Menu
Expat.com

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

Last activity 01 April 2011 by marwikiv

Post new topic

tani926

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. 

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.  That's the truth.  Half the time i feel like an idiot.  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

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

Thanks for the optimism :) I guess i just need a bit more patience.  Expat 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. 
It's very hard getting used to socializing in a new language..
Hope you are right and it gets better.

Anonymous654

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

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. :D

Articles to help you in your expat project

All guide articles