Incoherent Scribblings

Well, I am still not done with my needleroll.

This is a direct result of the fact that I haven’t been stitching as much as usual the past couple of weeks. However, I am happy to report that at least the one-over stitching is done… and in my humble opinion, it looks fab! The rest of the stitching consists of specialty stitches and though I always think they are going to go fast, they never do.

I did work a little bit on the needleroll today, but I was getting fed up with the four-sided stitches. The pattern calls for them to be done in #12 Perle Cotton, and after making a special trip into town to acquire some #12 PC and stitching two rows, I decided that since all of the other stitches are done with two strands of DMC the four-sided stitches look bulky and awkward done with Perle Cotton. However, instead of frogging them out tonight I decided to put the needlroll aside and pick up “Catch the Wind” for the weekend. After all, it is quite possible that I will come to the conclusion that the four-sided stitches look OK after I take a little break from them.

As we all know, “Catch the Wind” is nearly finished and since this weekend is dedicated to the first ever monthly stitch-a-thon over at the Robin’s Nest, I decided I would work on CtW with the hope of getting the cross stitching finished. As of this evening, I have two of the kite tails completed and there is a very good chance that I can get the others added tomorrow.

In fact, I just snuck a quick peek at the chart and realized that with a little persistence I could maybe even have a happy dance before I go back to the needleroll. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

In my experience, there seem to be two main categories of expatriates: career/relocation expatriates who, along with their significant others, are sent to a foreign country for work-related reasons and love immigrants.

As the name suggests, a love immigrant comes to a foreign country with no other security than his or her love for a person with a passport different than his or her own. A love immigrant may or may not ever plan to “officially” assimilate into her adopted country by acquiring another or additional citizenship, but every love immigrant comes with the intention of staying forever.

Like culturally homogeneous couples, couples that include a love immigrant face the task of keeping their love alive. However, in addition to this enormous undertaking, a love immigrant also faces the challenge of integrating into an unfamiliar society. She must start a life with new friends and acquaintances and carve out an identity that allows her to be more than just “X’s significant other.” Additionally, the love immigrant will face some degree of culture shock, may have to learn a new language, try to get a job, and might want to start a family.

Some love immigrants seamlessly make the transition into a foreign society while others have a much harder time. It takes a great leap of faith to become a love immigrant and most, if not all, would say that it was worth it.

However, it is a cold hard fact that in this day and age, culturally homogeneous or not, many relationships no longer last forever. People grow apart and love withers and dies.

This situation is never easy, but for a love immigrant it is additionally complex as he or she must confront a multitude of issues. However, first and foremost in her mind is the fundamental matter of whether or not she should stay in her adopted country or return to her native land. Many factors come into play when answering this question and it is probably the most difficult decision of all, but once it is made the rest falls into place.

I should know… I was a love immigrant.