Expat to Expat Q&A: September-October

I seem to have forgotten about this series last month.. so i’m going to be answering both the questions from September and October because why not? :)) Linking up with Belinda over at Found Love, Now What? and Bailey over at The Hemborg Wife

September:

Question from Belinda: How do you fit in to your new culture without losing some of your identity?

Being an island girl myself i find that going to the beach here makes me feel right at home. But while working at the Base Exchange, which has more japanese than american employees, i learned that sharing about my home makes me feel all warm and giddy. I’ve especially made friends with a couple locals at work, and when i shared that Spanish is my first language with one of them, with a big smile, she started telling me the words she knew in spanish. Another girl shared that she had visited Cuba and that salsa was her favorite music. I felt so connected to these girls. Even if we come from opposite sides of the world, we can always find something in common amongst ourselves.

Question from Bailie: What do you think your biggest trigger for homesickness is? 

I think social media is the biggest trigger for homesickness. Every time i see my friends post pictures of their hangouts, people sharing pictures of Puerto Rican food, and especially during last May everybody was talking about graduation and i just felt so sad/depressed because i was supposed to graduate from college last December, but couldn’t for obvious reasons. 

Other triggers of homesickness is when you want to find something as simple as DIY items or home decor, and you can’t seem to find them anywhere. Like the brown paper bags Belinda was scouring England for! It’s in those moments where you’d love to be able to drive down the street to your local Target or even Michael’s // Hobby Lobby to find the simplest thing you need to get creative. The holidays are also a major homesickness trigger. 

October

Question #1: How does your family and friends back home perceive your new life, and is it accurate?

My friends and family back home probably think i’m living in a constant honeymoon vacation, because let’s face it all you see on this blog are adventures and awesome pictures! 😛 Yes, it’s fun to explore this beautiful island we call home but sadly it’s not something we get to do very often. Which is why you haven’t seen so many adventures lately… stupid work! We also live in a small, old apartment with nothing but ugly buildings outside our windows and we mostly just sit around watching Netflix marathons everyday! Yay married life! 

Question #2: Do you find the need to edit your life from friends and family?