When you want to give up

I have lived in Italy for roughly a year and a half, and after 7 months of moving to Florence, I developed chronic headaches. I went almost 6 months straight where the headache never went away. Can you imagine feeling 'hungover-esque' every single day, filled with anxiety, nervousness ? It is straining and emotional. I tell you this because for some reason I stuck it out living here, even though I think that was one of the roots of the problems. Accepting that this is not vacation. Living abroad can lead to a certain sense of panic.

A combination of diet, yoga & acupuncture + eliminating stress in my life, I am finally on a road to recovery from feeling so terrible for so many months. I still don't know the root of the problem, whether its stress related, genetic, etc, but I am happy things are improving. I have my close friends here in Florence & my parents to thank for this (along with countless websites with information on managing headaches). 

There are so many things that Americans give up to live in a country like Italy, and a city like Florence.  The main challenge for me is giving up the comfort of my family. Then having medical facilities that we are familiar with, medicines we know, stores open 24/7 if we need something in an emergency. It is scary sometimes living in a foreign country, where things are different. I have had many days where I am so stressed with living here I don't know how I can go on.  You have to accept & be thankful to have a solid job, even if the wages are drastically lower than in the US. I get frustrated when things don't work, and it upsets me when people in Florence can be so close minded. I moved away from Atlanta because how divided people are there, and its the same here. Florentines stick with Florentines (this is my experience, I know its not all, but many). It is impossible to get an Italian woman to smile at you, but the men do - so it doesn't matter :)

I am challenging myself to really fine tune what I want in my life. How I want to live, what kind of person I want to be, and who I want to surround myself with. Life is different here, some good things, some bad. That is just the way it is, and I have accepted so many things I would of never dealt with in the United States. Finalmente, I am patient (however, the Italians wouldn't say so).

This is my typical day:

Wake up with no rush

Meet my girlfriend for coffee, take a walk

Work from the library, the office or the comfort of my own home

Lunch with friends, take a bike ride

Back to work , choosing again where to be productive

 Yoga

Dinner with friends, or at home, where I have finally learned to cook 

*the perk here is when an Italian man shows up to cook you dinner, Si Grazie!

 Work & Socialize with my friends in America

Bed

This schedule would never happen to me in the United States. I do not plan too much here, I go with the flow, but I get work done and I get to see my friends everyday. This is the simple life and much better suited for me than how I was living back home. Things fall into order how they are supposed to. I stroll along the Arno River, gazing at the buildings under the sunshine, and I am reminded that I am lucky to live here: THIS never gets old. These are the things that you come to cherish when you become frustrated living abroad. You take the good with the bad, but have to remain focused on the big picture. 

Is my life better ? Am I happy? Certamente.