I was 10 years old when Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark was released into theaters. Like so many others, I was instantly hooked. Yes, I was absolutely riveted by the action and adventure. Yes, I had a crush on Indiana Jones (and Harrison Ford). Who didn’t? But, what I found most fascinating was all of the exotic destinations, unraveling history, and the idea that it might be possible to actually travel the world discovering all these things for myself.
When I entered college, it was with the intention to become an Archaeologist or an Anthropologist. I envisioned a future where I would become either Indiana Jones or Margret Mead, or some combination of the two, and I would travel the world making discoveries and learning about other cultures. Ultimately, I ended up focusing on History and Political Science while in school, and then unexpectedly spending almost 20 years managing technology projects as a profession, but I never lost my interest in archaeology or anthropology. Or my desire to travel and explore.
Maybe it’s my interest in anthropology, but I’ve always enjoyed chatting with people and discovering the little differences in how we all live our daily lives and how we see the world. One of my favorite pastimes is to simply relax in the park or at the cafe and people-watch. Because of this, I’ve never had a problem eating alone in a restaurant.
When I was approaching my 30th birthday, and I still hadn’t done any international travel to speak of, I felt that I had to do something to change that. And, along with my husband, and more recently my son, I have been lucky to spend weeks, and even months, vacationing in France, Italy, French Polynesia, and Mexico. But, somehow it never seemed enough. A vacation simply wasn’t what I was really looking for.
For many years now, my husband and I have dreamed about living abroad. I have spent many hundreds of hours researching countries and cities all over the world… just in case. But, for one reason or another it just didn’t seem like it would ever happen. As responsible adults and parents with established careers and a mortgage, there were always too many obstacles to overcome.
Then, we were suddenly presented with a situation where we had a choice to make. Door #1: make a change, but continue on our comfortable and familiar path – OR – Door #2: make a change, but take a serious detour into the unknown. We decided to take the detour.
In less than 2 months, we have chosen to sell our home and make our dream of living abroad a reality. We leave for Chiang Mai, Thailand in just a few days. It’s been a whirlwind of logistical details, excitement, anticipation, stress, difficult sacrifices, and on the rare occasion.. apprehension. But, we’re making it happen.
It’s a little crazy, but this experience is about discovery and stepping outside of our comfort zone. We’ll be sharing our experiences along the way, so stay tuned.
Meandering Family: Beyond the Nest 