I'M MOVING...TO SPAIN
Okay…so this is a big one.
Two years ago, Shelbie and I were in Vietnam, visiting our friend Julie and her family. They were doing a year abroad, living in different countries and working remotely. Shelbie and I came from LA, where I was really struggling to find purpose and motivation for everyday life. I was in a tough place, but I was also desperately seeking clarity, a breakthrough, an Ah-Ha! Moment, anything. While we were there, we got to talking to Julie and Conan about their past lives, when they lived abroad, how they got into traveling, teaching, all of it. In those conversations, Shelbie and I dusted off one of the paths we had put on the shelf: living and working abroad. We were both on the same page about getting out of LA, and living abroad wasn’t just a dream of mine. It was a sure thing. I always knew I’d live abroad. At least, since I took a trip to Costa Rica my senior year of high school. Since that time, living abroad was just an inevitability. I knew it would happen for me eventually, cause it was meant to. So, we put all our ducks in a row and…well you know the rest of it.
A few months back, I got to thinking about where I was at with my work, my mental health, and just my life in general. Deciding to live and work abroad was definitely one of the best choices I’ve ever made. Choosing to live in Costa Rica first was serendipitous, like all the magic from my past converging with my future and my present to create space for a time in my life that was meant to happen. But it’s never been permanent. Costa Rica has felt like a second home to me most of my life, and choosing to live here a year and a half ago was a natural, easy decision. And just like I knew it would, the craving to set my sights to new places has been sinking in for a while now. My desire to live in Europe has been creeping up, since before I ever decided Latin America was a good first choice. Though I wasn’t sure exactly where I’d end up when I was on the streets of Vietnam, plotting my life of adventure, I knew Europe was in the not-so-distant future.
So…here it is:
This summer, I’ll be saying goodbye to Costa Rica, and planning my next move. It’s difficult, very difficult, to even think about the mourning process, the goodbye process, and the growth process that’s going to take place leaving such an incredible and pivotal place of my life. I’ll save that for a future, sappier blog post.
The other, much more difficult part of this process is that…(dramatic pause) Shelbie won’t be coming with me. For those that aren’t really computing that notion, that sentence, I totally get it. But Shelbie’s found a love for Costa Rica that calls her to stay where she is, and if there’s anything I know about intuition, its that it ought to be listened to. I won’t presume to speak for her, and maybe she’ll hop on here and share her recent changes, but for my end of things, I know I’m doing the next right thing. It will be very hard to separate from a life I’ve grown really fond of these last few years, living and traveling and adventuring with my best friend— but I trust we’re both doing what’s right for us.
So for now, I don’t have too many details! Just that I’m going to Spain, I’m shooting for January, after the holidays and family time have settled down. My sweet angel partner, Nathan, will be moving as well. He’s excited to be closer to his family and to be living somewhere sunny (the matter of utmost importance for this man). I plan to continue teaching, hopefully at another language institution or an International School, if possible. I’ve also been working on some continued education, so hopefully I can keep studying and pursuing that in the EU. Continuing our Spanish education was a big motivator for choosing Spain, and I think taking classes and interacting in Spanish will be a big focus of mine once I arrive. My Spanish has gotten so much better since I’ve arrived in CR, but I haven’t gotten to study as much as I’d hoped. So that’ll be a big priority for Spain. As for location, Nath & I have been looking at the coast, at Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, etc. It’s safe to assume we’ll end up somewhere sunny!
As always, thank you for participating in this part of my life, the keeping up, the staying involved, and the supporting me. It means so much to have a small, tight-knit community of friends and family who are always looking out for me, and are excited for what I have going on. As you all know, I love nothing more than to be surrounded by my people, laughing, spending time, marinated in love. Since I also have an incontrovertible lust for exploring new places, this is the best I can do to keep you all wrapped up in my life and my love.
I hope to see you all, at some point, in the months I’ll be in the U.S. before my next grand adventure.