so it's always worth sharing". And then I continued reading and read question five. In my case, the answer to question two goes hand in hand with the answer in question five. Therefore, I have even more reason to join this week, I won't keep you waiting any longer, let's get to the questions.
Taking matters into my own hands
✨Option two
When was the first time you took your destiny into your own hands - What did you do, what made you do so, what was the outcome and would you change anything looking back in hindsight?
I will try to summarize the answers as short as possible, which will be a task, lol. But here we go. The first time I took my destiny (and that of my boyfriend and our 3-month-old daughter) into my own hands, was the moment I decided that nothing was going to come out of our situation in our home country anymore. I will spare you the details and focus on the positive side, just know that I saw no other option than to take ourselves out of the situation and start over somewhere else.
We tried getting this done in the same country for a year, without any positive outcome and our situation was only getting more difficult. When I had a bright moment, I found a site called "Workaway" and there I contacted several hosts, I found a hotel where we were welcome to work for 2 weeks and have a roof over our head plus food. I agreed, booked our tickets for a week later and I never looked back. My boyfriend followed me without hesitation and I'm so thankful that he trusted my judgement as it was truly the best option we had.
This is what we did: we left with just a few suitcases, a stroller (as our daughter was only 3 months old), a car seat and that was it. In our stress and hurry, I forgot some important things but I accepted that I can't do anything about it anyway.
From the moment we arrived in Spain, we met people that helped us forward in one way or the other, may it be emotionally or by actually helping us to settle down, they all came into our lives for a reason and they all confirmed that they understood my decision. You see, when you find people from your home country in another country as they live there, these turn out to be much more open-minded than those in your own country. We made friends for life and I'm still proud of having the guts to actually leave.
Wouldn't have done it otherwise if I had the chance again.
Moving to another country
✨Option five
If you have moved to another country, tell us about your first experiences there - Were you comfortable, made to feel welcome, how long did it take you to fit in and make it feel like home? Did you have difficulties and what did you do to overcome them?
The reason we left was out of necessity as you read above and therefore went without a lot of planning. We took a leap of faith and hoped it would work out, and so it did! Better than we could expect.
We felt welcome at every place we volunteered as Workawayers, we didn't speak the language but still had the best experiences ever. I can seriously write a book about that time! I personally felt at home quickly and never felt homesick at all, but for my boyfriend, it took longer. This was also due to the fact that we didn't live in a great apartment and money was very very tight, we had 500 euros each month, our rent was 270 euro alone, so do the math.
During the last months of our stay in Spain, before we left for Hungary due to financial reasons, I could have a conversation with my doctor without the need for my translate app as well as have a normal conversation when enjoying some tapas. The moment that our plan lift off, I felt sad and excited at the same time. Excited to start a new adventure, but sad to leave "home".
I'm now still homesick when I think of Spain, not my own country. And therefore I'm super happy to move back there this year. Can't wait to go back to the country that welcomed us with open arms when we needed a place to call home so badly.
Have a wonderful weekend!
While ending my first post in this community, I just poured myself a drink, and when I finished it, it will be time to go to sleep as it's already half past midnight when writing this. Although I can sleep in a bit, I won't because I know that the office will be taken by my boyfriend for the most part of the weekend, meaning I can't sit here and write. Which I usually do during the weekend. I will get up early and do some work before he takes my place.
Let's Connect
If you want to connect, you can give me a follow on my socials. For inquiries, you can send me a direct message on Discord.