Are you excited to read about general things, that will happen to you when you start to live as an expat? I can share my experiences.
In one sentence you will feel as a human on a different planet walking around, everything is shiny, you want to see the good side of everything, for some weeks/months you feel like a tourist in your new home. Here are some of the realities you go through, when you are a foreigner living in a new country:
You Feel on a Vacation
You become extremely excited about everything that surrounds you, you want to see it all as fast as you can to know where you live and you want to document everything to show to your family where you are living. Not to mention here that in the first weeks you also need to have a navigation to get home, to get from point A to point B. In Luxembourg I would suggest to use the app: mobiliteit.lu (the official app of public transportation).
Your Grocery Shopping Takes Time (a lot)
Marching with the extreme self-confidence and fantastic cooking skills into the biggest supermarket believing you are out in 15 mins. False theory. You will realize that everything is organized differently to which you are used to with your routine shopping. The situation can be more difficult when you don`t speak the language and you can suddenly turn to be the slave of your mobile phone trying to google as much as words you can…needless to say normally in supermarkets signals are not the strongest. Situation can be even more complex in Luxembourg, with its 3 official languages, makes complex to find something without being well-prepared (language wise) and even to ask help in the shops, they normally speak French.
You Won`t Find your Usual Things
You are used to your “own” things you normally buy, when you cannot find, you want to check of course in the other shop, because for sure they have it. Answer is No, you need to get used to new available things in your new home country.
You Need Activity Skills in the Pharmacy
If you became sick, you will need to go to the pharmacy well-prepared. Explaining something not in your language make things difficult. Ladies in pharmacy are good in advising but in their own language. If you try in German, English, Luxembourgish, and the ladies only speak French you might use body language to express what hurts and where is the problem. When something hurts you do not prepare just want to have something to heal. I wish I would have known before. Tip: Google your problem, translate to German, Luxembourgish and French so you can show your phone with the translation to them.
Your First Friends Will Be Colleagues
The first people you go out with will be those you work with and their gangs. This is quite convenient, because they are not only friends, they are also locals, and they are usually more than happy to help you settle in. If they are not locals, they can still be of great help, as they have way more experience in the country than you do.
You Become a Yes Man or Woman like Jim Carrey
You say yes to all the potential programs available to make sure you stay social and try to integrate more. I find it positive since this is the way you know new people and you can decide with whom you want to go along. But after a while your attitude will change a bit, knowing your interest more.
You Will Need to Shop Some Clothes
Of course, because you have nothing to wear 😊! You might arrive to a different culture and people are dressed differently when they are going to work, going to a party or just they have simple different trends and tastes. You won`t realize but you also try to fit in, it is normal human behavior. Not to mention the weather, you need to have more dresses because the weather in your new home might be different than in your home country.
Thanks for reading,
Barbara