Living in Tokyo taught me many things, yet one of the greatest lessons came through something seemingly simple.
It is hard to describe living in a foreign country, yet I think most of you can relate on one level or another. Just take your world, turn it upside down and continue to go about your daily business. As you rise to the challenges of living in a foreign environment, you begin to wonder how other expatriate friends soldier on so strongly, never mentioning the hardships. Of course, I must be the only one who doesn’t know that the ATM’s open at 8 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. (I hope that has changed by now.) In my world view only my husband and I were struggling not to jump on the next flight home, either solo or together!
A dear and much admired friend finally opened my eyes. As the expat in her relationship I admired how she held such an important leadership role in her company yet was always there for conversation, a glass of wine and was forever hosting dinner parties. How did she do it with such grace? And why had Tokyo not turned her world upside down like mine?
So I finally confided in her that things were challenging for us in this foreign country. How did she and her husband manage so well? To my relief, I learned that they experienced just as much challenge as we did and there were days she just wanted to go home as well.
That exchange changed my view of the world. I realized that we all have our challenges. Sometimes they are induced by external forces and other times from within but that we all struggle to some degree. And that struggle makes us far stronger than we would have ever been without it. Knowing that we are not alone in our struggles provides the opportunity to embrace happiness as we journey onward.