Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Lessons learned living in Spain… and questions for you: What did you last learn? What was the motivation? What did it lead to?
Answers below or in the show’s forum post!
Brendan
5 Oct 07 at 6:27 pm
Hi, I completely understand the feeling of guilt you experienced on leaving family.
I’m from New Zealand and met my Spanish wife in London six years ago, we have recently moved back to her home town of Vigo to raise our two little boys.
One day looking at a map, I realised that I was as far away from New Zealand as I could get, before you start heading back!
The feeling of guilt is quite strong, especially as I’m an only child
As you say, it passes and regrets ‘I’ve had a few but then again too few to mention’
As for what did I last learn??? Learning Spanish was more difficult than I first anticipated, but your website has been of great help!
Keep it up!
Brendan
Ben
8 Oct 07 at 9:50 am
Hi Brendan, thanks for the comment. I never know what people make of these Ben-only podcasts, so it’s great to get some feedback and to see someone knows what I was getting at. Good luck with the Spanish, I’m sure you’re doing fantastically!
Andrew
9 Oct 07 at 9:44 am
Good terraza-cast, and all the background racket added to the ambience.
One thing I learnt recently is that England’s not so bad after all.
Pepino (Dave Hall)
9 Oct 07 at 2:41 pm
Nice chilled podcast which encapsulated what I’ve learned recently, which is to take a moment to look back occasionally and see how far you’ve come! I tend to forget how far I’ve travelled (in a metaphorical sense) because I get caught up in all the things that I’m still lacking and don’t give a moment’s thought to all the things I’ve already got on the “done” pile
That said, the “to do” pile is still a heck of a lot bigger! jeje
anon
10 Oct 07 at 10:19 am
Hi, I’m a registered user, but won’t put my name to this in case family might see it…
The feeling of abandoning family is a real problem which I felt couldn’t be put aside. My wife & I were considering moving to New Zealand, but decided to forget it since both our respective sets of parents are getting quite feeble & there are no other family members to care for them. You can’t get from NZ to UK in a couple of hours, unfortunately. We felt that we couldn’t really leave them, and even if there were other members of the family around it would have been a rather selfish act to leave. I suspect by the time we’re free to decide we’ll be too old. hey ho such is life.
Ben
10 Oct 07 at 10:23 am
There is no doubt you have made the right choice, no matter how hard it is… but it is never too late to move, perhaps one day you will still be able to do so.
Zach
11 Oct 07 at 8:43 am
Really enjoyed this podcast. The bit about learning was very thought-provoking, but I especially liked the bits about coming to terms with being an expat. I’m American and have been in the UK for over 7 years now. Its only fairly recently that I’ve started to become comfortable with – even enjoy – the fact that I often see things in a very different way from the Brits.
The hardest part is the guilt I sometimes feel at living so far from my parents (like Brendan above I’m an only child, which makes it all the worse). But I’ve got a life here, a partner and a job, and no regrets that I’ve ended up here, so I muddle through!