An American on isolation

Being on this island is truly magical.

Away from many of the problems of the world as well as much of the stresses. If you want to find information from the outside world you have to look for it. In many ways it is a world unto itself and is in many ways isolated.

It is hard to believe that there is a place this isolated still in existence. This isolation is a double edged sword, there is a peace here that I’ve never experienced before.

 The nights are dead quiet, only the sound of small waves off the rocks can be heard, the street rarely have cars on them, kids run around unsupervised, and most do doors are not locked...a reflection of a different time?

There is a down side. Remember when I said the nights are quiet, in a sort of poetic way? This silence was shattered last Thursday night by the sound of a car alarm and flashing of headlights. My niece went to the airport to pick up her boyfriend. At some point the car alarm remote was dropped and the batteries came out. They tried to pick up all of the parts and reassemble everything.

 Their failure in this was not known until the returned to the car and the alarm would not stop. Without any other options, they drove home, part of the way with the alarm sounding and the lights flashing. It did turn off but every time they would start the engine or open one of the doors the annoying alarm would resume.

When they returned to the island we figured out that the alarm was missing a battery. Now in the U.S. this would not be a problem.  There are very few things you can't buy any time of day.  On the island resources are limited anytime of day and at night resources come down to what you have at home or if you can find someone who does have it.

My goodness, there isn't any place to buy French fries on this island.

This photo is from three years ago.
This was the only place to buy French Fries, Hamburgers and Hotdogs on the island...It was torn down about a year ago. 

We had to wait until the next morning to get the battery we needed, which meant I had to drive onto the ferry boat with the alarm on.

We've already discussed the Internet. I finally did get connected...as it usually is, a fairly simple solution.

True it is slower than I am used to, but I've adapted and am comfortable with it now. The question is, how much is my mind going to be blown when return to my normal speed?

The only grocery store on the island is very small. I would say the produce section in U.S. Stores is about twice the size.

 Most of the necessities can be found. They even have a marginally acceptable Mexican and Asian foods shelf. Ask me if they have fresh chicken...or plain old yellow mustard (French's)....ok so these are things that I might want and they don't have...how about more than one electrical outlet per room (more a sign of the age of the houses). You know what I'd really like? To plug in one of my electronics and not have to worry about it burning up, due to the 220 watts flying out of the wall (this time me venting).

It has become very clear to me, even though I cannot imagine a more idyllic place on the planet, there are down sides to being protected from the outside world.

I feel very safe here. If I need it, I can ask just about anyone for help. I am surrounded by people who love me. Sure there is never ending stream of "encouraging" comments to learn Swedish. I have been a part of this family for nearly ten years and feel that I am accepted for who I am...mostly.

Although they would never say it, I believe until I am fluent in swedish I will be on the margins in some ways. If I were not here, everyone would speak swedish exclusively. Most of the time they will speak english around me, but not always. This isn't usually a problem, but at times I feel isolated.

I can follow some conversations, but can easily get lost with a word I don't know or an accent I'm not use to. At this point, I could break in to the conversation and ask for clarification, but I wouldn't do that. My only other choice is to phase myself out and think about something else.

I'm also not fully familiar with the culture here as well. Although I have been here many times, I do experience some forms of Culture Shock. This is also very isolating. Usually my wife is my only full connection and she is so happy to be home, I do not want to interfere, many times I feel very alone.

Its really weird, I've experienced this before but have never really thought about it. It starts as an uneasiness...In may case an overwhelming feeling of dread and fear that my children will get hurt, this followed by depression like stage. It does pass and it get easier...but it is still very isolating

Its strange feeling alone surrounded by so many people who know me so well. Culture is such an all encompassing aspect of who we are that we cannot feel totally at home.