Emotional Security in Foreign climes

To live abroad, and to live a single life, has it´s obvious advantages and various disadvantages.

As a single woman in Catalonia three years have passed in which many attempts were made to get to know the locals in a romantic context. It hasn´t been easy, and at times your awareness of being from a different culture is blatantly obvious, and serves as a barrier.
On one hand you are seen as exotic, but on the other, you are too exotic to be fully accepted.

However, throughout the last three years I have learnt endless things about myself, both as a woman and as a British woman.
I have felt fully accepted by the Catalan and Spanish people in nearly every situation, context and manner.However,sentimentally I have lacked the emotionally security of having a partner.This is slowly but surely changing and I believe being open and accepting whilst truly enjoying the culture in which you have chosen to live, helps form long term relationships.

language differences and cultural and moral clashes can of course cause issues. However, although living and working abroad is a constant challenge, it leaves you feeling stimulated and alive on a daily basis.It also serves to distinguish you from those around you, and can at times leave you feeling isolated.
However, once you have formed a strong base in a foreign country, everything else seems to fall into place.

Can you have everything I ask myself?Emotional, work and financial security?

Descubriendo poesía Catalana....

El día de Sant Valentin he descubierto ese poeta Catalán y me he enamorado de sus letras.Ha sido muy interesante a ver como suena el romanticismo en otro idioma.

UN SONET PER A TU, Miquel Martí i Pol

Un sonet per a tu que em fas més clar

tant el dolor fecund com l'alegria,

un sonet amb els mots de cada dia,

amb els mots de conèixer i estimar.

Discretament l'escric, i vull pensar

que el rebràs amb discreta melangia,

com si es tractés d'alguna melodia

que sempre és agradable recordar.

Un sonet per a tu, només això,

però amb aquell toc lleu de fantasia

que fa que els versos siguin de debò.

Un sonet per a tu que m'ha permès

de dir-te clarament el que volia:

més enllà de tenir-te no hi ha res.

 IN ENGLISH

A sonnet for you which makes me clearer

both: pain and joy,

a sonnet with the words of every day

with words like know and love.

Writing it quietly, I want to think

that you will receive it with the discrete melancholy,

as if it was some melody

always nice to remember.

A sonnet for you, only that

but with that slight touch of fantasy

that makes the verses real.

A sonnet for you that has allowed me

to tell you clearly what I wanted:

there is nothing beyond having you.

Valentine´s Day: commercialism and romanticism combined

 

I believe in love and romance, but I also believe that our innate cynicism for all things romantic haults our sentimental instincts.The World we live in isn´t built for romance; it´s made up of insecurities and worries.
However, this Valentinés Day one should celebrate all forms of love; motherly, fatherly, sisterly, brotherly and friendships
.Instead of focusing on what we don´t have, and what we want, we would be better off thinking about what we have already achieved and the love that we are actually surrounded by.

Valentine´s day is another excuse for commercialism to out do itself with red hearts, flowers and chocolates being sold everywhere.However, we all know that romance is not simply about a red heart: it´s about sharing, giving emotionally and being there...

Spain has shown me another take on romance and love: I am constantly surrounded by affection and admiration. I see virtual strangers responding to me in a positive way, and this creates a real sense of belonging.A stranger in strange climes, but actually thanks to the affection of strangers, I have never felt so much part of a culture.

Instead of being scared of becoming involved with someone, I would urge our generation to embrace it.To give emotionally is to receive. Plus, to feel secure emotionally provides society with a real base for a strong, secure future.