A Thank You, A Holiday Wish, A Laptop-Free Vacation & Adieu Until 2010!

Hi Everyone, I am signing out for a much-needed, laptop-free (yes!) vacation until January and I would like to wholeheartedly thank all of you for your support and readership this year. I hope that whatever you do over this holiday season, you take time out for just you - to reflect on 2009 and to dream big for the year ahead. :-)

Don't think you can 'turn off' these holidays to give yourself time to relax and reflect? Well, that's normally how I think too... but my husband and I have bitten the bullet this year and decided that we will detox (yes, sad that it's come to this) completely and not take even one laptop on vacation with us this year... and if a family (of 2 adults and 2 small children) that usually has 7 (!) laptops in the house can do it... anyone can.

A side-effect of this brave experiment, is that I have proved to myself that achieving bold goals is possible if you commit to them. I never would have thought it would be possible to finish all of my critical, monthly tasks two weeks earlier than normal. But, I've done it - and it feels so fantastic that I'm starting to think about setting some wildly bold goals for next year as well.

Maybe you should join me and set (and commit to) some bold goals for 2010 too? It's going to be a new decade: a new chance to shine and achieve more than you ever did before. Think about it. :-)

Warmest wishes for the holidays.

I look forward to seeing you again in 2010!

Andrea. x

Lonely Planet's Top 10 Cities 2010

Hello once more, If you're looking for holiday destinations next year, take a look at Lonely Planet's list of their Top 10 Cities for 2010.

If you are too busy, you can scan the summary here, but the Lonely Planet list shows beautiful images and explanations that are much more enticing the humble list below...

1. Cuenca, Ecuador;
2. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;
3. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates;
4. Kyoto, Japan;
5. Lecce, Italy;
6. Cork, Ireland;
7. Singapore;
8. Vancouver, Canada;
9. Istanbul, Turkey; and
10. Charleston, United States of America.

Happy vacation planning! Andrea

Returning Home For The Summer: Is It For Your Children... Or For You?

Hi Everyone, Long-time Expat Women friend and supporter Apple Gidley has written an excellent article, Returning Home For The Summer, that has just been published by The Telegraph UK.

It starts like this:

"It's that time of year again... Swarms of expatriate wives and children from all over the globe descend on clogged airports intent on "going home" for the summer. Plans are made for Dad to join the fray, for a couple of weeks, in the middle of this madness of visiting grandparents and living out of suitcases.

The initial pleasure of seeing family begins to pall when the laundry piles up and the rain lashes down; the realisation that the girls you grew up with are now women with children, just like you, but unlike you they are intent on getting away, heading to some guaranteed sunshine; and that you actually have remarkably little in common anymore.

And why do we put ourselves through this supposed pleasure year after year? We tell ourselves it is so our children get "a sense of home, a sense of place, a sense of where they are from". But is it for them or us?

For most children home is where their parents are – no matter what their nationality or where they might be living."

It ends like this:

"So take heart, all you first generation expats, your children will not turn into rootless individuals with no sense of "home". They will be well adjusted and adaptable young men and women with a sense of adventure, a sense of belonging wherever they happen to find themselves and a remarkable empathy for all peoples. They will also know their way around airports! I know because I was one of those children. I know because I have two of those children."

And in between:

Apple raises a lot of good points about how we define ourselves, self-esteem, relocation, Third Culture Kids (TCKs) and more.

Happy reading... and well done, Apple!