I'm Homesick Already

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My name is Melina, last week I moved to Calgary Canada, and I'm HOMESICK.

This probably doesn't sound that surprising, but I'm honestly quite taken aback that this feeling came over me so quickly. I had been here for exactly two days and then we went grocery shopping at this huge grocery store, and let me tell you, it's been a long time since I felt that helpless. I didn't know where anything was, half the brands and food items I was used to weren't there, or I couldn't find them and I just felt this unbearable longing for the overpriced Ralph's in downtown LA.

The next day, I tried to buy a few items on Amazon and boy was I in for a treat. You know how great Amazon is in the states? You can find anything and everything for crazy prices and it all arrives in two days? Yeah, not the same deal in Canada. The selection is almost comically inferior and the prices are hit or miss. And that two-day shipping deal? Almost nonexistent even with prime. So after realizing Amazon couldn't help me at all in this country, I basically had a breakdown and laid on the floor for about an hour with glassy eyes halfway between crying and not.

I know Amazon and the grocery store sound pretty freaking trivial, but these are key components in setting up a new life and I've never had to set up shop before in a location that was almost familiar but just different enough to be completely unsettling. When I lived in China, I was already mentally prepared to not have any of the things I was used to. Canada, however, seems so close to the U.S. on the surface that it was easy to trick myself into thinking it would be nearly the same bar a few 'sorry's' and 'eh's'.

Additionally, for the first time in my life, I find myself in a new place with no one around me going through the same thing. I know it hasn't even been a week so I can't expect to have already made friends or connections and I know this will eventually be spectacular for my personal growth, but right now, it just sucks. I feel out of place and out of step since there's no one I can really turn to right now about this feeling.I know these feelings will subside, and the longer I stay, the more familiar I will get with my surroundings and the more people I will meet. However, I wanted to get this off my chest because even though moving can be really exciting and fun, and starting in a new place can be like having a great blank slate to play with, that same blank slate can also be fucking terrifying. Writing this out was the perfect way to remind myself that it WILL be ok, and that for now, it is ok for me to cry or watch TV alone on weekends, or whatever.If you would like me to continue chronicling my general feelings and activities about moving to a new country and starting over, please let me know, I'm sure I will have TONS to vent about in the coming months.