Things That Change Forever

     About a month ago I read an article online entitled "Things That Change Forever When You Live Abroad" by Angie Castells.  I want to share her list with you and add my own thoughts.  For those of you who have lived abroad (because you chose to, not because your job forced you to as I think that would be a different mindset) I welcome your thoughts/comments as well.
     1)  "Adrenalin becomes part of your life and 'routine' is dismissed from your vocabulary."
     I find this to be true when I travel and so I have no doubt that this would become a way of life.  I love the rush of adrenalin when I'm about to land in France or wherever I might be traveling to.  Even with jetlag, I find that everything is exciting!  I love reading all the signs in the language of the country.  I practice saying them out loud, especially if it's a country where I do not speak the language.  I have surprised people in Greece, Italy, Croacia, and the Czech Republic because I have a pretty good accent with other languages and they have thought that I actually spoke their language.  I have received (as well as people who were with me) free food, entrance to museums, free souvenirs, etc, simply because I made an effort to try out that language.  Nothing routine about that!

We got free drinks and desserts at this Greek restaurant!

Adrenalin on the donkey trail on Santorini!

  
      2)  "Suddenly you're free and feel like you're capable of anything!"
     I find myself doing things that I might not do at home.  I can spend hours in museums and old churches.  I stop for roadside markets and little shops.  I read everything I can about the place I plan to visit (or live!) and make notes about what I want to see and do.  I look forward to house sitting as I believe that will free me to explore so many other places.  It will free me financially which will be a huge bonus.  Not having to pay a mortgage or lease every month will free up a large amount of money for other things!
     3)  "You no longer speak one particular language.  You learn and unlearn at the same time."
     When you arrive in a place where English is not the first language, you realize how large our world is and you see things from a different perspective.  I don't think you have to speak a second language to realize this, but learning a second language certainly opens opportunities (and views) that were not there before.  Things that we take for granted in American culture, just aren't there in other parts of the world.  And I, for one, love that!  Andy and I have talked many times about how our views are broader and more tolerant from all of our travels.  We often find ourselves saying, "Well, that's a first world problem".  Things that we find inconvenient in America are often non-existant in other countries and therefor not a problem for them!
     4)  "You learn to say goodbye and enjoy yourself.  You find balance between bonding and letting go, between nostalgia and pragmatism."
     I have been saying goodbye to many things.  We are a culture of "more stuff".  As I am renovating my house I am making piles:  the trash pile, the GoodWill pile, the yard sale pile, the taking to France pile (that one's pretty small as it will have to be things that will fit in a suitcase), a storage unit pile.  It is definitely a balancing act.  You determine what really has value to you and what that means.
     5)  "Normal?  What's normal?"
     To illustrate this I am going to recount a scene from Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence."  He and his wife have just moved from England to Provence.  It's January when they buy their old farmhouse and start repairs.  One morning they wake up to frozen pipes because of the nasty Mistral - a wind that starts in Siberia and sweeps everything in its path as it heads south.  His wife asks, "Is this normal?".  Peter responds, "I've no idea!  Isn't that wonderful?"  "Isn't what wonderful?" she asks with a frown thinking that he's lost it!  "That we no longer know what's normal!" he says with a huge grin.
     6)  "Time is measured in tiny little moments."
     I can't wait for those moments of wandering the narrow streets of a village or driving through an unfamiliar countryside.  But I will say, that this is a point that we can all enjoy every day.  We should open our hearts to those tiny little moments.  It's hard to do that when you are still working and in a routine and all you want to do is finish work and get home and then you miss the way the clouds look or the rays of the sun playing on the mountainside.  I bought a really nice bicycle years ago and spent a lot of time riding around my neighborhood and down into Monument Valley Park, but I realized that I didn't enjoy it as much as walking.  Walking is at a slow enough pace that I can relish those tiny moments of wonder.

A cave and waterfall in the middle of Paris!

A vineyard in Paris!

     7)  "Nostalgia strikes when you least expect it."

     I will relate this to my thoughts about my mom.  (I know that isn't exactly what the writer had in mind, but it works as an illustration)  There are things that I miss about my mom and sometimes it's when I'm watching a TV commercial or driving down the street past a place where she liked to eat or I've read something that reminds me of her.  I know there will be times living in France when I really miss my friends and my life back in the US.  I expect that to happen.  Nostalgia is not a bad thing at all.  It is our collection of memories that make us feel happy.
     8)  "You change.  It will shake up your roots, your certainties and your fears."
     To paraphrase Francis Mayes ("Under the Tuscan Sun") I want to find a place that will have its way with me.   She also said, "Anytime I've stepped in my own footprints again, I haven't been renewed."  She longed for a place that would "shake up" her understanding of the world and her place in it.  I feel the same.
     9)  "You can fit your home into a suitcase or two."
     I plan to leave home with two suitcases and a doggy carrying case.  That's it!  Knowing that I will be house sitting and not looking for a permanent abode makes it easier to know what to take and what not to take.  I am setting aside a few items of "nostalgia" that I want to take.  One of my mom's angels and bluebirds that she collected.  One of my dad's blue glass bottles that he collected.  A few items from my childhood.  I'm still deciding.  But other than clothes, there won't be much else in my suitcases.
    10)  "There's no turning back.  Once you know what it's like 'out there', marveling at the world everyday is wonderful."
     An article in my "International Living" magazine a few months ago was written by an American couple who sold everything they owned in the US about three years ago and all they do is house sit - all over the world!  They said that when they first started they thought it would be for just a year, but now they can't imagine giving up the opportunities to see the world in this way.  They have no expenses for housing.  They spend a month here or a couple of months there.  They've been to every continent (except Antarctica) and they see life as a grand adventure.  They marvel every day!!
     I would  love to hear your comments on these thoughts.  Thank you for joining me on my journey.  Merci!   (Next week I'll give you some updates on the house and some thoughts about Spring)