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Update on emigration: winter thoughts on andalusia – reiseblog mini globetrotter


Update on emigration: Winter thoughts on Andalusia

It has been a few months in the country and it’s time again for a small emigrant update. Unfortunately, it’s not particularly good news that I want to share with you. But we also see the positive side. More on that later.

First of all, let me tell you a bit about what has happened in the last few months, and also how the children are doing. Our life in Andalusia is now pure everyday life, and we can hardly believe that the first year is almost over.

The pre-Christmas time

In December, the Christmas season began, much more subtle than we are used to. Even so, the communities around us fought, hanging strings of lights and shining stars in the palm trees. In Málaga itself, a real light show was set up, arcs of lights that created a glowing dome above the shopping mall. A spectacle for every visitor and Malagueño.

We got to know new sweets and pastries at Christmas time. Powdery cakes with almond flavor. Watched from afar as the Spaniards prepared for the feast. In Spain, of course, this will only take place on January 6th for the Epiphany (with moves in the inner cities), but of course there was a certain overlap.

When I say “from afar”, this is the sad truth. Unfortunately, after nine months in the country, we still have not found a right connection. It’s hard to live somewhere with children and not want them in a sports club. The school also does not help, because it does not give out parents list for privacy reasons. The children travel by bus, so you never see other parents.

The children after a first nine months Spain

Our children are still living well. They have not made any deep friendships yet, but that also seems to be a bit age dependent. In the meantime he sings pop songs in Spanish in the shower. He understands quite a lot, also tries quite successfully on the Spanish accent and does not give up on word problems. Lately, he came home with the best Spanish test of his class, 8.5 out of 10 points.

The little one is heavier, but we suspect that she just misses a bit of the bite and the confidence. Not that she cares. Clever as she is, she has teamed up with English-speaking children at school, taking her out of duty to speak Spanish in the schoolyard too. It’s not that nothing gets stuck, but it takes much longer than her brother’s.

We celebrated twice child birthday in January. The groups of guests were not very big, but these little things help the children to integrate more and more into the spanish community.

Christmas in Berlin

Thanks to cheap flights on Christmas Eve, we fulfilled a great dream and returned to the Republic of Germany to show our children our old hometown Berlin. Here we had lived three years 15 years ago. Four of us have made the neighborhood uncertain, have risen to the Reichstag, have touched DDR jeans, admired the wall and much more. We tell a lot about it on the blog.

And while we were in Berlin, with temperatures around freezing, with a Christmas program from Sisi and the baby nestling on the screen, I suddenly realized how much I had missed the city. In the thirteen years that I’ve lived in Australia, I’ve never been homesick for even a minute. But then, in that one week, the feeling became so strong that I slipped a little into depression.

What happened there? What had Berlin to offer that I did not get in Spain? It began a period of transmigration and critical questioning of our decisions.

Our future in limbo

In detail, I analyzed for myself what was going wrong here. Because I am not really happy in Andalusia. I feel lonely and isolated. Of course, this is mainly due to the language barrier, which is difficult to overcome if you do not have conversation partners. The offers of our place are tailored to families who are completely familiar and to emigrants who have already crossed the 60. It’s a bit like living in a retirement home.

I miss the big city flair. The many offers such as concerts and plays, street musicians and street art, hairdressers who can dye the hair green and restaurants that offer food from all over the world. I miss friends and deep conversations, games evenings and people who have a similar background to fall back on. I am afraid that something will happen and I can not turn to anyone.

Now you could say that this is probably a normal development. That the honeymoon time is over and I see the world now with a clear view. That winter has got me under control. That I am freezing in our badly insulated house and I long for comfort and familiarity.

Has the emigration failed??

But at some point I had to admit that I probably made a mistake. I thought that Spain and I would fit together. But unfortunately that is not the case.

Is it because of me? Probably. Surely I could outgrow me more and make more effort to meet people. To learn the language. To find my way. But I am not young and enthusiastic as I was when we went to Australia. My old bones long for simplicity and security. I live in distress and myself and my children, because I feel that I can not fight for them the way I would like to, should the need exist. I am afraid that one of us will get sick and we can not take good care of it. I am afraid that my children will become Spanish and I can not understand them anymore.

Is it due to Spain? Also. The choice of our place seemed right at first glance, but now I realize that we have landed in a retirement home, where simply the offers for us are missing. From morning to night, gray-haired gentlemen sit by the beer in the bars and restaurants, simply cultivating a different lifestyle than we do. What are the Spanish families doing around us? I dont know. I do not know you.

But I would not say that the experiment failed. We’ll definitely stay here for another year, at least. We do not just give up and move on. And even if we move to Germany, not everything is lost. The children will have lived in Spain for two years. They will speak the language and have experienced something that will be of benefit to them for the rest of their lives. I learned something about myself that I did not know before.

Our future in Spain

Since I’ve confessed that I’m not feeling well and Spain does not make me happy, that I’m crazy enough to prefer a winter of -5 in Berlin to a 10-degree winter in Andalusia, I feel better again. It was a bitter pill, but it is also a courageous admission. Now we have to see what we do with this realization and where it will take us next.

One thing is certain: Life is too short to be unhappy for a long time. We have recognized the problem and are already working on a solution.

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Christina Cherry
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