BritMums Expat Round up: Repatriation Blues

With Small Person No. 3 beginning to make his/her presence felt in the safe environs of my ever-expanding belly, general pregnancy related insomnia has had me pondering many an Expat related question recently, such as:   “Can I cope with having a baby abroad?”, “Wouldn’t it just be easier to go home?”, “What if we did go home in a year or so and it was the worst mistake we have ever made?”, “Would we ever feel settled again?”, “Where would we live?”,   “Where would the Small People go to school?”,  “What if everyone thought I was disloyal for ever having left the UK in the first place?”,  and usually “one more country would be a good idea though wouldn’t it?”

This last question is more often than not followed by me reeling off the countries I would and wouldn’t like to live in, along with imaginary jobs for Mr R (he has had a few varied roles in my imagination at around 4am I can tell you!) Don’t get me wrong, half of me is desperate to move home, I love my country and nearly everything it has to offer, and obviously I miss my family and friends, but these are questions that all (admittedly usually work) Expats will have undoubtedly asked themselves at some point, believe me.  

This fantastic article in the Wall Street Journal explores the darker side of coming home, as does this article “The Sharp Shock of Returning Home” by I was an Expat Wife.  This last post is still relevant to how it can feel, albeit 3 years on. But I need to read the positive posts, the posts from repatriates that want to shout from the roof tops why it completely was a good idea, and how happy their families are now that they have returned, so if you know of any such posts, or indeed if you have written any, do please let me have them! Anyway, who knows what will happen, and where we will end up and of course most importantly when? In the mean time I try to remember the mantra “what will be will be” and just enjoy where we are at this current moment in time.

I will leave you with a few Expat reads that I have enjoyed this past month, including those who left posts on last month’s Linky.

Tales of a Twin Mum explores the emotional journey of starting a new school in her new country Australia.  

Chicken Ruby has proof that Culture Shock isn’t always necessarily always a bad thing in her new adventures from South Africa to Dubai.

What Have We Done? is a Californian Mum resident in Somerset who has some very handy School Holiday Survival Tips and I loved this fantastic Coffee for One post from Rossi Writes exploring the rituals around one of our favourite drinks.

Asia Vu (UK Edition) is beginning to settle in to life in the UK after several years in Korea, and her dog is struggling with the natives; The Czechesotans are still having fun discovering their new city, Romanian Mum takes us on a beautiful journey of Romania through the Lens, and finally a post from the ever brilliant Liv Hambrett on the health and medical observations of my fellow (temporary) countrymen.

Until next month!

About Emma Raphael

Emma Raphael left the UK for Copenhagen in 2009, with her ever-patient husband and two small children. Having enjoyed a couple of years in Scandinavia, Emma and her family found they enjoyed Expat life so much that they now reside in Munich – where the pace of life is relaxed, her language skills are small, and the mountains and bier halls are very large. Being one half of a self-proclaimed foodie couple, Emma enjoys the new produce and restaurants in each new country she resides in, and has made it her mission to convince people that English food no longer deserves the bad rap it once had. She can be found in the kitchen when she’s feeling homesick, trying to recreate comfort food from home. She also has huge passions for travel, photography, art, wine, gardening (although according to her Bavarian neighbours, she’s not much good at that!) and her family (of course)!

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