The good stuff

[kate&javi 26]

My husband says Starbucks and having a car. There are only 2 Starbucks in Denmark and they are both at the CPH airport. The other coffee shops just don't make things the way he likes.

LOL my husband LOVESSSS Starbucks. They don't have them in Honduras, and seriously I think every time we go shopping (more recently because of Christmas), he gives me a little smile and asks if we are "going to the special place" after we finish.

[cassecouilles 3]

Is this thing true?

I've always wondered....

Oh boy... unfortunately yes :-p BUT he makes it seem a lot worse than it really is. Our government is completely messed up. No denying that. But honestly, there's no better place to lose your job or get sick. You'll always get financial help and medical care, whether you can afford it or not. Granted, many people take advantage of our social security which is one of the many reasons we're doing so badly economically right now but for me it's very comforting to know that, should I get fired or otherwise lose my job tomorrow, I know I can look for a job within a reasonable time frame without ending up on the street... providing I fill in the necessary paperwork :-p

The job market is not too bad (compared to other countries in Europe), Belgians are pretty friendly and outgoing, good food, lots of things to do and visit... I'm happy here :-) But then this is my home.

[Caryh 5,206]

Well you'll be happy to know we have french fries here here then. There is unemployment here to, but you need to have worked previously and lost your job through no fault of your own to get it. Soon having medical care is going to be the law. Buy it yourself or pay extra taxes, plus subsidies for those with low incomes. In the past people who could afford medical care when to the emergency room and got care they never pay for. The government then reimburses the hospitals for those people. Not exactly the best method for getting medical care out there, and probably the most expensive way to.

Oh boy... unfortunately yes :-p BUT he makes it seem a lot worse than it really is. Our government is completely messed up. No denying that. But honestly, there's no better place to lose your job or get sick. You'll always get financial help and medical care, whether you can afford it or not. Granted, many people take advantage of our social security which is one of the many reasons we're doing so badly economically right now but for me it's very comforting to know that, should I get fired or otherwise lose my job tomorrow, I know I can look for a job within a reasonable time frame without ending up on the street... providing I fill in the necessary paperwork :-p

The job market is not too bad (compared to other countries in Europe), Belgians are pretty friendly and outgoing, good food, lots of things to do and visit... I'm happy here :-) But then this is my home.

[kev_n_jena 89]

My wife didn't have the adjustment problems that you see many posters talking about. Maybe one of the reasons was that we lived together in the Philippines for several months before applying K-1 and it was wonderful so we were focused on being together as our highest priority and we didn't care where. The worst thing was being apart.

Much of life here would be viewed as radically different. She came at thirty below zero, darkness and snow - and had never seen snow before. We live on the edge of the wilderness 30 miles from town in a cabin, with moose outside regularly and the occasional bear or more rarely wolves. She lived in an extremely densely populated city in the Philippines. Pollution and traffic. Buying rice for just that day, going to vendors every day whereas here we stock up on stuff for a month at a time, and don't use the road except going to town on supply runs. We have trails we use and never see people on them when going to our river or up the mountains.

I work over the internet from home and we have never been apart for more than a matter of hours in over three years so that's way different from many here. I take her on my business trips, or fishing and hunting and general adventuring so we're always together. She does videochat with her family mostly every day.

She had been well prepared with my description of how this life worked, lots of pictures and videos with no candy-coating. It's hard labor and fifty below zero can kill you quickly if you don't have expedition weight gear and know what you are doing. There are four-wheelers, snow machines, tracked vehicle, boat, four-wheel drive truck and an airplane at toy central here so there's a lot of fun to be had in a beautiful environment. She gets to drive heavy equipment occasionally too - dozer, skidsteer, loader...

What she likes best is never seeing anyone else. We don't have curtains on the windows. We leave keys in vehicles and do not have a lock for the front door. Not even a door knob. We use a bungee cord to hold it shut when we leave. It's always quiet and peaceful. Wind in the trees. Birds.

For the wrong kind of person this would be hell on earth, leaving behind the bustle of the city and seeing so many people, having lots of loud friends... changing your clothes every day hahahaha we don't. What for? Cooking on a wood stove. Taking on a totally different life with radically different environment can be either an adventure or a curse. It depends on what kind of person you are and what you want in life.

Ever had a bear remove the bungee cord yet?

Jena didn't have any problems adapting to life here either. We're isolated in the woods but nothing like Rlogan. Jena kept herself busy with flower gardens, house keeping and cooking the first two years. She worked for two and a half years after that and now has our eight month old to keep her busy.

