Living Abroad

I've been spending a lot of time on internet discussion forums. It's something I haven't done before, but for the time being I'm enjoying it. One of them is a wedding forum on TheKnot.com, and another board is on TheNest.com that is for people living outside of the US.

This question was posted today (slightly adapted): Has living abroad made you more certain of what you want in life or less certain?

Here's what I answered (slightly adapted):

That's a really fascinating question... For me, it's a mixed bag. Being away from the US has definitely shown me that the States is my home. I don't think I could retire anywhere else. I even question if I could have kids away from my family without the constant support and familiarity. On the other hand, I see very clearly the problems in the US with healthcare, retirement, family policy, etc. I worry for my future there. So I think being here has given me a different perspective.

Career wise, I think I know what I want to do - I just can't do it here. So I have this idea of what I'll do someday. On the other hand, I've always admired people who are "wanderers," who can go with the flow and go where life takes them. I am not that person (way too type A), but being here has forced me to work less, to give up productivity, to think about what really makes me happy day-in-day-out, to create a mini-family with my fiancé. I imagine it has been character-building for me. Who knows where it'll lead.

/end post

I realize I didn't really answer the question, but it's a hard one for me to pin down. It hasn't made me more or less certain, but it's complicated my future, given me a strong relationship, and provided me important experiences.

Much Needed Update

It's been over a month since I've blogged. I don't have much of an excuse. For a while I was SO BUSY. In fact, I feel like since we moved here 8 (!!) months ago, I've been slammed and unsettled. But lately - wow, I am so bored.

After my parents left, I had about 3 weeks of Swedish for Immigrants. At the end of those 3 weeks, I took the test to get out of that level. Luckily, I passed! That was a big accomplishment. Since then, I haven't had any class! The next level doesn't begin until August 15th, so until then, my days have been open and painfully underscheduled.

In addition, my work has really dried up. My substitute personal assistant job needed me a lot in the past - unfortunately when I was busy moving and getting ready for our guests. Since I've been back, I haven't been called very much. Somehow my babysitting and cleaning jobs have also disappeared. The people who really needed me before just... don't. It's weird.

I spend my days wedding planning. For some reason, I got the bug. I think it happened one night when Dan and I were out with some people from the American Women's Club. Someone asked about my engagement ring, then asked when we were getting married. I explained a bit about the difficulty of figuring out a wedding that sounded fun, wasn't mad expensive, and also wasn't overly complicated due to our great distance from the US. The ladies had some great points of view. They reminded us to do what we want, and provided some ideas I hadn't thought about. After that Dan and I talked a lot about the direction and did some research. Details forthcoming, but I'll say we're close to choosing a venue.

The last piece of news is that I'm going back to school for a masters program in Welfare Policies and Management. It took me a LONG time to come to this decision. When I applied in December, I wasn't gung-ho on the idea. I figured if I HAD to I'd go back. I was accepted in March, and at that time I (supposedly) had decided that I wouldn't go back because I was working and had some possibilities for full-time work in the future. But as time has gone on, I've pulled a John Kerry and flopped back to wanting to go. I've reserved my place, I've told my employers (Lovisa if you're reading, I'm still laughing about that...), and I'm ready to go. What a crazy turn of events.

So I'm on a home-vacation until July 28th with Dan's parents come, then August 26th it's back to school!