One more week. By the time this gets published we are down to 5 more days. 5 more days until moving day! Well, I really thought I would write more about this transition process of going back to Germany. This crazy, somewhat unreal state-of-mind that I’m currently in and that I’ve been in for a while.
Wow…!
It’s been quite an emotional couple of days for me and my family: a farewell breakfast with my German-speaking friends, my daughter’s last day of school which included lots of tears and many emotional good-byes from classmates and her teacher, a beautiful mountain wedding followed by an even more teary good-bye from our American family. What can I say? This is a really really hard time for all of us. But we are hanging in there – somehow. We are taking one day at a time, one good-bye at a time while trying to continue living our normal life. As long as we can. Knowing too well that all of this is an unavoidable part of the repatriation process.
Panera Bread, P.F. Chang’s, Stir, Camp House, Wired, Mean Mug, my own house, my computer. It happens again and again. And it’s always really exciting! Will they recognize me? Do they look like the picture they send me? Do I look like the picture on my blog today? What do I do if we don’t have anything to talk about, if we run out of topics after only a few minutes? By now you might be wondering what I’m talking about. Well, about blind dates, of course! I’ve had several since I started this blog. And I’m loving it!
What were the most memorable moments of your 5 years as an expat in the United States? This is what Nancy from the blog Fuzzy Facts asked me when we talked about a topic for a guest post I was about to write for her readers. A really good question, right? And really good timing, too, because now really is the perfect time to look back! What happened during our 5 years in Chattanooga, Tennessee? Life-changing moments, for sure. We had a baby, moved houses, went on epic trips, transitioned from day-care to school, got used to tornado warnings and snow days, started listening to country music, learned the art of small talk (or not) and created our version of the American way of life! So please continue reading for the English version or head over to Nancy’s blog to read the German version of the 10 expat moments that I’ll never forget.
I’m back! Back from my 5-day-trip to Germany. And I’m happy! Really happy. And relieved… I’m SO glad I went to Germany and got everything sorted out: house, school, day care. I feel much less anxious now about moving back to Germany. Yes, it’s going to be hard. And saying good-bye is going to be sad. Really really sad. But moving back is going to be so doable! I’m still processing a lot of things in my head, but I promise you’ll read more about my Look & See-Trip soon. Until then I hope you’ll enjoy this short photo journey I put together for you!
