.jpg)
Question #1: How do your family and friends back home perceive your new life, and is it accurate?
I actually think my family and close friends do have a pretty accurate perception of our life here in Australia. Because I talk to these people pretty frequently, they are able to hear about both the positives and the negatives of living here. However I'd say that my parents and my friend Jen (shout out to her new expat blog, "Lady, Relocated") probably have the best idea of what it's like to live here since we were lucky enough to have them visit already. It's one thing to tell people about the place you live and the experiences you're having, but it's another to actually be able to show them those places and let them experience the place for themselves.
If I'm being honest, I guess it's probably safe to say that the friends I don't talk to regularly or other acquaintances from back home probably have a pretty distorted perception of what our life here is like. And that is mostly because these are the people who only get to see the occasional Facebook travel photo updates. By simply only considering what people see on social media, life probably looks pretty glamorous here. Of course that is true sometimes- we are so lucky to be here and to get to do so much travelling, but those people don't get to see the other side of things: the challenges of living so far away, culture shock on a daily basis, dealing with my husband's ridiculously long work hours, etc. During the time between the travelling (which is the majority of our time here), life here truly is pretty normal.
Question #2: Do you find the need to edit your life from friends and family?
I really try not to do this. I try to be pretty open and honest about what life is like here- both the positives and the negatives. However, I guess every once in a while, I have found myself "toning things down" a bit- this applies to both the highs and the lows. By this I mean, I try to be careful not to come off as "brag-y" during the times that we do get to travel and see amazing places. I want to share my photos and stories from these times so that my family and close friends can feel like they somehow shared in that experience with us, but not come off as obnoxious or boastful at the same time. And on the other end of the spectrum, I sometimes also tend to "tone down" the lows as well. By this I mean that if I'm having a really low or homesick day, I often try and minimize that to a certain extent when talking to family or close friends. Not because I don't want to talk about it, but more because sometimes talking about it makes me really dwell on it more and sometimes end up feeling worse.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
I actually think my family and close friends do have a pretty accurate perception of our life here in Australia. Because I talk to these people pretty frequently, they are able to hear about both the positives and the negatives of living here. However I'd say that my parents and my friend Jen (shout out to her new expat blog, "Lady, Relocated") probably have the best idea of what it's like to live here since we were lucky enough to have them visit already. It's one thing to tell people about the place you live and the experiences you're having, but it's another to actually be able to show them those places and let them experience the place for themselves.
If I'm being honest, I guess it's probably safe to say that the friends I don't talk to regularly or other acquaintances from back home probably have a pretty distorted perception of what our life here is like. And that is mostly because these are the people who only get to see the occasional Facebook travel photo updates. By simply only considering what people see on social media, life probably looks pretty glamorous here. Of course that is true sometimes- we are so lucky to be here and to get to do so much travelling, but those people don't get to see the other side of things: the challenges of living so far away, culture shock on a daily basis, dealing with my husband's ridiculously long work hours, etc. During the time between the travelling (which is the majority of our time here), life here truly is pretty normal.
Question #2: Do you find the need to edit your life from friends and family?
I really try not to do this. I try to be pretty open and honest about what life is like here- both the positives and the negatives. However, I guess every once in a while, I have found myself "toning things down" a bit- this applies to both the highs and the lows. By this I mean, I try to be careful not to come off as "brag-y" during the times that we do get to travel and see amazing places. I want to share my photos and stories from these times so that my family and close friends can feel like they somehow shared in that experience with us, but not come off as obnoxious or boastful at the same time. And on the other end of the spectrum, I sometimes also tend to "tone down" the lows as well. By this I mean that if I'm having a really low or homesick day, I often try and minimize that to a certain extent when talking to family or close friends. Not because I don't want to talk about it, but more because sometimes talking about it makes me really dwell on it more and sometimes end up feeling worse.
The Glamorous Side of Our Aussie Life:
.JPG)
.JPG)
The Not-so-glamorous Side of Our Aussie Life:
.JPG)
.jpg)
I think that sometimes having people visit is the best way to communicate your new life to them! Yes, you can do glam exciting things... but also they find out first-hand that grocery stores are only open for a limited time on Sundays or how a public transportation strike can shut down the city. They see the highs and the lows in person!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for joining us! I also wrote in my post about not wanting to seem like I am bragging, it is so hard when you are happy but the distance distorts it somehow I feel so like you I tend to tone down things!
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend was able to visit me in China, and he got to experience all the highs and lows and little annoyances. So after that, he became the person I could complain to without having to "tone it down." It was great :) Especially since I didn't want to worry my family by seeming too down or homesick.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting read - have enjoyed reading different perspectives in this Q and A series!
ReplyDeleteMolly
Thanks! I love seeing all the similarities AND differences in each person's responses, too.
DeleteThanks for the shout out! I love this post - you perfectly capture the highs and lows. It's not always glamorous, but when it is its totally worth it.
Delete