moving away

a year ago i had no idea i would be living in asia. two years ago, i had created a list of things to do before i die, had worked long and hard on it to include all the things i wanted to accomplish. when i had considered walking on the great wall of china and swimming on the great barrier reef, i had simply discounted them. i remember thinking, we will never go that far, we have so many other things to do and places to see. europe, the caribbean, south america, the us it’s self had more than enough to keep us busy for many, many years to come.

a year ago i was buying a new house, moving from the family house, trying to imagine the list of things to do that was no longer we, but i. some of the things i could do with the kids, but others were simply a “we” thing. it just wasn’t the list i thought i would accomplish any more. what a new list would look like, i had no idea. i wasn’t capable of considering it.

one weekend i had a very bad time, all because i went to a soccer (sorry football) game. it’s strange how small things can turn into big ones. one little event, something you do without even thinking about it can have huge ripples in your life. i guess the waves were already pushing me around, i was floating next to the dock, trying to hold on but the currents were pulling me. this one huge wave that looked small as it approached just dragged me out to sea.

the surprising thing was that the sea was the south china sea. within two months of going to this football game i was on a plane to malaysia. a place i could find on a map, but no one i talked to knew anything about. i had many pictures in my head, some from travel books i bought before coming, some from movies set in other asian countries, and none of them were even close.

i had promised to move to a country i knew almost nothing about. i had taken on a job i was very excited to do, but that i had never done before. i was going to be half a world away from everything, and almost everyone i knew. i had never thought i would be in asia, and now i was trying to figure out how to dress, what to eat, what language to learn first and where i was going to live; maybe not in the order.

so here i am, its been six months since i moved, i have loved most things i have seen and done here. the culture shock is no where near as bad as i thought it would be. my kids were here for the summer and even they didn’t have issues. late supper in hartamas square with world cup football on the wide screen tv was very easy for a normal american family to adjust to. what is not to like about warm weather, nice people, good food and interesting culture.

the last thing is the list. the list has grown, after being here for a few months i realized i could do things in asia. i have the time, the freedom and the ability to do the things i never thought i would do. “i” am going to do these things; i can alter the list any way i want. i live in asia, i am near new friends, new places i like, i have a new life. i miss the old one, but the new one is not bad.