NOT SO SIMPLE

A few simple and familiar things can mean a lot while adjusting to life as an expat. It’s not always (usually?) easy, but the effort is worth it.

EXPAT DAY #10

We’re back in Spain! This time, we’re figuring out how to live here rather than being in tourist mode. I’ve read that living abroad is an enriching experience because it forces you to adapt to things that are unfamiliar. This means being open to new, exciting, or even terrifying challenges that you would never have encountered at home. The reward is the opportunity to learn and grow as a person. So, here’s some of my recent challenges (none have been terrifying) and what I’m learning.

METRIC CHALLENGES

Let’s start with measuring stuff. A liter is close to a quart. A meter is about the same as a yard. So far, so good. However, a centimeter isn’t even close to an inch. Walking for two kilometers isn’t as impressive as it sounds; it’s just a little over one mile. Buying a kilogram of fish means we need invite some of our new friends over for dinner!

PEANUT BUTTER ADVENTURE

Once I figure out how much I want, the next challenge is finding words. Google Translate can be helpful but is not always reliable. We were in a Supermercado (Supermarket) the other day and I was hoping to find peanut butter. After walking up and down all the aisles, I decided to ask for help. Before approaching the clerk, I asked Google to translate “peanut butter” and I got “mantequilla de mani” – OK, I know mantequilla is butter, so mani must be peanut. Perfecto! I’ve got this! When I approached the eager to help clerk, I said, “Donde es mantiquilla de mani, por favor?” Nope. He shook his head. Next, I showed him Google’s translation on my phone, he shrugged and shook his head again. So, back to my phone. I found a photo of a jar of peanut butter with peanuts scattered around it. When I showed him the photo, the clerk nodded, smiled, and said, “crema de cacahuete!” as he summoned another employee to guide me to the proper aisle. I made a mental note to sort this out later and when I finally found my treasure, the label on the jar was “PEANUT BUTTER.” Fifteen minutes after starting my search, I finally had one item in the cart. I felt so proud of myself!

GOOGLE COMES TO THE RESCUE

Another recent adventure was purchasing a sewing machine. We found a tiny little shop where the only person there spoke zero English. She had a couple of sewing machine brands that I am familiar with, and it was easy to point and hold up my credit card to indicate I wanted to purchase it. Then, I remembered I needed a couple of special accessories that must be purchased separately. Imagine the Google translate scenario above. This time, however, I needed to ask for a “walking foot” and a “quarter inch quilting foot.” What did we do before smartphones?

Para llevar (take-away): Slow down. Enjoy the process. Savor the journey. Laugh.