Things always seem to happen for a reason. Sometimes we don’t know what a blessing things can be in the moment. One of the biggest blessings I’ve had was being asked by a 3-year-old to move to Germany. As a preschool teacher one of my little girls was moving back to Germany and I was helping prepare her for the adventure ahead. One day in class she asked me if I would be sad and I told her of course and that I was going to miss her. She responded with “Why don’t you come with me. “this was of course funny to me and only something I could dream of. Towards the end of the day at pick up her parents came and I told them what she had said. They then asked if that was even a possibility and without thinking I said yes!

Planning

It took months of planning and waiting. The family moved back in August and I was supposed to move in January, but life happens and my move date got pushed to the end of April. Some days I would think is this really going to happen, am I really doing this. Spoiler alert I did.  Moving abroad was a lot harder than I thought. This is since life didn’t stop around me and give me time to pack and organize. Life kept going with friend’s weddings, birthdays, people visiting, and work.  Once the family left we started emailing regularly exchanging information about the process such as contracts, dates, information needed to make it possible. The host mom would send me pictures of big events such as Halloween, Christmas and Easter.  As moving got closer we exchanged tickets and all final plans for my arrival.

 Packing

Packing was by far the hardest part of moving. If I could change anything about my move I would have started so much earlier. I went from having a closet and dresser full of clothes and a full shoe rack to having 3 bags. I went from a library of books to only a few. Minimizing everything was relieving and cleansing and would highly recommend it even when not moving.  Moving made me rethink the importance of things that I had bought.When packing I had a lot to bring because I was arriving in spring staying through summer and fall. So, heavy coats and pants rain gear shoes for everything and a few books and such. Pictures are one thing I left for my mom to send me when I get home sick because it will happen that is inevitable. Once everything was packed I lived out of a suitcase at home for 3 days. Everything else was gone and I was ready to move.

Stress and Emotions

Moving brought so much stress that I never anticipated out of something I was so excited for and ready to do. Two weeks before I left I broke out in hives because of stress and allergies combined, but the thing is I didn’t realize that I was stressed. As the weeks went I was trying to do way more than I should have. Spending time with friends, packing and working. This led me to moving my notice for leaving work up a week.Moving gave me such a mix of emotions that no one ever warned me about. One minute I would be so excited and ready to move and the next I would be crying over not being able to find brunch in Germany (you totally can). The entire process was so bitter sweet I was leaving everyone I loved or cared about and moving by myself to a foreign country, but I never thought of not going. Having supportive friends and family where extremely helpful when I had ridiculous break downs.

The Last Time

Saying goodbye was by far the hardest part of moving. Trying to see everyone who wanted to be was hard. Towards the end, I was fitting people into like half hour time slots. Some were not seen, but everyone who was truly important to me I made time to see them. The last month of being in Oregon I went out 3 to 5 nights a week and wasn’t home till at least midnight if not later. Before I left I did all the things I loved about it coffee, bars, and friends. On a Tuesday, my friend and I started drinking around noon and went to a few breweries and Huber’s (best Spanish coffee).  That same night went to meet another group of friends. Through this process of moving and not having a set return I really was thankful for so many great people in my life and all the great times between us. It made me realize how much we take for granitite the importance of people in our lives.There is so much going on when you are moving abroad and sometimes we forget to take a moment and just enjoy where we are and who we are with. Often when I was with someone I would be texting someone else. This was taking away from whom I was with. Everyone who took time to see me I am so thankful. Personally couldn’t ask for a better set of friends and family!