Last year before Christmas decorations even thought about emerging from the attic, I started getting the unsettled feeling that comes with knowing this is the last whatever holiday/season in this house. It’s a strange feeling that I’m sure most military families are familiar with. I mean I still really feel like I just unpacked and just finally figured out the most sensical arrangement of my furniture!

Nevertheless, here we are again, plotting our return across the pond, just two years after arriving. I say just because while I’m sure it seems like plenty of time for the vacation it looked like, it really is kind of insanely short for a life overseas. Two years is pretty short even just moving state to state, but overseas – totally different ball game.

First, the adjustment period is sooooo LONG!

When you make an overseas move, you’re reminded multiple times by the ones already there to expect 6 months before you feel adjusted. It took me a solid 9 plus, though some of that was likely an adjustment from working to not working, in addition to all of the foreign-ness. I like to think that if I were to do it again, I’d have a different mindset and would adjust faster.

I’m not really sure why the adjustment is so long, or maybe it was just me? It’s hard even for me to grasp how cultures that are relatively similar could feel so different. And how a vacation abroad could feel so different than a life abroad – but to me, they do. Totally different.

Other than the obvious language barrier issue, which is quite huge, some of the things I found difficult to adjust to were: convenience, stores closing at 6 pm and not open Sundays, lack of information on the internet (everything seemed to be word of mouth), stores not taking credit cards, restaurants open 12-2 and 6-10. These all seem silly, but it ends up making everything just more frustrating, especially in the beginning. Because you know, you’ll have googled a restaurant, found no info, go at 5 pm to find out it’s not open, go back at 6 to find out its cash only…😬.

Although I will say I never really adjusted fully, it seemed that right after I felt more comfortable, we learned we would be headed back a year earlier than planned. And sadly, once you hear you’re leaving, the same thing starts to happen on the way back. You start to physically prepare and clean, organize, donate. Then you begin mentally checking out – imagining your new life, debating on schools, houses, jobs.

All of this “adjusting” (again, probably just me) effectively makes for more than half of my time here spent unpacking and settling and then repacking and unsettling.

Second, the amount of stuff we bought to live (probably a little too) comfortably is mind-blowing.

Twenty or so power strips, NINE floor fans and a portable A/C, an additional couch, multiple TVs (I really, really like TV and am embarrassed to say how many we have), four giant travel plugs, 2 crockpots (one broke), a vacuum, a microwave, a toaster, coffee grinder and coffee pot, electric kettle, blender, bug zapper, hair dryer, flat iron, hair clippers, regular iron, DVD player, a hot glue gun, a drill. Whew.

When you start to lay it all out, because you’re desperate to sell it 😂, you feel overwhelmed, wasteful, ridiculous.

Third, we haven’t had enough time to master the language!

Hahahaha, kidding, I’ll never speak French. But the kids – one more year would’ve been just the right amount to make it sink in. I’m going to have to follow through on my promise to myself to find them a French tutor. Someone hold me to that, because I LOVE to give in!

But in the end, I’m sure there is nothing that qualifies as “enough”. I definitely don’t want to complain, because two years is way more than no years.

The travel opportunities alone were enough to offset the hardships, and the life lessons I’ve learned are priceless, everlasting, and in so many ways, also humbling.