Tag Archives: xpat

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Outside the Comfort Zone: In Hot Pursuit of the Vision!

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Change is growth.

Change is growth.

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This week I realized that it has been 8 months since we agreed to turn an unwanted opportunity into an adventure.  Today as I type this the last box has just been unpacked, the pictures are hung, and we’ve taken one quick spin around the compound on the Harley – celebrating that we are finally settled!

This weekend we shopped at one of the stores that we were in, on my first day here, causing me to reflect on that day:

  • Shortly after 3 AM the anticipated call to prayer blared from a speaker.
  • Once we were up we drove on roads that have lanes painted on them, however those lanes really don’t mean anything, as drivers simply drive wherever they want, whenever they want with no driving protocol or enforcement.  
  • As a woman – driving is not a wise option for me.  (It’s not a law, but you can get arrested if you do it!)
  • I was wearing my new black “cloak of invisibility.”  (In case you wondered, it is effective – as my husband quickly discovered how difficult it was to identify his wife when everyone is wearing a cloaking device!  Since that day we have wondered how small children learn to identify their mothers in a crowd and joked that perhaps I should add a huge Harley Davidson decal to the back of my “cloak” so he can spot me in a crowd!)
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Life on an Expat Compound – AKA Sesame Street

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Just over a week ago, I arrived in a new country, ready to begin my first expat journey with my husband and our dog.

Since my arrival, my heart has continually been filled with thankfulness for:

  • Our safe travels and that our little family is together again
  • Friends and family in the states that were incredibly supportive through our transition
  • Virtual friends here that have offered advice and encouragement – they are indeed made of flesh and blood and so welcoming!
  • A beautiful new home and modern conveniences that will make the transition a little easier.

We will be living on an expat compound – which I have fondly renamed “Sesame Street.”

These are my First Impressions of Life on “Sesame Street”

  • It is a place filled with parents of great vision that are determined to give their children a global understanding of people, geography, culture and history.
  • It is a place filled with courageous families that continually adjust to life in different climates, with different customs, with different transportation systems, with different freedoms and different restrictions.
  • It is a place where everyone knows your name.
  • Where it’s normal to knock on your neighbors door and welcome them to the neighborhood.
  • Where doors are frequently left unlocked.
  • Where kids play in the streets, leave their bikes on the sidewalks, and play freely throughout the neighborhood.
  • It’s a place filled with people of all colors and from all nations.
  • And a place of instant camaraderie.

It is also a place where the ideal runs into the real: