Homesickness

(written by Lindsay)

We are soon coming up on the two year mark of living in Denmark. While there are a mountain of things that we have come to miss about being in the States (and can't wait to go back to), I personally feel like I have adjusted to living here. Being able to speak the language, having a job to go to, seeing people that I know at the grocery store, and of course having a car, have helped life to settle into a new normal.

Every once in awhile, however, homesickness hits me out of the blue and makes me realize just how far away my life has drifted from the familiar. Last weekend, I was out by myself shopping at the grocery store, when I heard some country music playing over the store's radio. This may not seem so remarkable, but virtually no one listens to country music here - it's not on the radio, and I don't think you can buy much in stores. So while I was picking out avocados, I was pulled back through time to "You Picked A Fine Time to Leave Me Lucille" and was discussing with my sister whether there were four hungry children or four hundred children. In the frozen food aisle, it was "Blue" and I was suddenly transported to a warm summer night, rocking with the waves on Mom and Dad's boat at the Lake. And it just brought tears to my eyes, missing the warmth, my family, and the familiarity of all those country songs.

Today, Cavan and I went to see the new Disney cartoon "Bolt". The movie was dubbed into Danish, as children are typically not good at reading subtitles. Believe it or not, after nearly two years of living in Denmark, this is the first time I've seen a movie in the theater that was not in English. I had no problems understanding, and I assume Cavan didn't either - another sign of how far we've come and how much we've learned since living here. And then came the scene, of Bolt and his road companions working their way West across the United States to find Penny in California. And the homesickness hit me again, as they crossed state lines into Missouri and Kansas. The road trip, the never ending highway, the waffle houses....we have taken a car trip or two since living in Europe, but it's not quite the same.

I like living in Europe for many reasons, and I feel that we as a family have done a good job at integrating ourselves into many of the lifestyles changes that go along with being here. But I am in my heart a proud American, and there are a great many things I miss about my culture, which I don't even realize on a daily basis. These little moments, however, break into my consciousness and call me back home. I'm not ready to go just yet - as I know that once we leave, this time in our lives will become something like a dream itself - but I do look forward to our homecoming, with all the small surprises of the things we didn't even know we'd missed for so long.