Sunday Reflections

"Once the chick has emerged from its shell or a butterfly from its chrysalis, there is no going back, but there is a continuous unfolding into the new. Let the action of unfolding be a day-by-day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute process. Find that rhythm in life and flow with it, not against it, so you will find peace of heart and mind."-----Eileen Caddy

See you Monday with a recipe I prepared on this rainy and gray day. For now, I will return to my cup of tea and my current book, Another fool in the Balkans by Tony White.

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!

It's been one year.....living overseas

It's official I'm an expat!!

But according to wikipedia, " in its broadest sense, an expatriate is anyone living in a different country from where he or she is a citizen," or how about this definition: Expatriates "are described as skilled professionals working in another country, whereas a manual labourer who has moved to another country to earn more money might be labelled an immigrant." So you can call me an immigrant, expat or stay at home Mom all three apply to me.

May 29th marked the date that we moved from Denver, Colorado to Croatia. I do hope you enjoy the pictures of the city I now call home.

Enjoying an afternoon at the coffee shop Gingola with my international friends from Hungary, France, Jordan, Ukraine, Portugal and South Africa.


Fishermen in the distance.



Beautiful sunset.

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?"