Return to America, Part 2

I hope my last post shed a little light on what it's like to move back to your home country after living abroad for awhile and all the complicating emotions and thoughts that accompany the physical move. It's tough but there are also some really amazing things about being back, some I didn't even know I missed until I experienced it again.

First and foremost is being close to family. I love that the kids are getting to know their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. It's good for them to have these relationships and something that cannot be replaced. The birthday celebrations, the holidays, the bbq's, these are all things that will last in their memories.

Another thing about moving back is that things are just easier. When I go to the store, while I may be overwhelmed with the number of choices, I am not having to translate in my head. It's rare now, but for the first few months back, I would be taken aback every time I picked up something to read the label and saw that it was in English. Getting places? Don't have to bike, hop on a bus, and then walk, just to get to a friend's house. If it's raining, I have to run 10 feet to my car and jump in instead of piling two kids, 2 saddlebags full of groceries, and myself onto a bike and riding a mile or two against gale force winds, that somehow have been against me both coming and going.  Do I need to call and talk to someone in customer service? No problem! They are usually super friendly, don't charge me 20 cents a minute, and speak English. I remember over there just pushing random buttons for like 10 minutes, being transferred through different menu options, hoping to get to a real person, who would probably transfer me again anyways when I asked if I could speak English. (I know all my expat friends know exactly what I'm talking about, just keep pushing those buttons! )

Convenience. America is a land of convenience and this is a double edged sword. There's a lot of negative things about all this convenience but I'm only going to focus on the good things for now. 3 kids in car seats? Drive thru options are my best friend. Grocery carts at the store that are designed to tote at least 2 kids? Thank you America! People bagging groceries for you so that you aren't trying to stuff everything in your bag as fast as you can because they are already starting to slide the next person's groceries onto yours, while you are still struggling to attach your bags onto your stroller.
Basically going anywhere is just more convenient. You don't have to plan for all four seasons (ok maybe in Missouri but at least we're in cars here!) for yourself and your kids every time you go out because it's inevitable if you don't, you will be caught on your bike with 2 kids in a rainstorm, crazy wind and hail and a temperature that dropped 20 degrees (this legitimately happened to me).

I have been surprised by the level of confidence I have felt return since moving back. I think when you live abroad, it's so difficult adapting to a new culture, a new language, a new lifestyle, that you begin to lose confidence.  Some people are naturals at learning a new language. I am not. Attempting to speak the language in a foreign country was really hard, even after 4.5 years, university language classes, and experience. Too many times did people look at me with quizzical eyes as they tried to figure out what I was saying, even though when they repeated the correct pronunciation back to me, what I had said sounded exactly like what they said...at least to me. Here I know how to talk...mostly. I am not hesitant to approach someone to ask a question or a price. I know the cultural expectations here and how to function within them when need be. I'm not consistently having to dispel myths about my culture (No, all Americans don't carry guns in their cars, love President Obama, hate poor people and immigrants, etc, etc).

There's so many other random things I love about being back. It's nice with 3 young kids to have a little ease and convenience in your life.  We want our kids to know America as home.  We would love to live abroad again sometime, as we had such rich experiences and made lifelong friends but for right now, as tough as it has been, we are pretty content settling down for awhile.