[afoyoswa 178]

My husband has been in the USA almost 2 months and he has shown no signs of culture shock/homesickness (expect maybe he is sick of me asking if he is homesick? Lol). He is adjusting REALLY well, and I'm really proud of him taking everything in stride. Before he came to the USA, he had never been outside of his country, never flown on a plane, and pretty much lived all of his life in one (very large) city that he knew like the back of his hand.

He is young (24) so I think that helped him a lot, plus he is a fluent English speaker which makes him more independent than someone who doesn't know any, and I moved back to the USA with him so we were both in the same place when we came back here -- we both had to deal with an adjustment to the USA (I was gone 2 years from the US so I was prepping myself for reverse culture shock, especially when it came to money). We have a car and I haven't found a job yet, so we are able to spend a lot of time together. I prepared him before we came to the USA that he would probably feel homesick, miss his family, miss his food, etc.

Pretty much all of this, except Aaron is 28, has only been here 3.5 weeks, and he hadn't spent his whole life in one city (had lived in various parts of Uganda). I'm still kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, because everything has gone really smoothly and pleasantly (from my perspective, at least!) so far. We're really happy and getting along well, and he seems to be content for now. I know a lot of people do have major adjustment issues, and certainly we've had a lot of conversations about things he finds perplexing, ridiculous, frustrating, etc. but it helps that I certainly find certain aspects of American culture to be a lot of those things myself. It also helps that we live in a big city with good public transit, so he's already quite independent and able to get where he needs to go on his own. And mostly it helps that he's open to new things and very calm and adaptable: I know *I* would be having a much more difficult time, if I were him!

I know that we're still in the honeymoon period, and things are really hectic right now with wedding planning, holidays, getting ready to travel for Christmas, etc. so once the rush subsides, he might start to feel kind of at a loss for what to do with himself, his time, etc. We're looking into volunteer opportunities, classes, etc. that he can start in late January after the wedding to keep him active while we're waiting for EAD. And of course we'll deal with other stuff as it comes up. But so far, so good!

[rlogan 2,036]

Ever had a bear remove the bungee cord yet?

No, but I had to shoot one point-blank at the front door. He was trying to break in but didn't understand how the door worked. He had been watching me do it apparently and knew he had to push. I fell asleep and woke up to what I thought was an earthquake. He was shoving on the cabin logs really hard and working his way back and forth across the front of the cabin, but his paws were above the door. So when he got even with the door again, I opened it up and let him have it. The first shot was straight into the chest. He sat down on the porch, looking left and right with a confused expression on his face like "#######"? So I shot him again, whereupon he lurched up and sideways into the wood pile. Lights out.

He got his wish. He's inside now. Or at least his hide is.

Jena didn't have any problems adapting to life here either. We're isolated in the woods but nothing like Rlogan. Jena kept herself busy with flower gardens, house keeping and cooking the first two years. She worked for two and a half years after that and now has our eight month old to keep her busy.

Yeah I saw a picture of your road. Was that your tractor?

Snowed 13 inches through today, dropping 81 degrees through Sunday to 51 below zero. Exciting for a Filipina!

[Caryh 5,206]

Thanks for the wonderful story. I could totally visualize the entire event. My coworkers are looking at me funny for laughing so hard.

No, but I had to shoot one point-blank at the front door. He was trying to break in but didn't understand how the door worked. He had been watching me do it apparently and knew he had to push. I fell asleep and woke up to what I thought was an earthquake. He was shoving on the cabin logs really hard and working his way back and forth across the front of the cabin, but his paws were above the door. So when he got even with the door again, I opened it up and let him have it. The first shot was straight into the chest. He sat down on the porch, looking left and right with a confused expression on his face like "#######"? So I shot him again, whereupon he lurched up and sideways into the wood pile. Lights out.

He got his wish. He's inside now. Or at least his hide is.

[caly 48]

Snowed 13 inches through today, dropping 81 degrees through Sunday to 51 below zero. Exciting for a Filipina!

The hubster just commented the other day that I am no longer as excited about snow as when I first arrived. Last year I wanted to go outside everytime it snowed... even if it was really wet slushy "not really snow".

I didn't really have trouble adjusting to life here either. We live in a small town (I don't think I would ever be able to live out in the woods!) Yes, it's much more quiet and slow-paced here than Singapore which is a bustling island city but it's not bad at all. Small town life suits my personality better, to be honest. It helped that I knew what I was getting myself into and that I speak english fluently as well!

