Sorry for such a stupid question lol but I thought it would be profound to know how fellow expats here deal with feeling foreign or missing home
Just a quick rant, I always struggle with belonging especially as an expat because I feel that no matter how hard I try to be friendly and follow local customs or how good my language skill is I will remain a foreigner. Instead of seeking a place to belong in others I build my own space, and one way to do it so create some silly personal rituals to provide a sense of familiarity and I guess a piece of home to carry with. In the previous country I moved to, I had this routine of buying cream puffs (my grandma used to make these bad boys) from the discount rack on Wednesdays and eating them at a park by the beach.
Curious if anyone has their own tiny ordinary rituals to incorporate familiarity, even if they’re purely sentimental :)
My feeling of being “at home” comes from the actual house/flat I live in. Every time I move, it can take some time to fix everything to my liking. But by the time everything is done the house becomes my home.
Join an archery club, find the local cave divers, get acquainted with the local Psychedelic Trance scene, find both an Indian and a Thai restaurant, and buy a massive sound system.
I’m at home almost immediately.