Determined to make it work
Reading Sue's diary has made me smile as I realise that we are not the only ones who get tied up in knots, particularly with the language. I was surprised to discover so many similarities in our experiences, attitudes and love of the culture. We too are musicians and music is definitely a wonderful medium for communication.We arrived in AndalucÃa three months ago and are still trying to make sense of it all. The hardest part for us is trying to make ourselves understood - by the English! Everyone we have met so far has either bought or is in the process of buying their own homes as most of them have "sold up" in the UK. We have come out here with nothing, due to some rather difficult and unusual personal circumstances. We rented in the UK and we are renting here, with little or no prospect of ever being able to buy our own 'haven'. Like Sue we got rid of most of our posessions: charity shops, friends and car-boots! It is hard because Spanish and English alike assume that we have money and are buying and we find ourselves unable to take part in the constant discussions about builders, estate agents etc. We don't really 'fit' in. I wonder how many people have watched the glut of TV programmes on moving abroad and truly believe that one has to have money in order to make the move? We have come with nothing and precious little support, yet in the space of a few weeks, have played four gigs with the band, been offered an exhibiton (we're photographic artists too), sold three pictures and have been offered three commissions! The whole process of getting ourselves out here was an absolute nightmare and we're still trying to recover from exhaustion! Every day is a struggle as we try to rebuild our lives and start our business from scratch, however, we wouldn't change it! It's the best thing we've ever done and we're determined to make it work! No - we're not young, energetic kids. We're both in our fifties, creaking and full of determination and a sense of wonderment that our Spanish neighbours in this little town have accepted us, albeit with an enormous amount of amusement! We are hugely content and more relaxed than we have been for years! There must be others like us - but somehow one never hears about them! Opportunities may possibly be born in (and nurtured by) bank accounts, but courage grows in open spaces and feeds only on itself.
Sent by: Marian
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