Expats again - Taiwan here we come

Here we are again, staring into the adventure of living abroad as ex-pats.  Our first experience in Shanghai, China in 2007-2009 was life-changing for our whole family and we are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to live in Taiwan for two years.

Despite our excitement at the thought of being ex-pats again, it wasn't a slam-dunk decision this time around.  Our kids are older, we have more of them, there are career considerations, and the economics of it had to make sense for our family.  But at the end of the day, the opportunity to experience another part of the world, the chance to expose our children to new views, people, and cultures won out over everything else.  We have faith that this experience will be as good as the first one!

Many friends and family members have asked if I'm going to blog again, and in truth I wasn't planning to do it again. Mostly because I'm hoping I'm smarter this time around and don't make so many rookie mistakes! I gather from conversations with many of you that my blog was fun to read last time because I was so bewildered at how the country around me worked and I blundered into some strange situations, and because I actually admitted it all!

But I've decided that writing a blog keeps me honest about my experience, reminds me of who I am and where I come from, and serves as a wonderful journal for our family.  If the price I pay is a little embarrassment when admitting my mis-deeds and mis-adventures, well, that's OK.

So, here I sit in Starbucks in Portland, Oregon, typing the first blog of our Taiwan ex-pat assignment.  We leave tomorrow morning and up until now, the last 3 months of sorting, organizing, purchasing, negotiating, socializing and packing has kept us so busy we've barely had time to breath.  And strangely, as I'm writing this, I realize for the first time I'm starting to get nervous about our move.  A little late in the game, wouldn't you say?  But the butterflies have arrived. I know it's because I'm about to enter a world where I'm illiterate, where the language is difficult at best, impossible at worst, where customs will be bewildering, where I get lost (mentally and physically!) on a regular basis, and where it's crucial to trust the people around me to help negotiate this new life.   In other words, I better make sure my sense of humor is firmly in place!

And this time we have 3 little people who need guidance on adjusting to life in a new place.  This is a much bigger task with a 10, 8 and 4 year old than it was with a 2 and 4 year old.  They are all excited, scared, nervous, sad and bewildered at what their parents are doing to them.  We trust that in the long-term these will be good decisions for our family and our kids will have a richer, deeper understanding of the world because of it.  For now, it's a mixed blessing. It's a joy to see how connected they are to all the different communities we belong to here in Portland and how they have already created friendships that we know will last a two year assignment abroad.  And it's heartbreaking to see them cry at night because they are tired of shifting beds and houses and clothes from suitcase to suitcase, and because they are scared of what's coming because they can't picture it.  How many times, as a parent, can you say, "just trust me, it's all going to work out" and cross your fingers that for this child it will be so?  And if it isn't, there is only mom and dad to fix it all and make it come out right.  It's daunting, but it's what we've chosen.

Despite the butterflies, the things left on the to-do list, and the sadness of final goodbyes, we are ready to go.  Our family is ready to start this new adventure, to settle into a new place and a new life, to deepen our connection to each other, and to discover what we're really made of.

Ironically, just as I'm getting ready to end this blog post, a calendar reminder popped up in the right corner of my screen.  It said "Move to Taiwan."  Such a small amount of words to describe the upheaval and craziness of moving a family of 5 to a new country, but in the end, it's really that simple.  In the words of the iconic Nike, we are ready to Just Do It.

We'll be in touch, from the other side of the world...