Our Plan For Living Abroad (Pt. I)
Originally posted on 8/28/2013
Preparing for a move to Panama with my mom and three dogs would be no easy task. The comfort was knowing that so many before me have lived through it and so would I.
Do We Let Go of Our First Culture?
Being a pack rat and having spent unreasonable amounts of money to transport personal belongings across the US in the past, I was determined not to do the same when planning my international relocation. My personal attachment to “things” needed to be secondary to my desire to begin a new life without being saddled with a lot of things that I won’t “need.” Now Mom, on the other hand, would be a different story. We decided that we both wanted a simpler life and it made no sense to take all of our baggage along. We also longed for the opportunity to become familiar with our new culture and discover all it had to offer. However, as planning progressed, Mom started itemizing what she could not live without. We decided to estimate shipping costs and make our decision there. Our mutual agreement was not to take any furniture with us. We’ll see how that goes.
Should We Expect Culture Shock? Of Course!
Every traveler will experience some degree of culture shock. In our case, we were very familiar with a tropical climate, the laid back attitude and the reality of living far from family and friends. The new language, new surroundings and new attitudes would be a challenge, but one we wanted to accept. I always encourage those interested in international relocation, to research everything they can for up to a year. Meet people who moved to your destination of choice both successfully and unsuccessfully. Read blogs, magazines and books, connect via social media and make YouTube your friend. No matter how much you have traveled and how comfortable you are in new situations, culture shock is to be expected.
The one advantage my mom had over me (well, one of many), was that she had relocated several times in her life. Life in the Caribbean as a child was left behind to start life in Europe. She then crossed the pond for life in the US. Puerto Rico was yet another transition with her husband and
infant. (That was me.) And, back to the US was yet again another transition. For these reasons she felt she was in no way interested in this type of move again. Unfortunately, if she wanted to be with me, she was going to have to move out of Arizona; and my choice was Central America. Initially she was not happy. But, I knew she would need p-l-e-n-t-y of time to adjust to the idea so I provided that. Now we are both eager to make the move and fully expect the culture shock that is inevitable.
