13 days of finding a new normal

The adventure has begun. The Christopherson family has arrived in Mexico! We have a place to lay our heads in Playa del Carmen for the month of August and are happy in our little condo.
Barely surviving the packing up and renting out of our house, we pulled an all nighter on the finishing touches of emptying out the house for renters and headed to the airport at 3:00am (thank you so much Kathy and Iver for the ride).
Our journey with 9 suitcases and a layover in Austin, TX was wonderfully uneventful. We split up at the Cancun airport because we couldn’t fit all six of us and our luggage in the car. (Did we bring too much? We can’t decide...)
Anyway, WE ARE HERE! Let the dream begin! We are ready to collapse but wanted to get our blog out there to answer some questions.

I wrote this as we arrived. We have been here for a week and a half now. It seems more like a couple of months.

We first feel like we should answer some questions. Often people ask why we decided to take this adventure. There are so many reasons, but first of all, one thing that attracted Kevin and me to each other, was our love of seeing the world. I loved how I would hear tales of him taking spur of the moment trips just because he felt like it. We both have lived abroad in the past and both felt the wanderlust of living in another culture, seeing the day to day of a different part of the world. So, when we got engaged, we planned to spend our first year of marriage somewhere else. I quit my teaching job and we searched for a way for both of us to work somewhere else in the world. It turned out to be a challenge bigger than we anticipated. We put that dream aside and bought a house. Then Solvei made us a mom and dad, then Greta came along and we moved to a bigger house in a community that we LOVED. Soren and Odin completed our family and every so often we would talk about what it would take to move our whole family to another country, and it just seemed too much. 

Until last summer, we had some friends in town going abroad and then we met with some dear friends that were traveling Central and South America with their four kids for a year. We were inspired. Later that month, on a road trip to Texas, Kevin and I started brainstorming how we could make this happen for our family. Solvei was listening in the back seat and said, 'If we are going to do this, we have to do it now. I want to be back for my senior year." That got us rolling.

When we got home, Kevin asked his place of employment if there would be a possibility that they would let him work remotely for a year. They didn't say "no". So we started to plan for the possibility. But, where to go? As Kevin was talking to work, it seemed only logical that we should be in the same time zone. He also offered to come back to Northfield every six weeks as part of the deal. So then we needed to be near a major airport that wasn't going to break the bank. We also wanted to travel during the year so we wanted to be somewhere where we could afford to live and travel a bit. I had studied in Mexico City one summer in college and that trip was the one that really sparked my love of the language. It was where I made connections with the family I stayed with and found a reason to know how to conjugate verbs.
Kevin's friend from St. Olaf had spent a year in Playa del Carmen with her family two years ago. We met with her a couple of times and the decision was made.

We love to discover new places, try new things, eat different foods. We also feel that there is no better time to show our kids that there are other ways to do the day to day, to go to school, to celebrate, to live life. One way is not better than another. Experiencing a different culture and making connections with people who can show you a new perspective is invaluable.

Our kids have been incredibly resilient and adaptive. Am I saying they don't fight? No, no I am not saying that at all. Kevin and I have said numerous times, that it's not like we have good days and bad days. We have highs and lows every day. All of us are a bit emotionally exhausted from trying to keep it together in so much unfamiliarity so our fuses are a little shorter and we have a little less patience. But we also are much more compassionate with each other and softer in our forgiveness. 

We are so thankful for all of the kindness you have all shown in your support, in your texts, messages, phone calls, Whatsapp video chats, and positive vibes and prayers you have been sending our way. We feel your love.

Have we found a new normal? Nope. Yet every day we become more familiar with our surroundings, we have found delicious treats that we seek out, we know what to do when we miss the turn that gets us to the school, Kevin has a morning routine that includes a 30 minute walk to work, we love an evening stroll to the local convenience store...those things start feeling more comfortable but I can't say that it feels like home.....yet (growth mindset). One day at a time....



Blogs to come.....our angel-Gayle, our role models-the Mendez family, grocery shopping, lawless driving, getting to beaches, the constant hot, humid weather and more....

Blessings,
Tricia, Kevin and kiddos