Hey everyone, I'm finally going to tell you that "big thing" I've mentioned recently!! I completely respect your time and I realize we don't all have the whole day to read long posts. Because of that I'm going to give you the punch line first before the long version of the story. Drumroll please.............
I'm back!!!! I'm going to be living in the States again for now and at least for the near future!!!
Okay, now for the longer version. This is for all you detail oriented people (like me 😜). If you've been following me for any length of time, you know that I'm citizen of the United States (born and raised in Tennessee actually), and that I moved with my family to Southern Chile when I was 17. For the past four years, I've been on this crazy journey in Patagonia with my family.
Now here's where it gets complicated and where you're probably asking "why?" Well, believe me, I wish there was a quick and simple answer I could give to this. question but there are honestly many different reasons. It's sort of like a bunch of little clues along the way all lined up and pointed us to one place.
For various reasons, My parents wanted to expose us to some travel and to a different culture. Because of this, they poured hours of study into where in the world would be a good spot to take his family, both for beauty and for travel and culture. My parents ( who would be the first to call themselves crazy ) decided that the South of Chile would be a great place to achieve their goals, in particular the South of Chile ( Patagonia ).
So, in 2013, we sold the farm in North Idaho along with basically EVERYTHING we owned at that time. Here's the thing, I am one of 7 siblings so that made 9 of us at first, but our numbers didn't stop there. In addition to the all of us, my grandma (my mom's mom) came down to live with us shortly after we moved, followed by my older sister (who was married with a baby on the way at the time) and her husband. So, picture this, 11 people sell EVERYTHING and relocate to Southern Chile taking LITERALLY only what could fit into our suitcases. Each of us had 56 KG ( 100 pounds ) of stuff, and that was all. Oh, and then a little later on my younger sister met the man who is now her husband and he moved there as well, so make that 13 people when you add him and my, now 2-year-old, nephew.
Living in Chile has been an amazing experience for every one of us. We've met so many incredible people from all over the world who I hope to call friends for the rest of my life. We tried so many new things and even got to see a volcano erupting right in front of us.
The thing is, living in a foreign culture does have its challenges. Without being too specific, we had a sequence of family events within our household starting back in January that sort of had us all feeling like we could use a vacation from our extended vacation in Chile so to speak. That's why we felt like it would be a good idea for ALL of us to pay a visit back to the States. Let me emphasize that it was just supposed to be a visit. We really wanted to reconnect with family, in particular my aunt in Northern Idaho. ( @lifes-a-donut ) All of us, and I mean all of us came to the states for this ''visit'', Haha, we also all brought empty suitcases so that we could fill them up with goodies and take back to Chile. Well,....that didn't happen.
Probably one or two weeks into the visit to the States, (during our time in Florida 🎡 🎢 🎠⛱), some things started falling into place for each of us that made us realize we needed to be here a little longer than planned. I guess you could say we were all coming alive with some of the possibilities and opportunities that we saw in different things. That's when my parents made the decision that we were going to extend our stay, and then somehow within in just a few days after that ''for a while'' turned into "indefinitely"
Effective today, my profile now says "Expat from the states who LIVED in Southern Chile, has now returned.
Remember, I said we all came with empty suitcases. A hugely ironic part of this story is that we now have close to nothing. All of us came with the minimal amount of Summer clothes to make as much space as possible to bring things back to Chile. What I'm saying here is that this crazy gang is basically at reset when it comes to belongings. More importantly, since we came with plans to just visit, we've been staying with my aunt, so um......eh hem.......I guess that technically makes us homeless, haha.
Before you get too worried though, you should hear the news that we've just rented a house and we're moving into it in just a few days. The new kitchen is incredible ( future post, I promise ). We have been slammed with hunting and gathering everything we need to live. Beds, blankets, sheets, towels, spoons, forks, etc., you name it, we have to buy it. It's quite an adventure. I'll be posting pics of my new kitchen and studio area along with anything and everything else about this new chapter in my life if you're interested.
Back to the subject of my time in Chile though, I just wanted to add that I have nothing but good to say about Southern Chile. It's gorgeous and the mild climate if fantastic. However, there is just something to be said about differences in culture and for this next part of our lives we feel to be closer to family for a while. Things change in this massive, yet very small, world and (if we're any example) sometimes they change rapidly. I've witnessed my parents be mobile and fluid to change, and I've learned so much from simply that. I've also experienced, on many occasions now, the exhilarating freedom that comes from not being tied to possessions and "stuff". That's a knowledge I wouldn't trade that for anything.
Now that I am back in the States I've got to admit to being extremely excited about so many more opportunities being available to me when it comes to my blogging. This is just a fraction of the details that I hope to eventually be able to share and I can't wait to share all of this with you as time goes along. Stay tuned!!
My family that have accompanied me on the above described journey are 3 of my sisters ( @uglysweater, @alovelymess, and @fullofhope ) and my brothers ( @trumpit and @freerunner ). Oh, and my Dad who convinced me that steemit is perfect for me last August is finally going to jump on board too( @noboxes ). I would really appreciate it if all of you would give my family a super warm welcome
