My List

There are days when I miss certain things in my daily routine, I guess it happens to everyone from time to time, so here is a small list of why I'm grateful for what I do have. It helps to keep life in perspective don't you agree?

WHAT I MISS............................WHAT I HAVE

Microwave.....................Fresh Organic Produce

Starbucks...................... Endless cups of Brazil coffee right at home

Dryer............................ Clothes last longer

Driving................... Walks on the beach

Career....................Beli calling me MAMA,MAMA and I could not have a better BOSS

Friends......................I am working on making friends here and so far so good

Parents................My In-Laws have given me endless love and support they are my 2Nd parents

Sisters...................Have a wonderful Brother-in-law

Nephews............. .Beli is making new friends as well so I'm busy planning play dates

English................. Learning Croatian (classes begin in a few weeks!)

And I could continue but Beli just woke up and now back to Mommy duty.

(I wrote this list last year but now there are a few updates)

About the driving part; I'm more secure about driving around the city, all though the motorcyclists still scare me, they come around the corner so fast! AND I no longer miss the microwave.

Since moving overseas I have met many good friends which I'm very grateful for. They cheer me up when I'm having one of those days. (I took this picture at a children's birthday party, and I just thought it was so adorable that the little boy was trying to hug the birthday girl.)

And today is corner view "school" in Spain, hosted by Jane so I invite you to stop by and say hello! Even though Beli is not in school she does love to read books. Apparently in Spain children start attending school at 2 years of age!

Lessons learned: Is moving overseas a Good idea?

Today I found an article titled: Is Moving Overseas a Bad Idea? and as I read the author's eleven reasons of why it was a bad idea, I wondered about the choices I made and was inspired to write this post, to tell you my reasons for disagreeing with what most of the article had to say. (Note: you can click here to read the article in its entirety and to avoid confusion, the first statement is directly from the article and the second is my opinion.)
1. You may stay longer than planned: The longer you stay the more life at home will go on without you. You will miss the small and big family events. Your friends will develop routines that don’t include you. Making time for your phone calls will become more of an effort for them.

I will admit that returning to the Midwest for a family visit after a year of living in Croatia was more difficult to adjust than I thought. I knew my family had busy schedules and routines to follow. I tried to be flexible, yet there were moments when I felt like an inconvenience. For example, having transportation available was a major struggle, maybe because I'm the type of person that has a difficult time asking for help. You might say, "couldn't you rent a car?" I guess I could have, but life is not always that simple or is it? Alright, as you might have guessed, I mainly agree with this first statement, now on to the second one.

2. It is more difficult to raise children without family and friends nearby.

Since my husband's family live in town and are only minutes away, I would have to disagree with this statement. My in-laws are wonderful grandparents and baby-sitters. And if I need additional moral support, my Mom and sisters are only a phone call away!
3. Cultural Isolation: You will not have a shared history with anyone, except your partner if you have one and then only if he or she is from your home country. You won’t understand the in-jokes at dinner parties, you won’t know the good places to go for buying wardrobe basics, or the best grocery stores for the widest selection or the places to avoid at holidays or that shops close for half a day in the middle of the week.

I would argue, "what about the new experiences you are having in your new country, isn't that worth some value, remember my frog incidence and the rooster story?" You see, we can all have in-jokes. So go on, share them with your acquaintances! And about the good places to go shopping, "couldn't you ask your neighbors, co-workers, friends?"

4. Culture Shock: It’s hideous. And it is not just for new expats—even after living somewhere five or 10 years you will still experience culture shock. Everyone gets culture shock. You will not be an exception no matter how open minded you think you are, no matter how much you think you want to live in another country.

