Our International creator, Ashton (aka @JustLikeGranny) offers some thoughts on life in a new Country

The real truth of it is that it is scary, anxiety driven, and nerve wrecking. Everything you’re used too, grew up with, and formally knew goes down the toilet. In an almost literal sense. Anything you can think of has changed and it’s like you died and woke up in someone else's body in a whole new life, in a whole new world.

One of the hardest changes for me was food. In the south almost everything is deep fried, there’s also our garden vegetables, canned goods, and the manner in which we make our food. It’s like a secret language only us southerners know. Not just in our accents, by the way, but, with our flavor profile to knowing exactly when the grease is hot. It just runs in our souls.

I grew up with greens, cornbread, biscuits, beans, and actual grilled BBQ. Here it’s baguettes, scones, salads, and different meat cooked on planks that's so lean that even Arnold couldn’t chew it. I am used to going to the grocery store and being able to buy my chicken broths, cream of chicken or mushroom soups, grits, cornmeal, and a lot more easily at any place. But, here I have to search through every store to find the things from home or make it homemade to even try to get something that resembles it. People don’t understand how hard it is for me to try and adjust recipes to what I grew up on to make it equivalent here. I even have to order things from the American Gift & Food Store, at a higher scale price to just have a tiny piece of home in my new home.

There are also things I can’t replace or mock, like driving my tiny car to my grandma's house and sitting with her while she watches game shows and us just chatting. I can’t do that anymore. If I have a question about a recipe, I just can’t call her up anymore. I gave up a lot for love.

Cooking is one of the things that makes me the happiest in the world and the truth is, David isn’t a food person. He eats everything I make and he enjoys it, but, it’s not the same as if I got to feed several people who enjoy my food like I used to do at home.

Searching for products and learning new ways to make what should have been simply made from things at home really does get tiring. Especially if you don’t feel appreciated enough for the hard work and recipes you put together. But, in the end I got to cook and he enjoyed it. He even cleans the kitchen up for me each time I cook, which is.. A LOT!

So changing recipes can be very difficult for me but I find ways around it. The plus side is I eat fresher ingredients than just opening up a can and plopping it into my skillet. I have acquired new skills in finding products, how to use them, and what grits are actually made of. Plus, my knife skills have gotten better since I have to chop up all my own ingredients.

The only downside is sometimes I just want to be lazy and quick; but can’t other than that, I have learned substitutes and new recipes from trying new things and trying to mock other recipes. In the end it all works out great and I am happy to still be able to cook even though my health isn’t the best.

In conclusion my dear friends, don’t move unless you're certain, life isn’t one big fairytale movie. There are sacrifices and sometimes it is more on your end than others. But, thrive in what you have and what you learn. Enjoy the little things and you’ll do just fine.