Introduction

Years ago I thought that if I was really true to myself, I would go to London and live there.  I thought that I had been born in the wrong time and place.  I honestly didn't know what the right time was, but London was the place.  (It was probably just because I read too much Jane Austen.)  In 2007 when Mark and I went to London I hated it.  Well, hate is too strong a word, but I didn't love it.  We were really stressed out before our trip and when landed in London at 6 a.m. I expected horse drawn buggies, rolling moors and people sitting around sipping tea.  Instead I got unfriendly people walking very quickly on their way to work, horns honking and pure city (with bad food).  On top of that I kept forgetting to "LOOK RIGHT" and almost got run over several times.  In retrospect we really should have gone somewhere quiet to just sleep and unwind for at least a day before going on our trip, but alas, we did not. The idea that London should be where I was from faded and I never really thought much more about it.  

This January (2012) Mark was asked if he was still open to working overseas (apparently he had indicated that he was interested and willing to travel).  He asked me what I thought.  My first reaction was, "Sure, I'm up for adventure!"  Once I learned that this was indeed a real opportunity I got sick to my stomach and stayed that way for literally months.  I was nervous that everyone would think that it was a bad idea to move so far away from family and friends and community.  Instead, everyone responded quite positively (well, almost everyone... I got some very serious words of warning from former expats who knew firsthand how hard it can be to uproot a family for a career).  I was overwhelmed by the love and support of my family and friends and touched by those who said they'd miss us.  

After 4 months of figuring out details, here we are.  Our moving sale is in 3 days and we move out of our beloved home in a week and a half.  (Luckily we have it rented to a nice family.)  The past few weeks I have begun to get really excited.  There is a great adventure ahead of us and I can't wait to jump in and really live it!