Being an expat is HARD
Mid- April I flew off to Finland and Sweden for a short tour, because four of my important friends had babies – all within 6 months! I spent three full days in Finland and three full days in Sweden, making the rounds visiting old friends with new additions as well as eating all the lactose free dairy products I could find.
It is so hard to drop into your "other life" for about 17 seconds before returning back home again. I'm at a point where I have so much going on in the Bay Area that it's hard to be gone for a long period of time, but at the same time there is always too little time to catch up with important people before you have to hop back on a plane.
This summer will mark six years of living here in San Jose. Six years of being away from that other life. Despite obviously missing home, we are more excited than ever to explore even more.
In the week that I've been back, I've really been thinking about what I'm missing out on not being over there – as well as gaining with living over here.
Seeing my friends and how much their lives are changing, it is really, REALLY, hard to not be able to be there to support them through these new experiences. One of my friends is even going to be moving back to the US - she's originally from there but moved with her work.
At the same time, I've made good friends here. We've made a life here. I've built a business here. I've done so many things I don't think I ever would've done if we had stayed in the comfort of Finland.
Being an expat is hard, but I wouldn't change the experience for anything – anything that I can think of at least.
Some favorite pictures from the trip:
That's me on the right in the last picture! Thankful that my friend's mom captured this moment for us.