Long distance living in Sweden

April 15, 2009

in An American in Europe,Life as an expat,Living abroad,Living in Sweden

Living more than 4,000 miles away from my  homeland is still thrilling to me after 4.5 years. But it’s also still hard to be so far away from family and old friends. My guess is that most people don’t realize that this could still be difficult: they just think that I’ve been away for a while and thus it surely must have gotten easier. But I don’t think it’s ever easy to be away from your old sources of support, no matter how many new and wonderful friends you may have and how happy you are in your new life.

I guess I’ve been feeling sentimental. A lovely note from an old friend recently made me cry. I wanted to see my friend in person so badly that it literally hurt. I miss her and her wisdom and her laughter. In fact, I miss a lot of people in the US. I miss being at parties and celebrations and seeing my friend’s kids growing up.

Don’t get me wrong. I do live a good life that I truly enjoy. But being away from family and old friends is part of the price I pay for living more than 4,000 miles from home. I get it. It’s just hard some days.

{ 3 comments }

1 James April 15, 2009 at 14:12

Hi Sandra, I’ve been enjoying your blog lately, esp. as I have a bit of a “Swedish thing”. Mindful of this post, I’m wondering if you’re aware of this song by Sarah Dawn Finer…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfkzAG_hxm8

James

2 Sandra in Sweden April 15, 2009 at 14:31

Hi James, Thanks for reading and for the suggestion. Stockholm is a beautiful city, but Sydney is too. As for me, I guess that I have a bit of an “Aussie thing” as I am married to one!

3 Lucey April 16, 2009 at 11:50

Sandra,
I think your site has built a fabulous on-line group. Bravo!
/lucey

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