Difficulty of a social life in a new country...

tani926 · 2011-03-15T11:23:15+01:00

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tani926 Member

Member since 13 February 2011

tani926Member15 March 2011 09:23:15

It has almost been a year since i've moved to Sweden from the USA and i have been enjoying the new life but there are times when i feel so isolated even after meeting friendly people.聽

Whenever i go out with my husband, naturally the conversation takes place in swedish language and so i start listening most of the time and try practising my rusty swedish. At first, I never understood their jokes or their mumbling..while everybody laughed, i would just have this questionable smile on my face...but now i understand, still it's not the same.. I still miss socializing in my mother tongue (bangla and english)...swedish still hasn't gotten into my system fully...

I forgot how to have fun.聽 That's the truth.聽 Half the time i feel like an idiot.聽 Not just language.. but adjusting with everything.. living with bengali in-laws..doing everything the way they want me to do.. as well as adjusting with the swedish culture.. always getting critisized about my "agressive american driving" and "bad swedish" and many other things....

I wonder if there are more people going through similar problems??? Sometimes it is so hard for me to focus...

ECS Norway Expert

Member since 21 July 2006

ECSNorway Expert15 March 2011 10:21:37

1561

I remember all these things in the first year. It's a rough time, but it gets better.

Join some local groups if you can- whatever you enjoy doing and is part of local culture is a good start. It'll help you get a better feel for the culture and help with the language too.

Also, it's not ideal if your goal is to be fully integrated, but I found that having expat friends helps a lot, since they'll often be English speaking and can understand some of the struggles you're going through.

hang in there, it does get better!

tani926 Member

Member since 13 February 2011

tani926Member15 March 2011 13:09:34

Thanks for the optimism I guess i just need a bit more patience.聽草榴社区 friends do really help and there are also some great people i met that have been living in sweden for about 5 to 10 years.聽
It's very hard getting used to socializing in a new language..
Hope you are right and it gets better.

Anonymous654 Guest

Anonymous654Guest20 March 2011 05:48:12

I can share the same thing here. At least to some extend sometimes I also feel lonely as cannot speak the local language. Thankfully, I have several other expat colleagues where we share the same impression and we try to tackle them together. And couple of my German friends are also very helpful and kindly enough to help us adjust.

But like ECS said, it takes time. I also still trying to enjoy myself dafy after day....try to keep my mind open

marwikiv Member

Member since 30 March 2011

marwikivMember01 April 2011 23:18:25

Well first would be the hard thing. I mean if your in a distant land, it is hard for the first few weeks or month. But my relatives support me on that times and then as times past by, i gained friends there.