"8 Things I wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Moved Back After Living Overseas"

To all of you who have recently returned after living overseas, you have a special place in my heart because not too long ago, I was walking in your shoes.  So here it is…my letter to those returning from the field to tell you what I wish someone had told me when I first returned.

--"8 Things I wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Moved Back After Living Overseas"--

1)  “I am sorry.”

I am sorry that this next season of your life is going to be a really hard one!  {I could say it in a nicer way…but I don’t think it will help to sugar coat it}.  Maybe not for everyone, but for most people who’ve lived overseas, moving back to their home country is the hardest part of the whole experience {yes, even harder then dealing with the crazy aspects of living in another country}.

I am very sorry that you are finding yourself in this season because it is a hard journey.  Not a journey that many people will understand, and not a journey I would wish on someone {but a journey that I am thankful for…now a few years down the road}

I tell you this because I wish someone had told me that it is normal for the transition to be very hard.  I wasn’t going crazy.  Other people have found moving back to the US after living overseas to be quite a challenge too. 

I am also sorry for the hard things you are bringing back that others may not be saying I’m sorry for.  I want to take a minute to acknowledge some of those things.  You are not alone in this journey even if you feel like it.

• I am sorry for the grief of leaving all the aspects of your life as it has been.
• I am sorry for the loneliness you may feel for a while.
• I am sorry for the days you have to watch your kids sort out the confusion of reentry.
• I am sorry for the stories you would love to share but don’t get too because few people will sit and listen long enough, or they are stories that might be misunderstood in your new context.
• I am sorry for the loss of friendships overseas…and the loss again in the states as you realize that old friendships may not return to what they were.
• I am sorry if you feel like you church or supporters or agency have forgotten about you now that you are no longer living overseas.
• I am sorry for the days when you feel like you’ve gone from having an amazing job that makes a difference in the world to not knowing what you are supposed to do next.
• I am sorry if you feel like you are trying to clean up a mess someone else has made in your life.
• I am sorry for the hard things that may have happened overseas.  The things you aren’t sure how to talk about.  The things you aren’t sure what to make of.  I am sorry for the complicated and painful parts of your story that may not have a perfect ending.
• I am sorry if you’d really rather not be in the states, but are finding yourself here anyways.
• I am sorry for the way your emotional and mental health may be affected by reentry.
• I am sorry for the things you left unfinished and for the part of you that is still in another country.
• I am sorry if God seems very far away and your faith feels out of whack in this new reality.
• I am sorry for all the moments of awkwardness and confusing as you sort out your identity.

I am sorry for the hard season you find yourself in, but there is hope.  You may someday wake up and find that this season has had moments you are thankful for.

2)  This season is not forever.

I know it may feel that way, but hang in there.  Give it time.  How much time?  I wish I could tell you.  It’s different for everyone, but it will take longer then you would like it to.  For a long while, I felt like I wasn’t overseas that long so why is this so hard.  So whether you define short as six months or three years, it can take longer than you think it will to feel like you are in a place of thriving and not just surviving.....

..... http://www.rockyreentry.com/letter-returning-missionaries-wish-someone-told-first-moved-back-us/

Event Horizon Chronicle: So You Want To Get Out Of The USSA -- Or EU?

Event Horizon Chronicle: So You Want To Get Out Of The USSA -- Or EU?: For some time I have been warning of the threat of catastrophic warfare. The threat is real enough. One of the several, global, flash points...

....Recommendations for Moving To Ecuador and Argentina

I get e-mails from people asking me how much it costs to move to Ecuador. They get incensed when I tell them: "How should I know?" It depends on whether you have a wife and eight children and three large shipping containers of personal belongings, furniture and major applicances you want to ship down and move through customs (good luck with that), or are a single man who can make his way with a backpack and toothbrush, or are a 70 year-old retiree with special medical needs. 

People ask me: "Will I have to speak Spanish?" And again I scarcely know how to reply. Is it not completely obvious that if you are going to live in a Spanish-speaking country that you will need to speak Spanish, or learn it as quickly as possible, if you do not already know the language? You would think some things would not even need to be said.

Then they ask: "Will I need a visa?" Answer: "Yes, it would probably be best." And there are all sorts of visas with differing prices, because there are all sorts of people, with different life circumstances. 

