“But I just started to feel settled!” “Do we have to move again?” “Man, I hate having to pack up my room!” “But I’m almost done with high school!” Sound familiar? You may have said something similar the last time one of your parents told you that your family was moving again. And you aren’t the only ones who feel this way, as you may know. While there are many positive aspects of being an Expat Teen, you can probably recognize the bittersweet aspect that comes with it, as the very thing that makes Expat Life fun and exciting is the same thing that makes it difficult and sobering.
In our book, Expat Teens Talk, we heard from some of you who are dealing with various issues that are related to Expat Life. Below is a list of the things that were identified as being the most difficult when it comes to moving:
• Growing up in one country and having family (cousins, aunts, uncles, etc) in another requires a balancing act of living between and knowing both
• Having to learn about and adapt to new cultural norms and learn a new language
• Saying good bye to friends, teachers, friends of the family
• Staying in touch with those you left behind, people get busy and priorities change, you do ‘lose’ contact and therefore relationships
• Knowing where you really belong; fitting in
• Having to leave a place I grow attached to and start to feel at home in, leaving is so incredibly difficult
• Sense of loss, loss of a home, friends, school
• Going to a new school, having to make new friends when social groups are already formed
• Adjusting to a new environment, language, food, culture, lifestyle
• Culture shock
• Everything
• New school, new teachers, different academic system and way of teaching
• Difficult to move from developed to developing world countries
• Knowing and understanding where ‘home’ is, it becomes less clear the more you move around or the longer you stay away from your ‘home’ country
So, as you can see, you aren’t the only one! Watch this spot for more information on our upcoming book. In the meantime, TALK to us and let us know what’s on your mind…
No comments:
Post a Comment