Well, Jason´s dad...my dear father-in-law :) asked me what I thought about living abroad. This is Jason´s third country that he has lived in. Some things are the same, some things are different for him. I am a newbie at this whole thing though. So, I thought that the question would be a mighty fine blog post!
So, here it goes...
First off, I have always wanted to live abroad. I have done some traveling abroad. Seen a part of Asia, and a tiny part of Europe. I will admit that there are parts that were glorified in my mind about living abroad. I think you imagine that you will love everything! Really though, I´m a born and raised American and so there are just things about The States that I will always prefer.
I also imagined the whole language learning thing to be easier. It´s very hard. It´s also very frustrating at times to not know how to say some of the simplest things. The part that makes me the saddest is that I really can´t get to know my students as well as I would like. I can communicate a litte with them but it´s not at the level that I would like.
There are a ton of things that I have loved about living abroad. I love how every day is a challenge. I love how there are little victories (like having a random conversation with a stranger and ACTUALLY communicating with them). I love how because every day is a challenge my reliance is steadfastly set upon the Lord and I am constantly in His Word. I love the people, the kindness, the great and above the top hospitality, the new friends, and so much more.
There are quite a few little things that I don´t exactly love about Chile. I won´t list them now...I´ll do that at the end of this whole adventure. Normally the things that I don´t like aren´t a very big deal. What´s hard though is there ARE days that I have a hard time with my students or just feel generally cranky or tired. On these days I feel weak and these little things that I don´t particularly like turn into GREAT irritations. This is when the "USA is better" feeling creeps up and I start to think "What is wrong with this place?" I hate, hate, hate when I feel this way. Thus, you can see why I have to depend on the Lord so much. haha.
Overall though I have loved the experience. The Lord has been so very, very faithful and it´s so amazing to see in such a tangible, obvious way. I love working with the kids and being here with Jason. It´s been good for us to kind of step aside and become "one" in a place that is challenging and difficult at times, and where we knew nobody (at least at first). I am thankful that the easy days far outweigh the hard days. I am excited to come home and miss it at times but I know that I will miss Chile a ton. I recommend anyone with the desire and ability to live abroad, at least for a little while. It does wonders to you and really...it´s just plain fun! :) haha.
Yeah, when I was younger I really wanted to study abroad or live in another country for awhile. But now I know that I will never live in another country. I may not even travel to another country. That kind of realization is kind of sad at first. You know the death of a dream. But I get that kind of challenge at home just trying to get through every day so I guess I am good. No longer have any desire to get too far from home. Too much of a challenge and a risk to my health (not to meantion physically painful). Just traveling the 1000 miles by car to Barbara's has pushed me to the limit. The only saving thing has been that for some reason I have slept really well the last few nights while we have been here. We went to bed at 11pm and I woke up twice but went back to sleep with in an hour and didn't get up until 9:30 am. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like so much fun and I am really glad you are enjoying all of it - the fun and the challenge. It is so great that you are getting to try this out during this time when it is just the two of you, so you can see if you want to make it a career. I am sure you will miss it like crazy. It is funny what you miss when you leave a place, you never know till it's gone. When we lived in Fayetteville, NC I thought there was NOTHING good about it (really) but when we left I missed some things - the warm ocean water, the thunderstorms, the really great librarys. Who knew.
It will be interesting to hear what bugged you while you were there as well as what you miss about it when you get home. Also if something bugged you at first and then you got to like it later.
It has been fun seeing your pic's and all. Keep us posted.
Love - Mom
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