Moving In

Culture Shock

My new home was very, very different to what I was used to. Even after a month, there's some adjusting to do. There were practical things to think about, such as finding cupboard space in the kitchen and fitting all of my things into my little room, as well as the rest. My mum helped me to move in, which must have been hard for her. We have always been close, and her leaving was challenging. I called my best friend straight away so that she could cheer me up- in retrospect I should have turned to God and that's where I started to fall down. 

My New Home

My room is very small compared to my room at home, and sharing cooking space is something I struggle with. I have taken to eating at erratic times simply to guarantee peace to cook! This is something I will have to work through, with God's help of course, as I miss a great deal of opportunities to talk to my flat mates by keeping to my room as much as possible. This is something I have worked on since moving in, and I sit in the kitchen much more often now than at first. 

New Friends

Gradually over the next few days I started to meet the people I'm to live with this year. A lot of them are exchange students, mostly in their third year of study in the USA, so my fears of being the oldest there and not fitting in were largely unfounded. I believe that this was by God's grace as it was something that I had a lot of worries about. They proved to be lovely- and a few share my faith, which is such a huge support, although not something we openly discuss as yet. 

Me with one of my lovely new flatmates

There have been the usual issues over keeping the kitchen tidy, noise levels and such like, but nothing major so far. I can only thanks God for putting me with such a nice group of people- though I rarely dislike anyone, I am not the most patient of people, nor I suppose the easiest to live with due to my (at times erratic) mood changes and constant need to please everyone, which I have learned over the years can be irritating.

I have found it tricky to socialise in such a large group, and it wasn't until some opportunities for one-on-one time presented themselves that I made any true friends. For the first week, it was a very lonely place to be. I stopped talking to God as much as I should have, and desperately wanted to fit in. Because of that, I fell back into old habits- but more on that later. Within 3 days I came home for the night to see my family and boyfriend. 

Lessons

sharing my space is an ongoing challenge for me- particularly in light of the noise levels and amount of drinking that goes on sometimes. I think this is something I will need to lay before God and accept that I cannot change- all I can change is how I deal with the environment, and for that I need God's grace and the power only He has to change my heart.

God Bless x