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My family and I used to live in Belgium and, to me, life was great. Most of my 1)extended family live there, so there was never a loss of aunts to 2)spoil me or cousins to play with. My Dad is a journalist, but there wasn’t much work for him in Belgium at that time. When I was eight, he announced he’d found a 3)permanent job in London and that we were going to move. I was excited—I didn’t realize that I was leaving family and friends behind and throwing myself into a different world. The excitement soon 4)wore off when the reality of things began to sink in.
New Beginnings
We moved over Christmas and I had to start a new school and learn a new language. I didn’t even have a 5)uniform at first because in Belgium the 6)majority of schools don’t have one. I didn’t know what the latest fashions were, what was in and what was out. It took a while for me to 7)get into the swing of things. And for the first six months I had extra lessons in order to learn English. This started with 8)flashcards and 9)progressed towards books. I’m a pretty quick learner, so I soon caught up. It was more of the social 10)aspect and 11)fitting in with the rest of my 12)peers that took a bit more work.
For the first two years or so I was an outsider no matter how much I tried to fit in. Sometimes it was my English that failed me while other times it was the culture 13)clash. This made me shy and 14)self-conscious—a perfect target for 15)bullies. There was one girl who 16)went out of her way to make my life 17)miserable and would often make 18)racist 19)remarks, amongst all the other 20)insults she threw at me. Thankfully, some of my classmates began to 21)stick up for me, and these people became invaluable as they helped me iron out the things that made me stand out as a “foreigner.”
By the time I left primary school to go to secondary school, most people couldn’t believe I’d only moved to England four years before. I’m good at languages and have managed to 22)grasp the English language pretty well, even though I still have 23)slip-ups now, when I’ll come out with French or Dutch words. I think I was lucky that I was eventually able to fit in, grasp the language and 24)adapt to the culture. When I go to Belgium and ask for baked beans on toast, my relatives remark on my “English ways”—I guess baked beans isn’t too popular over there!
My advice to anyone who has just moved countries, or is planning to, is to try and find somewhere where you fit in. “Fitting in” doesn’t mean losing yourself completely and trying to be something you’re not, but it does mean trying to adopt the new culture and language you find yourself surrounded by. English may seem 25)complicated, the food may seem strange compared to what you’re used to, and the way things are done may seem unusual, but learning these things makes life easier in the long run. A balance needs to be found between your old life and your new life.
Missing Home
Homesickness, however, takes a while to wear off, if ever. The younger you are, the easier it should be because you have less memories and 26)attachments to the place you’ve just left. I remember 27)pleading with my Mum to go back home. I didn’t stop pleading until recently, when I started to regard both Belgium and England as my home. Belgium will always be my home, but I’ve grown up here, so surely that 28)counts for something?
My Mum’s recently moved back to Belgium to start up a business and my little sister may be joining her soon. For my sister it will be like moving to a completely new country, because she grew up in London and things will be very different from what she’s used to. I’m not sure if I’ll be moving back as well, but I’d have to seriously consider it before I made my decision. It would mean having to find somewhere to fit in again, leaving behind my best friends, and where would I get Yorkshire pudding from? If I do move though, at least I’ll be prepared. Once you’ve moved once, you’re definitely more prepared for the next time.
