Expat Life

There are times in our lives that we find ourselves in a crossroads. We either go one way or another and hope for the best. A lot of people make the decision to move to a country that is not their own either for a job or a new adventure. Acquiring the title of expatriate or in short expat and for those of you who never heard this before this is the definition: a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing

My brother and some friends always tell me you are a very strong person to make all this changes I don't think it would be that easy for me. The truth is, is not easy! Is very hard and you have to have a backbone and a lot of strong will to do it. 

If you are thinking of becoming an expatriate I will suggest that you prepare yourself first by researching the country you want to live in, their culture, their religion, their laws and if your a woman what is it like for a woman? You may read this and say, why? Is she crazy? I am going to Italy, nothing happens in Italy! 

Sorry to burst your bubble and say that anything can happen to anyone anywhere! The reason why you have to take this precautions is that your an expat, you don't know the language (probably), you are and forever be a foreigner. 

Always know were the embassy is, the phone for the police or anything that can help you before you are in that country. In my case it was kind of easy my Habibi helped me and still I planned with my family a few things of what to do if am in trouble just in case. It never hurts to be extra careful. 

You have to be friendly and I will suggest to make friends as quick  as possible. This can be hard and to be honest please don't trust people so easily but don't be a loner. Other expats are the perfect friends because they are just like you. Missing home, missing food and looking for a lost soul just like them to share the craziness of living with the locals. 

Enjoy yourself as much as you can and please never compare places because lets be honest they are never going to be the same! That's the main reason we decided to take the plunge right? We wanted a difference an adventure. Don't be come a bitter expat and criticize everything if the country is not working for you either you move or there is something wrong with you and you need to get into it. 

Making big changes like this will expose us to our fears, insecurities and most of all ourselves. Is not only a change in the atmosphere, people and place is about you. How well do you adapt, survive and interact with other people. This experience for me has been very gratifying and one that has involved a lot of tears and soul searching. I had to change my mind, my way of thinking and instead of resistance to the change I started it embracing it. 

We have to look at the big picture, if you are in a relationship with a foreigner and living in another country like me think about the big picture not the now. A relationship is hard as it is imagine with all the changes! It gets crazy and I have a series of post coming about the challenges of this sort of relationship and how to deal with them. 

Expat life is not for everyone and if you are one like me Kudos on the experience! If you are thinking od becoming one don't be scared and jump into it with both feet. 

 Thank you for reading and following me!