From the outside my existence is boring. I stay inside all day. I don’t go out unless I have to because I’ve been bullied even as an adult for what I look like, so I just never go out to avoid people potentially judging me. I recently moved across the world and aside from my wife who works alot, I have no friends or family. I’m pretty much alone in the universe, tucked away in my corner.
I realized that’s why I read. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t go out and join a club or volunteer because of the language barrier. And I don’t have a passion that pulls me in like baking, gaming, or playing piano. So if I’m not studying or sitting here letting my mind run wild, I read. It’s like I get to be an observer in other peoples adventures and be entertained while the time passes.
What about you? Why do you read?
I know you didn’t ask for advice, but your language skills will improve if you go out and interact. I know it depends where you are, but in some places where you’re clearly a foreigner you actually aren’t being “seen” the way you would be at home, people just assume you’re a tourist (and also assume you’ll get things wrong). As a shy person when I moved to Asia I actually found that liberating. It might also be worth looking to see if there’s an expat group from your own country, or a language group that wants to practice English in exchange for offering lessons in the local language.
I am a librarian’s daughter and I read for a lot of different reasons: pleasure, escapism, to lose myself in the empathetic experience of being someone different from me, to educate myself about new things I wouldn’t know otherwise, to feel terror in a way that’s safe, to feel less alone, or to have a conversation with who I used to be when I reread a book. All the reasons! Depends on the book :)