Hideous...Really? Scary, maybe but hideous? Repulsive? I would have to disagree and I would be lying if I told you that I haven't experienced culture shock, but that is part of growing up, of being open-minded you either embrace your new country and its culture or you find it repulsive and spend your days counting the minutes until you return home. Life is full of choices. So what will it be? For me, I made the choice to live in a foreign country with hubby and allow Beli the opportunity to know her other side of the family plus I'm enjoying my time as a stay-at-home Mom.
5. Homesickness: This will hit when you’ve just returned from a visit home, or when you’ve had a bad night sleep with a new baby or when you’re sick of the weather, or when you see a family get together and you know your family are getting together without you. Or it will hit when your washing machine breaks down and you have no idea how to navigate the little nuances of repairman culture in the host country. How could that be difficult, you ask? (Here all the seasoned expats have a knowing chuckle…)

Yes there have been times when I'm homesick and wonder why couldn't we live in the same country? But for the most part, I feel blessed and very lucky to have two loving families, even if they are oceans apart. Who would have imagined that one day I would be living overseas. I tell you, life works in mysterious ways.

So I chose to only discuss 5 of the 11 reasons because the other six I felt could apply to any situation in life and not necessary to moving overseas. I'm also interested in what other expats have to say about these statements. Do you agree or disagree? And what about the family and friends left behind, what are your thoughts, "is moving overseas a good or bad idea?"

Friends learning Croatian at a Cafe

"And the rooster goes Cockadoodle Doo!," exclaimed Peter.

We all spoke English well, with the exception of Clementino who insisted we speak only in CROATIAN--after all, it was in taking our Croatian class that we met one another. And we were all living in Croatia yet didn't speak the Croatian language.

One evening after class a few of my classmates and I decided it was time we got acquainted. We agreed to have coffee at the Cafe Luxor, an Egyptian-themed Italian restaurant located inside the Diocletian Palace. The cafe was luxurious and from the moment we stepped inside, we were embraced by the friendly waitress and consumed by the warmth of the cafe's atmosphere. She took our coats and offered us a table, "I will give you a few moments to look through the menu," she said in a polite and sweet tone. We looked around at the intoxicating interior design. Directly above us was a ceiling that resembled a small portion of the Sistine Chapel with angels floating on white fluffy clouds. "I wished I had my camera," I thought. A big black piano sat in the corner of the restaurant as someone wooed us with Italian music.

Our after-class meet up was very international: Peter was Canadian, Clementino was from Italy while his girlfriend Visnja, was Croatian. John was American--from New York--and me, well, from Mexico. Quite a diverse group, right?

We ordered drinks and began a conversation in English but Clementino interrupted, "Govori Hrvatski Jesik. Speak Croatian!" Easier said than done and I could see it by the expression on every one's face that I wasn't the only one who was worried. This was only our 3rd class. I wondered how to say, "This place is lovely." But I was lost in translation. We all stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity with no one saying a word. Silence. Then we heard, "So Peter how are you adjusting to life here in Split?," Visnja asked.

"Well, I really like the city...," Peter answered, but he was quickly interrupted by Clementino who again shouted, "GOVORI HRVATSKI!" And after several more minutes of awkward silence, the strangest thing occurred.

John: What's the sound of a dog, in Croatian?
Visnja: Vau-Vau
Peter: How about in Spanish?
Me: Guau-Guau
Clementino: Bau-Bau

This was fun. Adults at a cafe in Croatia making animal sounds over coffee. Then I got the question-asking bug and got in on the fun. "What about a rooster?," I asked. Everyone got a cheerful glee in their eyes and took turns.

Visnja: Cucu-riku
Peter: cockadoodle- doo
Me: Kiki-ri-ki
Clementino: Keek-a-ree -kee

We roared with laughter as we exchanged other animal sounds. People at the cafe thought we were crazy and we gave them reason when we began to sing Old Macdonald with each of us sounding out animal sounds in our native tongue. It went a little something like this:

Old MacDonald had a farm, Ee i ee i oh!
And on that farm he had some dogs, Ee i ee i oh!
With a woof-woof here and a vau-vau there,

here a guau, there a bau, Everywhere a guau-guau.
Old MacDonald had a farm, Ee i ee i oh!

It was an exciting and fun evening although the natives thought we were intoxicated. But we didn't want to stir trouble since we wanted to return to this cafe. We said good-night and good-bye and promised to do this again--minus the animal sounds but we couldn't make any concrete promises. So the next time you encounter someone who doesn't understand English very well, and you need to communicate with them, try animal sounds, it works every time! I'm not sure how that will work out in an emergency, but it'll be fun finding out!

What silly things have you and your friends done while in public?