Wednesday 5 January 2011

What's the future holding for us?

Remember my post Who am I? Well, these days I am having another down moment and I find refuge in this blog and you.

Every time I go home I come back to London a little bit different and need some time to re-adjust to my “normal” life here. But what’s normal? And what do I really want?

I left my Country, my town and my wonderful family and friends seven years ago, you would think with time I got used to being away from them but actually it was much easier seven years ago than it is now. I originally left Pescara driven by a strong need of adventure; I was seeking a new experience, a new experience abroad, with the aim to learn a new language and mix with a new culture. I left Pescara to enjoy one full year in the ever so beautiful town of Durham in Northern England. There, everything changed, and forever. For the first time in my life I lived a considerable amount of time away from home and my beloved ones; for the first time in my life I faced the difficulty of not being able to communicate with people, for the first time in my life I felt alone. However, with time I met the most wonderful people in Durham, boys and girls who themselves left their own families and countries and who were experiencing the same difficulties as me. I got very close to them and they became my “abroad-family”. My life in Durham wasn’t easy for many reasons: my English wasn’t good and I hated being silence or unable to say things exactly the way I wanted. But I found my way; you can always use your hands, I am Italian after all, and as long as you smile, people understand you! I was away from my family, my adorable family who has always supported me and never ever made me feel guilty for my decision of leaving them: “As long as you are happy, we are happy, wherever you are!” This is what they kept saying. And then I met Rob. We clicked instantly and then we just played a game that had clearly been designed for us. Things got more complicated then. Rob is American. First questions and concerns about the future: where are we going to live? What are we going to do? London was the answer. We moved to the big city at the end of our Masters, I began a PhD and Rob started looking for a job, though with no success. After months of depressing search he was forced to go back to his Country and we spent one year apart. We kept ourselves sane with an active and healthy communication but it wasn’t easy. When we were about to give up Rob got a job offer in London, life was bright again. We moved in together and we celebrated almost every day, we felt lucky. More than four years have gone by since that day and so many things have changed. I finished my PhD and started working as a researcher at King’s College London; we have travelled a lot and enjoyed our life together; Rob finally proposed.

The same questions are now coming back: where do we want to live? And what do we want to do?

We both love London and realise it’s the best option for us: London offers good job opportunities, it’s an exciting and vibrant city and the rest of the world is easily accessible from here. There is only one tiny problem: both our families are far from us and at times we feel lonely…

1 comment:

  1. hang in there girlie! its the normal post-trip home feeling, i feel exactly the same. You are very loved in london by many!! :) xoxo

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