The thing about change is that it comes in two forms: negative and positive. Last night I was laying awake thinking about all the change that has affected my family, now and in the future. My mind was focusing on the positives like the cultural experience, adventures, people we’re meeting, life lessons, etc. But I began to contemplate the negatives of our move. The inconveniences that has been implicated into our lives.
For starters the time zone difference. Being 6 hours ahead of Minnesota it makes telephone communication tricky. My dad set up the home phone in Minnesota to be automatically connected to our phone here, it works over the internet. We can receive and make calls using our American number, which is convenient for both us, friends and family. The problem is telemarketers, from BOTH countries are calling us. Telemarketers in America don’t know we don’t live there so they think that their calling at the most convenient time, while in reality it’s late at night and were trying to sleep. Friends and family make this mistake too sometimes.
Being my last year in high school, I get the privilege to also have to worry about colleges and the future. Do you know how difficult it is to schedule a college visit when you’re a 8.5 hour plane ride away? Over the summer my mum and I got to 2 colleges for tours (So I’ve toured 3 colleges in total, 4 if you include the one I got dragged to when my sister was touring, but I got free cookies so it was all good). Out of the 3 colleges I’ve visited 2 have busted completely, and 1 of them was the one I was counting on. The last college we toured was Simpson College down in Iowa, it offered a forensics and biochemistry major with a minor in psychology, which is more than I could have asked for. The campus was beautiful, dorms were a good size, library was huge, and the food was made to order. So now I’m left to leave my final choice to chance if I don’t get into Simpson. Along with that I am a few years behind on working, back in the states I worked for Caribou as a source of income for future and college expenses, but now being here I am unable to work and build a savings which makes me so nervous. Once back at home I’ll have to rush and find a car and insurance to go with it. Moving back home for college is going to be tricky considering when my mum and I move back we’ll only get a tiny shipping container that I have to fit my clothes, textbooks, school materials, bedding and essential in.
American food is a problem, especially when you have a HUGE craving for Goldfish. I get this a lot. The main problem with American food is that it’s over there. Not here. Being away means that the friends and family who used to be at your fingertips are now thousands of miles away. This leads to a 6+ hour difference in news and updates. It makes for communicating very difficult. As cool as debating theories about time is, the reality of it is haunting. Knowing you need a hug or to be comforted by someone who doesn’t even live on the same continent as you makes it hard, and you end up going to your cat for comfort. When you do talk to them you have to switch dialects almost. The different slangs and pronunciations of terms. Or having to explain customs, characteristics, locations, myths so that they understand the amazing experience that you had.
Something less related to relationships but is still an annoyance: release dates. Here in Ireland we don’t get the same movie or show release dates. The majority of the time I can find it online before it hits the cinemas. “New never seen before products!” will most likely have come out months ago in the States. This is less negative and just more humorous and obnoxious. Fortunately weighing out the positives and the negatives my experiences break even. Even with the conversational lag, you can still get your point across. I also believe that I’ve made life-long friends here, and that’s pretty awesome. 🙂
The Call of the Irish 