Well, we've reached that time ~ time to close the chapter on our expat adventures. It's been 7 1/2 years since we first moved overseas, first to Ireland and then to Dubai. Making that first leap was the hardest and I still remember the knots I felt in my stomach as I boarded the plane to what would be my new home for 4 1/2 years. I was excited and terrified at the same time. Adapting to a new country, trying to fit in, learning the lingo and hoping to make a friend ~ leaving behind everything familiar, friends and family, my comfort zone. I think we all imagine at one time or another what life would be like living in a foreign country and we certainly wear rose-coloured glasses thinking of how incredibly glamorous it would be. But I think only fellow expats can ever truly understand what it's really like and how incredibly difficult, stressful and lonely things can be at the same time. Living somewhere as an expat isn't like being on a holiday and while you are trying to settle into your temporary digs, life goes on back home ~ parents get older, nieces and nephews get bigger, friends make new friends.
We don't regret the leap we took ~ we have been able to experience different things and meet some interesting people. We've seen places we may not have seen otherwise {I certainly don't think we would have ever visited Dubai if we hadn't lived here!}. But we've also been on the receiving end of emails informing us of medical emergencies back home and undergone major surgeries ourselves with no support system to help us through. Those are the ups and downs of this type of life. If nothing else, being an expat has given me an entirely new appreciation for where I'm from and I'm excited to go back.
This has been our weekend ~ getting packed up and our container loaded for the slow boat shipment back to Canada. In 6-8 weeks we'll see our things again, hopefully ready to set up into a home we'll have for a while. We've got 3 weeks or so left in Dubai to tie up loose ends, do those last few things we haven't done here yet and say good-bye to some friends. But my world traveller days are over and I can't wait to be a Canadian resident again {and to shop for a home!}.
lisa
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