Fancy living abroad?

When one is told of one's friend/acquaintance/colleague who study/live abroad, one would feel envious for the once-in-a-life-time opportunity that the other person gets and consider him/her as very fortunate cause it's not like everyday one would land a chance to live in a foreign land. Often than not, people tend to equate those studying/living abroad with luxurious living condition. I'm pretty sure that anyone especially those who have never set foot out of their country would easily fall under the spell of all wonderful and fancy stories that their emigrant friend brought home. Who in their rightful mind wouldn't want to have the privilege of driving fancy cars, travelling all over Europe, and getting decent pay in foreign currency? I was once among those who were charmed and lured by those wonderful fantasies. Little did I know that what lies ahead of me in the foreign land is beyond my fancy imagination.

As I set foot on the land that had once conquered my home land, I started to fantasize living in a tiny English home with a picturesque view in the background, driving a European-made car (which was way too pricey back home) to the city, and having my dream job. My jaws dropped in awe as I watched the clear blue sky and admired the English houses along our drive to an unfamiliar destination. I kept telling myself, "this is it, this is what I've always dreamt of; being in the country that my dad always looks up to". I was confident that I would easily adjust myself to the new place and I wouldn't feel awkward at all to be apart of the new society. My 15-minute day-dream then was shattered into pieces as the hired-car made a halt and parked by the sidewalk of my new home.

Our new home is an old terraced-house with a small garden that overlooks the public park. I told myself, "this ain't that bad after all", but the reality that was about to hit me was even worse. The house is also occupied by a couple of Polish couples. "We don't actually rent the whole house", my hubby said to me. He then showed me the room where we would be living in. The room was rather small for a family of four to fit in. I had no choice but to oblige. After having my first meal in a foreign land, we went to shop for groceries. I was yet to be hit by another shocking reality; our transportation. Our primary mode of transportation is our two feet. For the first time since my university years, I had to walk to the nearest supermarket. It felt like the longest walk, ever. The supermarket is about 15-minute walk from our home. When I first walk there, I thought it was too far and I found it very tiring. The big whiner in me couldn't stop from silently whimpering about the inconvenient truths that I had just learnt within my short arrival.

But that was five months ago when I found it hard to live without owning a car and living in our own house. By now I learn that living abroad is not always filled with lavish lifestyle. It may be true for newly-weds who are about to start family life and have no financial obligations (or should I say 'zero overhead'). In my case, being abroad is rather full of hardship and sacrifices that my hubby and I had to make in order to gain a better future for our children. I've never seen my children enjoy going to school as much as they do here. They never whine about going to school, instead they always look forward to it. Every time I pick them up at school after work, they would complain about me fetching them so soon. They keep saying that there's so much thing that they want to do in school. Hearing them complain about not spending enough time in school made me feel glad and grateful that my hubby and I took the decision to leave behind all that we have in Malaysia and go through another hardship, just to get the best education for our children.