Last month marked our two year anniversary as American Expats living in Switzerland. After living through a pendulum of extreme highs and lows, I now feel I can somewhat objectively, and most importantly – positively, reflect and share my adventures of living abroad.
When I first arrived, I was once labeled as the “Trailing Spouse.” I was furious. As I stewed in anger over this quick, uninformed judgment, I realized I was mostly upset because this horrible label, simply put, was the truth. I was indeed the trailing spouse. In my defense, my husband and I wanted to seek new adventures and equally decided to take advantage of the opportunity to move abroad for his career, so the decision was indeed joint. I was sad to leave my secure world, friends, family and career behind, but very excited for the opportunity to stay home with my then 11-month old daughter and take advantage of exploring an intriguing part of the world. But, at the end of the day, I was indeed the one following, with no direction other than to master the art of Haus Frau wizardry.
It hasn’t always been easy, to say the least, but I have learned more about myself over the last two years then I can express. My hope for this blog is to share my adventures, photographs, travel tips and some personal survival skills (especially when traveling with young children) because … well, why not? Perhaps there is some other Haus Frau desperately in need of some magic and hope to hang on to during the tough times. Or, perhaps it will just be a great way to show my mom the cool things I’m up to!
Overall though, I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to live abroad and share my stories. And, in all honesty, I am extremely grateful to be the “Trailing Spouse.”
Bella Bon Voyage 