As I continue to process our bilingual, dual-citizen life, it occurs to me that my life’s work will need to bridge at least two countries...
This past month my eldest turned four, and began preschool. Our 19-month old is saying more and more words (causing him to break out in proud and startled laughter) and strutting around like a big boy. We donated baby things like our high chair, bottle drying wrack, baby clothes, and more. It feels like one chapter (babyhood) is closing, and another is beginning.
Another milestone is that we have now been back in the United States for 3.5 years. I was once told that it takes three years to adjust to a new place and new life routine after a move. In the time of Covid, the word “adjusted” doesn’t really seem to fit, but we do feel that we know people here in NW Indiana, and we understand the different kinds of options as far as our life path goes. However, we still miss Costa Rica and dream about how our future life will include time there, too.
As I continue to process our bilingual, dual-citizen life, it occurs to me that my/our life’s work will need to span at least two countries, and be mobile. I’d like to explore what that might mean, and I’d like to invite you along on my journey!
Moving past babyhood is a fitting time to explore this, as I look back on what babyhood has meant. My first son was born (by emergency cesarean) in a public hospital in Costa Rica, where I was one of 4 new moms in a recovery room (with a shared bathroom), my newborn sleeping in my single bed with me, my husband in a plastic chair next to us all night long. My second son was born in a private hospital in Indiana (there are no public hospitals here), where the latest technology in health monitoring enabled me to have a VBAC, and where new (or repeat) parents were served a four-course celebratory meal after delivery.
Each experience highlighted both the pros and cons of each country, Costa Rica and the United States. Ultimately, it is these pros and cons, ups and downs of each country, that I wish to explore and process: the challenges, the beauty, the similarities and differences of these places that I have called home for the past 18 years of my life.
Thank you for coming along. Feel free to explore the different features of this website, and to subscribe so that you can receive notice of when I post a new blog entry! Comment and let me know what you think, as well.
Kat