Also, the in-laws have been a godsend. They are some of the most wonderful people I know.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Not even the idea of having public healthcare? That's the only thing I somewhat miss, although both my wife and I are insured through our employers.

Touchee!

Luckily, that's been taken care of now with Obamacare.

But you are correct, affordable health care is a biggie indeed.

[Psoas10 17]

My wife was shocked to see so much people from her province here, not just the same country. So safe to say, she never had much culture shock.

Edited December 14, 2012 by Psoas10

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

Not even the idea of having public healthcare? That's the only thing I somewhat miss, although both my wife and I are insured through our employers.

That has not gone so well for my husband in Denmark. Let's just say multiple botched surgeries, waiting lists to get scans in what would be considered emergency situations in America, and really no recourse. I thought he might die this past Spring.

LOL my husband LOVESSSS Starbucks. They don't have them in Honduras, and seriously I think every time we go shopping (more recently because of Christmas), he gives me a little smile and asks if we are "going to the special place" after we finish.

He does the same thing to me now with "Baresso" every time we go to the center of the city, but he won't shut up about Starbucks. Maybe I am the worst wife in the world, but when we were apart I used to send him pictures every time I went.

Oh boy... unfortunately yes :-p BUT he makes it seem a lot worse than it really is. Our government is completely messed up. No denying that. But honestly, there's no better place to lose your job or get sick. You'll always get financial help and medical care, whether you can afford it or not. Granted, many people take advantage of our social security which is one of the many reasons we're doing so badly economically right now but for me it's very comforting to know that, should I get fired or otherwise lose my job tomorrow, I know I can look for a job within a reasonable time frame without ending up on the street... providing I fill in the necessary paperwork :-p

The job market is not too bad (compared to other countries in Europe), Belgians are pretty friendly and outgoing, good food, lots of things to do and visit... I'm happy here :-) But then this is my home.

Well, I thought it might an exaggeration. Some times I think America can be scary without the social safety net and with its ridiculous work ethic and lack of vacation time. I think sometimes us Americans think it is the land of milk and honey without realizing how it is really not going to be that way for our foreign spouses. One of the reasons I moved to Denmark was because I didn't think he could handle it and it would be too much of a shock. I think most of us are rather adapted to the country we were raised in and then to throw ourselves into a country that we had never wanted to immigrate to before falling in love.... it is difficult. I think it is easier for the spouses who always dreamed of living in America and love the culture. My husband thinks it is awful that we don't have socialized healthcare or a fairly good social safety net. We actually do, but it largely applies to families with children. Anyways, there are some good things about living in America, but also some bad things that I think people need to be prepared for.

And some more: country music, shirts that are actually long enough, having a house, and actually the first thing he said to me "seeing you happy again."

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Touchee!

Luckily, that's been taken care of now with Obamacare.

But you are correct, affordable health care is a biggie indeed.

Obamacare is not the same as what occurs in the UK, Canada or Australia.

[kev_n_jena 89]

Yeah I saw a picture of your road. Was that your tractor?

Yea, that's our Kubota. It's a must to get up the hill after a snow. Even my old 4x4 Bronco (open rearend) would get stuck if we got much snow.

Last year Jena and I came home from work after a light snow. Usually I will walk in, get the tractor, plow, and then walk back to get the car. I thought we could make it that day since the snow was light. We were driving our little Hyundai Accent. Well, we made it about 1/2 way up the hill and that was it. I walked up, got the tractor out and hooked a long snatch strap under the front of the car. I was going to let Jena drive the car but she picked the tractor instead. It was pretty funny to have my Filipina wife drive the Japanese tractor, pulling her American husband in their Korean car up the hill! It was truly an international rescue effort!

[rlogan 2,036]

Yea, that's our Kubota.

Great rig. What a work-horse.

I was going to let Jena drive the car but she picked the tractor instead. It was pretty funny to have my Filipina wife drive the Japanese tractor, pulling her American husband in their Korean car up the hill! It was truly an international rescue effort!

Yup. Got the same kind of Filipina unit:

I don't let her get too close to the buildings.

[kev_n_jena 89]

Yup. Got the same kind of Filipina unit:

I don't let her get too close to the buildings.

WOW! Sweet, I could really do some damage with that thing. My hill wouldn't be nearly as steep either.

I had to look up the specs. on it. 8.5 tons and over 70 hp. That will move a lot of snow. About $50K used.

You guys own that?