Today I want to talk about something that's been bugging me almost since I've been here. Hardly a day goes by when I don't here someone on-post utter these words, "I hate it here, I can't wait to get back to the States."
Excuse me, what?
You hate it here? Did I honestly hear that correctly?
OK, granted there are days when the language barrier is exhausting and what I wouldn't give for a quick trip to Wal-Mart or Target and some good Tex-Mex, BUT I hope someone slaps me if I ever utter the words, "I hate it here".
Living overseas isn't easy. I give props to anyone who's ever done it. I will fully admit that sometimes I have an overwhelming sense of homesickness and I've cried a few times thinking about home and my family and friends. I do miss home, sometimes a lot, but I'm not going to be ungrateful for the experience of living in Europe.
I've always wanted to go to Europe. It's something that I thought I'd get to do later in life, but never did I imagine I'd be lucky enough to live here for at least three years and experience Europe like most people aren't able to.
I think you either make or break your situation. You can either try to be positive or you can be negative and look at every situation badly. Lots of people are appalled when they learn that I've lived at Fort Polk. I get this a lot, "You lived at Polk? Oh god...I'm so sorry." You know, there were days when living in Podunk Louisiana wasn't fun, but I made the best of it, I went and explored, I ate the food, I met new people, I loved my time at Polk and dare I say that sometimes I actually miss it?
This is the way I look at it, I have the rest of my life to live in the United States. What's three to five years of living in Europe? Why can't people just be grateful for the opportunities they have? Why not make the most of where you are at and go out and explore?
Sometimes I really just don't understand people.