我和家人以前住在比利时，那里的生活对于我来说很不错。家里的大多数亲戚都住在那里，所以永远都有姑婶姨母来宠我，有表哥表妹和我玩。我的爸爸是一名记者，但那时候他在比利时的工作不多。我8岁时，他宣布他在伦敦找到了一份长期工作，我们要搬家了。我当时很兴奋——我没有意识到自己要离开亲友去到一个不同的世界。现实问题逐渐浮现后，兴奋的感觉很快就消失殆尽了。
新开始
我们在圣诞节搬过去。我要到新学校上课，还要学习一门新的语言。刚开始我甚至没有校服，因为在比利时，大多数学校都没有校服。我不知道最新的潮流是什么，什么是新潮什么是过时。我花了一段时间才慢慢适应。在头六个月，学习英语，我要上额外的课程。开始时用抽认卡学习，慢慢过渡到书本。我学得很快，所以没多久就跟上进度了。实际上，社交方面以及与同龄人打成一片等问题更花工夫。
在最初的两年多里，不管如何努力融入，我始终是一个外人。阻碍我的有时候是我的英语，有时候则是文化冲突。这让我变得害羞和忸怩——这就成了被欺负的最佳目标。有个女孩不厌其烦地跟我过不去。她经常说一些带种族歧视的话，还对我多番羞辱。幸运的是，一些同学开始维护我。他们对我的意义是无法衡量的，因为他们帮我消除了那些让我成为“外国人”的东西。
到了我离开小学升上中学时，大多数人不相信我在英国才呆了四年。语言是我的强项，我已经能很好地掌握英语这门语言——虽然我现在还会偶尔说错，比如夹杂一些法语或荷兰语。终于能够融入环境、掌握语言并适应当地文化，我觉得自己很幸运。回到比利时的时候我要吃烘豆吐司，我的亲戚们就会对我的“英国作风”议论纷纷——我想烘豆在那边不太受欢迎吧！
对于那些刚搬到别国或计划这样做的人，我的建议是试着找一个自己能融入的环境。“融入周围环境”不等于完全放弃自我、装作另外一种人，“融入”其实就是尝试接受你身边那种全新的文化和语言。也许英语看上去很复杂；和你习惯的食物比起来，现在的食物也许有点怪；人们办事的方式也许不太寻常——但长远来说，学习这些东西能让生活更轻松。你需要在新旧生活之间找到一种平衡。
思乡之心
然而，我的思乡病花了一阵时间才消除——如果真能消除的话。年龄越小应该越好办，因为你对离开的那个地方的记忆和依恋少一些。我记得自己不断恳求妈妈带我回家。我直到最近才不再这样做了，因为我开始认为比利时和英国都是我的家。比利时永远是我的家，但我在这里长大，所以那始终有点分量吧？
妈妈最近搬回比利时开始新业务，妹妹很快会跟她会合。对于妹妹来说，那就像搬到一个完全不同的国家，因为她在伦敦长大，那边跟她习惯的一切会有很大不同。我不确定自己是否也会搬回去，但在作决定之前，我会认真地考虑清楚。那将意味着要重新找到融入点，离开我的好朋友——还有，我要到哪里去买约克夏布丁呢？但如果我真的要搬，起码我会作好准备。一旦你已经搬过一次，下一次必定会准备得更好。
New Beginnings
We moved over Christmas and I had to start a new school and learn a new language. I didn’t even have a 5)uniform at first because in Belgium the 6)majority of schools don’t have one. I didn’t know what the latest fashions were, what was in and what was out. It took a while for me to 7)get into the swing of things. And for the first six months I had extra lessons in order to learn English. This started with 8)flashcards and 9)progressed towards books. I’m a pretty quick learner, so I soon caught up. It was more of the social 10)aspect and 11)fitting in with the rest of my 12)peers that took a bit more work.
For the first two years or so I was an outsider no matter how much I tried to fit in. Sometimes it was my English that failed me while other times it was the culture 13)clash. This made me shy and 14)self-conscious—a perfect target for 15)bullies. There was one girl who 16)went out of her way to make my life 17)miserable and would often make 18)racist 19)remarks, amongst all the other 20)insults she threw at me. Thankfully, some of my classmates began to 21)stick up for me, and these people became invaluable as they helped me iron out the things that made me stand out as a “foreigner.”
By the time I left primary school to go to secondary school, most people couldn’t believe I’d only moved to England four years before. I’m good at languages and have managed to 22)grasp the English language pretty well, even though I still have 23)slip-ups now, when I’ll come out with French or Dutch words. I think I was lucky that I was eventually able to fit in, grasp the language and 24)adapt to the culture. When I go to Belgium and ask for baked beans on toast, my relatives remark on my “English ways”—I guess baked beans isn’t too popular over there!
My advice to anyone who has just moved countries, or is planning to, is to try and find somewhere where you fit in. “Fitting in” doesn’t mean losing yourself completely and trying to be something you’re not, but it does mean trying to adopt the new culture and language you find yourself surrounded by. English may seem 25)complicated, the food may seem strange compared to what you’re used to, and the way things are done may seem unusual, but learning these things makes life easier in the long run. A balance needs to be found between your old life and your new life.
