EP 27 — April Abroad: Reflections from Auckland, New Zealand

Transcript

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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Almost Local Podcast. I'm Maria, your host, and today I'm podcasting from an autumn day in Auckland, New Zealand. So today is just a quiet reflection on what the month brought, what I've been noticing, and how living abroad continues to shape the way I experience life, relationships, and even home itself. And April felt like a meaningful month for me, not because of something big or dramatic, but because my mom came to visit us here in New Zealand for a month. And somehow this visit felt different from previous ones. It's now been around 10 months since we moved back to New Zealand, which honestly feels strange to say out loud because time has gone so fast, and I think we are finally entering a stage where life feels settled again. Routines are here. The kids are older now, teenagers. The house is slowly becoming ours again. And maybe because of that, this visit with my mom felt less like hosting and more like sharing real life together. In the past, when my mom visited us, whether in Europe or elsewhere, there was always this feeling of trying to make the most of the time through experiences: you know, trips, plans, going places. But this time felt quieter and honestly more meaningful. we spent time doing really normal things together. We worked in the garden. We planted herbs, little plants, flowers, which is funny because gardening is not even something I normally do, but she loves it. And suddenly these very simple moments became something special. And I think this is the difficult part of living abroad that people don't always talk about. When you live far from your family, time becomes more visible. You become more aware of how limited your time together actually is, even when you know you'll see each other again. In my case, I'll be going back to Argentina in four months, so it's not even a long separation. But still, something felt different this time. I think I was more present, more aware. Less focused on doing something special and more focused on simply being together inside ordinary life. Cooking, playing cards, looking for things for the house, talking while doing small everyday things. And strangely, those moments felt more meaningful than big plans. And it made me think a lot about this idea of home, because when you live abroad long enough, home becomes layered. Part of your life exists in one country, part of you still belongs somewhere else. And sometimes the hardest part isn't choosing between places, it's rather learning how to emotionally live between them. That's something I reflected on recently after my conversation with Jannie on the podcast too. This idea that, living abroad doesn't replace one home with another, it actually expands it. And with that expansion comes love, but also grief sometimes, because everybody carries weight. I think what I'm learning lately is that meaningful connection doesn't always happen in big moments. Sometimes it happens while planting herbs together, or sitting at the table after dinner, or simply sharing the rhythm of everyday life. And maybe that's what I'll remember most from this month. Not the big moments, but the ordinary ones. So that's a little reflection from April. I'd love to continue sharing these monthly episodes here on Almost Local, almost like audio journal entries about the emotional reality of building a life between places. And maybe you'll relate to some of it too. Once again, thank you for listening, and I'll see you in the next episode of Almost Local. And now I'm off to my afternoon coffee Until the next episode.