I’ve travelled a bit. From Australia originally. Currently living in Germany. Been here since July 2022 and planning on staying for a little while.
I’d like to offer this:
Travelling through a place vs living in a place especially when the native language is not your own is worlds different than travelling. The intense loneliness you feel is like nothing I’ve experienced. It’s worse when you’re surrounded by people at a Christmas dinner, say. Wow. I’ve had to get up and leave a few times to take some deep breaths, shed a few tears and head back in. Or I would simply just leave and go be with myself, but that took time.
On the other end, the sense accomplishment felt when you start picking up the language and are able to have small conversations is, again, like no other. The loneliness leaves and I’m left with a newer sense of myself. More confident in a deeper sense.
Subscribed! Cheers. I’m a science teacher, I love this sort of thing!