Why I Haven't Been Blogging
So, I haven't blogged in a long, long time.....
Yes, I've been overly busy and the internet here can be limiting at times, but those aren't the reasons that I haven't been blogging.
The real reason is that I'm not entirely sure HOW to blog about this place. There's so much I want to share about - where we shop, the food we eat, our favourite beaches, and other things around the city we enjoy doing..... and perhaps in time I'll be able to.
But it's also been a really challenging year in many ways: high stress, overwhelming expectations, an enormous task before me (often feeling unsupported, abandoned, and alone through the process), depression, anxiety, and countless frustrations.
I haven't been able to blog about these challenges because I didn't want to paint an overly negative picture. I didn't want people to think that this is a terrible place, because it's not. When I step away from the stresses and pressures of my job, I love most aspects of our life here.
At the same time, I didn't feel I was able to blog about the positive things while privately trying to navigate so many difficulties. It felt like it would be an unfair, unbalanced picture of our experience thus far, a betrayal of all the challenges that have been a constant companion for the past 10 months.
So, I haven't blogged.
A week from now, we'll be waiting to board our last flight - a 14-hour flight - that will take us to Seattle, our first stopping point on our 6-week whirlwind trip to see as many family & friends as possible. We're very excited and the anticipation has been growing! Yet..... the part that I'm dreading most - which will be repeated over and over and over again - is the part where everyone asks, "So, how are things going? How was your first year?" Each time I visualize this happening, I try to formulate the answer. Do I bare my soul and tell all? Probably not, that's more than most people ever intend on hearing when they ask, and more emotionally exhausting than I'll be able to handle. Do I cherry-pick a few things and tell just what people are hoping to hear? Or do I just stick with the standard answer: "Good. Everything is good," as people hurry on their way back to their own lives filled with their own challenges. I don't know..... I guess I'll have to wait and see what actually happens. But just know, that if you get the standard answer or a few cherry-picked anecdotes, it's only part of the story; the rest, I just can't tell right now..... and maybe it's better that way, because this truly is a beautiful place with many wonderful people, which I hope to be able to tell you more about in the coming years.
Yes, I've been overly busy and the internet here can be limiting at times, but those aren't the reasons that I haven't been blogging.
The real reason is that I'm not entirely sure HOW to blog about this place. There's so much I want to share about - where we shop, the food we eat, our favourite beaches, and other things around the city we enjoy doing..... and perhaps in time I'll be able to.
But it's also been a really challenging year in many ways: high stress, overwhelming expectations, an enormous task before me (often feeling unsupported, abandoned, and alone through the process), depression, anxiety, and countless frustrations.
I haven't been able to blog about these challenges because I didn't want to paint an overly negative picture. I didn't want people to think that this is a terrible place, because it's not. When I step away from the stresses and pressures of my job, I love most aspects of our life here.
At the same time, I didn't feel I was able to blog about the positive things while privately trying to navigate so many difficulties. It felt like it would be an unfair, unbalanced picture of our experience thus far, a betrayal of all the challenges that have been a constant companion for the past 10 months.
So, I haven't blogged.
A week from now, we'll be waiting to board our last flight - a 14-hour flight - that will take us to Seattle, our first stopping point on our 6-week whirlwind trip to see as many family & friends as possible. We're very excited and the anticipation has been growing! Yet..... the part that I'm dreading most - which will be repeated over and over and over again - is the part where everyone asks, "So, how are things going? How was your first year?" Each time I visualize this happening, I try to formulate the answer. Do I bare my soul and tell all? Probably not, that's more than most people ever intend on hearing when they ask, and more emotionally exhausting than I'll be able to handle. Do I cherry-pick a few things and tell just what people are hoping to hear? Or do I just stick with the standard answer: "Good. Everything is good," as people hurry on their way back to their own lives filled with their own challenges. I don't know..... I guess I'll have to wait and see what actually happens. But just know, that if you get the standard answer or a few cherry-picked anecdotes, it's only part of the story; the rest, I just can't tell right now..... and maybe it's better that way, because this truly is a beautiful place with many wonderful people, which I hope to be able to tell you more about in the coming years.
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