And then some people get irate because I will not answer every little, petty, trivial question that pops into their heads. "Is it cold? Is it hot? Does it rain much? Do I need to wash the vegetables? Is there crime? Are people friendly? Do they like Americans?" Again, the answer is: it all depends! If you're in the jungle it's hot and humid and it rains torrentially. If you're way up in the mountains it can get pretty cold. If you're a stereotypical "ugly American," then no, most people will not like you no matter where you go in the world. As for crime, come on people, what do you think? You're coming from New York City or Chicago or Los Angeles and you're asking if there is crime? Seriously? As for washing the vegetables, what would you think?

So there is a certain level of maturity, seriousness of purpose and worldy savvy that you need to relocate to another country, as well as the financial resources to successfully bring it off. If you don't have the resources to move and you are just idly curious about South America, my advice is to check a book out of the library. Even to take a short vacation to Ecuador for one person could easily run to two or three thousand dollars or more. So if you don't have the thousands of dollars to establish life in another country, stay where you are. Don't even think about coming, because things probably would not work out very well. That's the hard reality.

One

But if you are ready and have the cash to successfully move, the requisite maturity to land on your feet and make a new life in a new country, and the desire and ability to relocate, then for Ecuador I recommend you contact Journeyman Jack.

Jack Abercrombie ("Journeyman Jack") is based out of Quito. He has a fully-insured truck and moves people in. He handles the physical logistics of moving people's household goods anywhere in Ecuador. He'll meet you at the airport and drive you and your property anywhere in Ecuador you need to go. He also can help with visas and other kinds of forms, documents and paperwork (within reason). Jack is a dual Ecuadorean-USA citizen and knows the Ecuadorean bureaucracy. Here are his contact details.

http://journeymanjackinecuador.blogspot.com

journeymanjack.com@gmail.com

toll free line from U.S. & Canada:
770-872-4104 or 770-828-7913
Quito office telephone: 011- (593) 2-349-0348,
Ecuador cell phone #'s dialing from the US:
claro: 011- (593) 98-806-6508, 
movi: 011-(593) 98-743-3009, 
dialing from within ECUADOR:off: 02-349-0348
cell claro: 098-806-6508,
cell movi: 098-743-3009,
talk free on: "Skype" 
user name: jack.Abercrombie

Posted by dr.samizdat1618@gmail.com at 7:55 PM
http://eventhorizonchronicle.blogspot.com/2015/04/so-you-want-to-get-out-of-ussa-or-eu.html?spref=bl

Retired in Cuenca...why not? - Role Reversal - Friday, April 3, 2015

Role Reversal

Supermaxi is our local grocery store, although we sometimes go to Coral (sort of a super Walmart on steroids) when we need gallon jugs of vinegar, cases of water, etc.

When we first moved here, over a year ago, when I would hear someone speaking English in either store, I would walk up and introduce myself. (Stu says my internal extrovert went on high alert...) It was a great way to meet new folks as well as ask questions about products, what to use and where to find things. Now the expats I encounter are typically friends and although we stop to chat, at times we just wave and move on down the aisle.... http://retiredincuenca.com/2015/04/role-reversal.html

Discover Cuenca Ecuador : Why and Who is Moving Back to North America after ...

Discover Cuenca Ecuador : Why and Who is Moving Back to North America after ...: So you moved to Ecuador and after one year or two you’ve decided to go back home. This happens from time to time. There are numerous reasons...



Sometimes
some of us don’t know how we’re going to feel being away from our close
family members until we actually are gone and living somewhere far
away.  I think that when we first arrive in a new paradise we do not
think we’ll be homesick because we’re so enthralled with the newness of
everything that we don’t have time to be homesick.  We actually think that visiting our children and grandchildren once or twice a year will be enough, but for some people it is not enough.
 

One
foreign couple in Cuenca told us that their children were supposed to
come here and visit but never have in the three years they have lived
here. It’s really expensive to travel abroad…and sometimes it is just
not in the budget to spend thousands of dollars on airfare for family
members.  Some have even told us that the length of travel time
necessary to come all the way to South America,  is not a feasible way
to spend one’s limited time off from work, and cuts in to the actual
'visiting time' too much.
 

Skype
is a wonderful way to visit with family and friends but it is not the
real thing, in fact getting on Skype and seeing your grand babies and
children can make you miss them even more, said one expat to us....<read more> http://www.discovercuencaecuador.com/2015/03/why-and-who-is-moving-back-to-north.html?spref=fb 

South America Just Stood Up: Can I get a big "HELL NO!" 15 MAR 2015

..On Wednesday, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said the member-states of the UNASUR would discuss U.S. aggressions against Venezuelan affairs, describing them as “gross, illegal, shameless, outrageous, and unjustified act of interference.”
The head of UNASUR, Ernesto Samper, has already made clear that the bloc stands behind the democratically-elected government of Nicolas Maduro. 

