Explanations

Something I wasn't expecting when we moved the family to another country: explanations. For the most part, it seems as if most of our American friends and acquaintances cannot understand why we would move. We've been confronted with questions such as, "Why move the entire family? How are you going to work? Where is Chile? You don't know the language, how are you going to communicate? What about schools? When will you visit?" and my favorite, "What if it doesn't work out? That's an awful lot of stress; why do that to yourselves?" Interestingly enough, our European/South American friends have never asked us any of these questions, and I'm not sure why.

And in response, I say, "Why not?" Our time in Chile is starting to go by very quickly; we've been here nearly 5 months and have experienced so much. The kids are thriving. One family we know back in Dallas had the opportunity to live in France for 3 years; they told us we would be silly to pass up such a wonderful opportunity. Do I miss the States? Yes, sometimes, mostly just our friends. Quite honestly, I grow tired of having to explain and defend our decision to relocate for a year. I'd rather discuss our experiences and talk to my friends about their lives.

To quote a friend I worked with back in Dallas when we were weighing the pros and cons of making the move here... "If you got the opportunity to move to Chile, take it. It will be an amazing experience. When you get a lot older, you don't want to look back on your life and say, 'I never went for the gusto.'" Well my friend, I went for it!