Missing Home
Homesickness, however, takes a while to wear off, if ever. The younger you are, the easier it should be because you have less memories and 26)attachments to the place you’ve just left. I remember 27)pleading with my Mum to go back home. I didn’t stop pleading until recently, when I started to regard both Belgium and England as my home. Belgium will always be my home, but I’ve grown up here, so surely that 28)counts for something?
My Mum’s recently moved back to Belgium to start up a business and my little sister may be joining her soon. For my sister it will be like moving to a completely new country, because she grew up in London and things will be very different from what she’s used to. I’m not sure if I’ll be moving back as well, but I’d have to seriously consider it before I made my decision. It would mean having to find somewhere to fit in again, leaving behind my best friends, and where would I get Yorkshire pudding from? If I do move though, at least I’ll be prepared. Once you’ve moved once, you’re definitely more prepared for the next time.
我和家人以前住在比利时，那里的生活对于我来说很不错。家里的大多数亲戚都住在那里，所以永远都有姑婶姨母来宠我，有表哥表妹和我玩。我的爸爸是一名记者，但那时候他在比利时的工作不多。我8岁时，他宣布他在伦敦找到了一份长期工作，我们要搬家了。我当时很兴奋——我没有意识到自己要离开亲友去到一个不同的世界。现实问题逐渐浮现后，兴奋的感觉很快就消失殆尽了。
新开始
我们在圣诞节搬过去。我要到新学校上课，还要学习一门新的语言。刚开始我甚至没有校服，因为在比利时，大多数学校都没有校服。我不知道最新的潮流是什么，什么是新潮什么是过时。我花了一段时间才慢慢适应。在头六个月，学习英语，我要上额外的课程。开始时用抽认卡学习，慢慢过渡到书本。我学得很快，所以没多久就跟上进度了。实际上，社交方面以及与同龄人打成一片等问题更花工夫。
在最初的两年多里，不管如何努力融入，我始终是一个外人。阻碍我的有时候是我的英语，有时候则是文化冲突。这让我变得害羞和忸怩——这就成了被欺负的最佳目标。有个女孩不厌其烦地跟我过不去。她经常说一些带种族歧视的话，还对我多番羞辱。幸运的是，一些同学开始维护我。他们对我的意义是无法衡量的，因为他们帮我消除了那些让我成为“外国人”的东西。
到了我离开小学升上中学时，大多数人不相信我在英国才呆了四年。语言是我的强项，我已经能很好地掌握英语这门语言——虽然我现在还会偶尔说错，比如夹杂一些法语或荷兰语。终于能够融入环境、掌握语言并适应当地文化，我觉得自己很幸运。回到比利时的时候我要吃烘豆吐司，我的亲戚们就会对我的“英国作风”议论纷纷——我想烘豆在那边不太受欢迎吧！
对于那些刚搬到别国或计划这样做的人，我的建议是试着找一个自己能融入的环境。“融入周围环境”不等于完全放弃自我、装作另外一种人，“融入”其实就是尝试接受你身边那种全新的文化和语言。也许英语看上去很复杂；和你习惯的食物比起来，现在的食物也许有点怪；人们办事的方式也许不太寻常——但长远来说，学习这些东西能让生活更轻松。你需要在新旧生活之间找到一种平衡。
思乡之心
然而，我的思乡病花了一阵时间才消除——如果真能消除的话。年龄越小应该越好办，因为你对离开的那个地方的记忆和依恋少一些。我记得自己不断恳求妈妈带我回家。我直到最近才不再这样做了，因为我开始认为比利时和英国都是我的家。比利时永远是我的家，但我在这里长大，所以那始终有点分量吧？
妈妈最近搬回比利时开始新业务，妹妹很快会跟她会合。对于妹妹来说，那就像搬到一个完全不同的国家，因为她在伦敦长大，那边跟她习惯的一切会有很大不同。我不确定自己是否也会搬回去，但在作决定之前，我会认真地考虑清楚。那将意味着要重新找到融入点，离开我的好朋友——还有，我要到哪里去买约克夏布丁呢？但如果我真的要搬，起码我会作好准备。一旦你已经搬过一次，下一次必定会准备得更好。