 

"There is no possibility that UNASUR will validate any attempt to disrupt the democratic process in any country in the region," said Samper.
During a meeting in Quito, Ecuador, which included representatives from other regional bodies including Mercosur, ALBA, Pacific Alliance, the Andean Community, and the Amazon Treaty Cooperation Agreement, Samper added that the sanctions against Venezuela, and the timing of the action, were not good signs.: http://www.removingtheshackles.blogspot.ca/2015/03/south-america-just-stood-up-can-i-get.html?m=1

Why Are So Many Expats Leaving Ecuador? January 13, 2015 |

Why Are So Many Expats Leaving Ecuador?

Posted in Cuenca Living, Expat Info, Need to Vent, tagged Ecuador, Lee Dubs on January 13, 2015 | 20 Comments »

By Dr. Lee Dubs
One of a group of writers who want to encourage people to be better prepared when they move to Ecuador, Dr. Dubs is a long-time resident of Cuenca. This article is one that reflects the observations of local and foreign residents who have seen too many distressed North Americans in Ecuador. These writers hope to help more immigrants arrive fiscally and psychologically prepared for their move by providing facts about life in Ecuador. This article addresses the issue of expat emigration from the country.

You can find a lot of articles that tell you that Ecuador is the perfect place to retire. Plenty of writers encourage you to move to Ecuador, and many want you to make that move for reasons of their own. Some even use words like “thousands” when wanting you to believe how many English speakers live in particular areas, implying that language and culture will present no problems.

 Astute readers recognize a sales pitch by those who intend to make a profit from their move. One fact that few writers reveal is that not everyone is happy and that large numbers of English speakers have left and are continuing to leave Ecuador.

Starting in late 2008 and early 2009 international travel readers encountered a plethora of articles extolling the virtues of moving to Ecuador, and North Americans by the hundreds heeded the siren’s call. By 2012, some profit-driven organizations and paid writers were claiming that there were over four thousand expat English speakers living in the city of Cuenca alone......<read more> https://southofzero.wordpress.com/tag/lee-dubs/

Why Are So Many Expats Leaving Ecuador?

Radio / Audio 40 min clip interview with Dr. Lee Dubs who has lived here for 25 yrs of an on, and full time for 12 yrs, Owner Operator of the Carolina Bookstore in Cuenca- as heard on the "Ecuador at your Service" -- Cuenca Overseas Radio podcast so very well done by Ashley and Michel.

There is a live radio podcast every Monday at 11:00 a.m.
This interview was done this past MON 09 FEB 2015:
By Dr. Lee Dubs, click here to listen: http://overseasradio.com/ashley-rogers-and-michel-blanchard/

Mega project enters new phase as drilling machine- hydroelectric project Coca Codo Sinclair, ...

ECUADOR NEWS MAGAZINE: Mega project enters new phase as drilling machine ...:

Mega project enters new phase as drilling machine surfaces being underground for 927 days

tunnel 1

Ecuador news
magazine - Napo, Ecuador, Feb 5 - After spending 927 days underground,
the TBM 2 machine, which drilled the first conduction tunnel of the
hydroelectric project Coca Codo Sinclair, culminated its work on
Wednesday, in the presence of Vice President Jorge Glas and some
ministers of state.

The project
will generate 1,500 megawatts of clean energy to the country, starting
in 2016, when at least 90% of the work comes into operation.

The
authorities entered approximately 1,500 meters into the mountain in the
window 2, located at Camp San Luis, in canton El Chaco, in the Amazonian
province of Napo.

The machine has drilled nearly 14 kilometers out of the 24 that correspond to the first conduction tunnel.

Hector Espin, spokesman for Sinohydro, the Chinese company responsible for the
construction of the work, said there is another TBM working in the
excavation of the remaining part of the work.

drilling machine

"TBM 1 is excavating about 10 kilometers and it comes out in a month," said the official.

He also stated that now, the megaproject is advanced by 87%. The development of the tunnel means only 25% of the work....<read more> ECUADOR NEWS MAGAZINE: Mega project enters new phase as drilling machine ...: