What else can you title a subject that I inevitably return to once a year. Its April, spring has sprung, as much as its able in West Norway and the nagging sensation of emigration or at least moving bubbles up. I sit here, looking out at a beautiful blue sky over a crystalline fjord, watching Brits like myself creating a dream in Southern Italy on the TV. I'm surrounded by beauty and yet the traveller in me is jealously watching television, and itching to go somewhere I've never been. A pool, hot, balmy weather, a relaxed lifestyle.... if you could spell the sound that eminates from me you might get an inkling of how I feel. I lived in Southern Spain for 7 years, it was a glorious experience but I was glad to return to northern europe. Yet I miss, occasionally, the lifestyle, the food, the type of people and the attitude.
Perhaps I'm just too lazy for the Norwegian way of life, perhaps the forever endeavour to be body beautiful, healthy and active is just too much for a couch loving, food obsessive Brit like me. In Spain I was more active, I had a healthier diet and was generally healthier and fitter, of course this is not a rule. My brother and his wife are as unhealthy as I am here and they have lived in southern Spain for at least 4 years. Though when the sunshines you feel more eager to be active, unless you live isolated in some remote villa your more likely to walk to your destinations. Fruit and vegetables are cheaper than anything else in warmer countries and so its easier to have a healthier diet. Then of course there's the dream of every northern european, sitting on a veranda watching the sun slowly sink behind the horizon with a plate of olives and a glass of wine, grown and produced in the country your sitting in. Emigrating, as with any project that will change you life, is not an easy undertaking. Changing culture, language and country are things no one should do lightly, and definitely not without some serious motivation. Even moving in your own country can be difficult and require a period of adjustment. Moving to another country, a move that usual requires that you leave lots of things behind, can be scary, difficult, draining and take even more time to adjust to. If your strong enough, have a enough motivation and are willing to humble yourself to learn the language and some of the culture, well then the rewards are immense. The adventure, that's what I long for. The new, the excitement of discovering a new place, of living a new way. Maybe in some way I want to runaway, to escape the stress of living in northern europe to a more relaxed, simpler and slower pace of life. Oh well, if I can get over the hump, perhaps I will feel better and last another year here, until then... ciao bellos! Adieu mon amies! Adios amigos! Hejdå and Hade!
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