Yes I know I'm crazy but. . .

I've been meaning to do a post to try and explain why I decided to drag my kids to Nicaragua for three months. . . but. . . I haven't ever gotten around to it.  I'm not sure if it's because I haven't had time (which is completely true) or because I have a hard time putting into words why we made this choice for our family.  Either way as I sit here spending my first night in Nicaragua I decided to take the time and attempt to explain it. 

My friend (who I haven't actually had the pleasure of meeting yet, I've only communicated by email with) said it perfectly in her post so if you want to skip my rambling, just read this:  http://www.hipmum.com/2012/04/compassion-perspective-and-some-sanity/

For me, the decision to come to Nicaragua has been a long one in the making.  For years I've told Jeremy that "one of these days we're going to move somewhere different".  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE living in Blanding and I always knew that in the end I'd be back to Blanding but I also have always had an itch to experience somewhere completely different.  After Jeremy finished his Master's degree last December I started, once again, to hunt for the perfect place to go have an adventure.  I was mostly looking at places in the Carribean.  I had a couple requirements.

First, I've never lived anywhere near the ocean and I've always wanted to.  I decided if I was going to move somewhere different, living near the beach was a must.

Second, I wanted a simpler life.  I know those from the "big city" who have been to Blanding think that I am living the simple life but I didn't feel like working sixty hour weeks and running from one place to the next, constantly forgetting things, was very simple.

Third, I wanted to experience a different culture.  And even possibly learn a new language.  Most people that I've said this to look at me like I'm crazy.  The language barrier will definitely be the hardest thing about the whole experience but hopefully that will motivate us to learn Spanish as quickly as possible.

So how'd I end up in Nicaragua and my husband left in Blanding?  Well, after doing lots of research and deciding Nicaragua might be just what we were looking for Jeremy and I came here for a week to see for ourselves.  After spending a week we knew that we liked it and would enjoy living here but we still had a couple of unanswered questions.  First, would the internet be reliable enough for me to work.  This was essential since us moving here meant that Jeremy would quit his job and we'd rely on the internet for our income.  Second, how would the kids adjust if we actually moved them here.  Neither of these questions were answered with a week long vacation here. . . . so I had the brilliant idea of a "trial" move.  Jeremy would stay home and me and the kids would come down and try it out.  If it worked out then Jeremy would quit his job and we'd all move down for good.  If not, then at least we wouldn't have given up a good job to do it.

So we were on track to come down from September through the end of November for a "trial" when Jeremy's boss gave his two week notice.  Before the day was over we were forced  to decide whether we were ready to give up on the "Nicaraguan dream" in order to be a candidate for the job.  After much discussion we decided that if our end goal was to live in Blanding then we couldn't pass up this job opportunity and if Jeremy was offered the job then we'd take moving to Nicaragua off the table.  Within a couple days Jeremy was offered the job.

Since our flights were already booked and the condo already rented and I'd already signd the kids up for K12 (an online school) we decided to go ahead with the plans of coming down for three months.  Instead of this being a trial, it would just be an adventure. . .

So here I sit, in the middle of a third world country.  Just me and my three kids, unable to communicate much with anyone, hoping I made the right decision.  The travel here went as well as we could have expected, all flights were uneventful, all shuttles were where they were supposed to be.  So far so good.  Seeing the kids get excited with each new thing they see has been awesome, and we've only scratched the surface.  I am excited with the thought of all the firsts we are about to experience.  It's hard to be away from Jeremy and our extended family, we are already missing them like crazy, but I believe in the end the positives will outweigh the negatives and we'll always look back at our time in Nicaragua as being a once-in-a-lifetime, family strenghtening, life changing adventure. 

I plan to post each adventure.  Each of the kids has their own camera so look forward to posts from each of them, showing you Nicaragua through their eyes.  Hopefully we will give you a glimpse of all that we do an experience, maybe you'll even decide to come visit while we're here. . . .