EP 25 — What Happens When International Women in Auckland Sit Around a Table

Transcript

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Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Almost Local podcast. I'm Maria. I'm your host, and today as usual, I'm podcasting from Auckland New Zealand. Moving to another country changes many things in your life, but one of the biggest changes, and the one people talk about the least is friendship. Suddenly the people who knew you for years are far away and you find yourself starting again, a new city, new routines, new relationships for many women living abroad, that search for community becomes one of the most important parts of building a life somewhere new. when you move countries, most of your energy goes into the practical things. The visa, the paperwork, finding a place to live. Of course, understanding how everything works, but belonging takes time and sometimes it can feel a little lonely in the beginning. Research actually shows that friendship and community are some of the strongest predictors of wellbeing, especially for people living abroad and women in particular often process life transitions through conversation and shared experiences. That's one of the reasons why we started the almost local coffee circles here in Auckland. A small space where international women can meet others who understand what it means to build a life far from the place you once called home. Because when you sit around a table with people who get it, something interesting happens. You skipped the small talk and suddenly you are talking about identity, language, mistakes, culture shock, and the beautiful parts of building a life somewhere new. And that's exactly what happened last Saturday. We gather again for an almost local coffee circle here in Auckland, a small group of international women. Different countries, different stories, but a share thread building a life away from the place we once called home. And the conversation started with a simple question. If you had to describe yourself or your home country in three words, what would they be? It sounds like a small question. But the answers quickly became something deeper. One woman talked about a traditional German cake that immediately brings her back to childhood. Another mention yerba mate from Argentina. A drink that for many Argentinians is not really about the drink itself, but the tradition of sharing the matter with others. It is about conversation, actually about sharing a moment. Someone else described her home through a place. IAS falls, one of the most breathtaking natural wonders in South America, and another woman simply described her country as naturally beautiful. When we asked why she smiling, said something that really stayed with all of us. She said that her home country and New Zealand shared that quality. So in a way, they were both her homes now and that moment captured something many international women experience. Living abroad doesn't always replace one home with another. Sometimes it's simply expands what home means. Of course, when you gather international women around the table, language stories always appear. Those funny, sometimes slightly embarrassing, lost in translation moments. I share one of mine a moment when I completely mixed up the words horse and ho, while of course, speaking English, which obviously changed the meaning of what I was trying to say. Living abroad often means speaking in a language that isn't fully yours. Sometimes your thoughts arrive faster than your words. Sometimes you say things in a slightly strange way, but something interesting happens in those moments. People laugh and suddenly you realize that everyone around the table has experienced the same thing. Those imperfect moments actually bring people closer. They remind us that learning to belong somewhere new is always a work in progress. Another topic that came up during the circle was how living in New Zealand slowly changes us. Some of the women had previously lived in very fast moving cities, and they shared that. When they now go back to their home countries, everything suddenly feels faster, more intense, more rushed, more noisy. And many of us realized something during that conversation without even noticing it. We had adopted something very kiwi, a slower rhythm of life, more time outdoors, less rushing, more balance. Living abroad doesn't just change where we live. It slowly changes how we live, and that's exactly what happened for us. Moving here to New Zealand, another reflection that came up during the circle was something many women recognized immediately. In some cultures, particularly in parts of Latin America, women can sometimes feel very observed. A judged on appearance,, looked at in ways that shape how we move through the world. Several women share that in New Zealand, they experience something totally different, a little more ease, a little less pressure, a sense that they could simply be themselves. And that's something we don't often talk about when we talk about living abroad. Moving countries doesn't just change our surroundings. Sometimes it changes how we see ourselves. At one point during the conversation, someone said something that really resonated with the whole group. Maybe we don't have just one home anymore. Maybe home becomes the places where we grow, where we connect, where we build relationships. For many international women living in Auckland, belonging is no longer tied to one country. It becomes something we create through friendships, through shared experiences, through communities that understand the journey of living abroad. And perhaps that is what it means to become almost local learning to belong in more than one place at once. The almost local coffee circles are very simple gatherings, no networking pressure, no formal structure, just real conversations, sitting around a table, sharing stories about life abroad. But what happens in those conversations is actually very powerful because you suddenly realize something important. You're not the only one navigating this journey. There are many women asking the same questions about identity, belonging, home and building a life somewhere new. If you are an international woman living in Auckland, and this resonates with you. You're very welcome to join us. Our next almost local coffee circle will take place on March 28th. You can find the details in the link in the description, and if today's episode made you reflect on your own story abroad, I'd love to hear from you what are the three words that describe your home country? You can send me a message or share it on Instagram Thanks for listening and remember that belonging can grow in more than one place now. As usual, I'm off to my morning coffee until the next episode.