Time is the coin of your life.  It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.  Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. ~Carl Sandburg

Believe it or not, today marks one year since we moved to Caracas. I knew the date was coming…I’ve been telling friends and family how pretty soon one year will have passed. Nonetheless, it feels like the day sort of snuck up on me.

I’ve tried to keep track of what it was like to get settled and I can’t help but laugh at some of the things I was feeling this past year. One thing’s for sure in terms of my assimilation, I no longer sweat the small stuff. Even if I wanted to get upset about last minute cancellations or service people running 3 hours late, it would be pointless. People like me are in the minority here, so it’s been a much better strategy to go simply with the flow.

What was great about arriving here in December last yeat was how quiet Caracas is, which translates to very little traffic. Since this was my initiation into city life, I’m glad I wasn’t bombarded with the normal noise-level and hustle immediately. The normal chaos didn’t start up again until January 15th (apparently this is customary in Caracas) and my baptism by fire – communicating in Spanish without my husband as a back-up – began. It wasn’t until April when I finally caved in and started taking a course.

While there won’t be any big celebration (my husband gave me a congratulatory handshake ), I’m nevertheless grateful for all that I’ve been able to experience in this past year. Regardless of the hurdles that lie ahead, I am extremely satisfied with the way I’ve been spending my coin

THIS POST GOES OUT TO ALL OF THOSE WANNA BE EXPATS.

Yesterday, I took the FABULOUS bus to the nearest ‘big’ city which is 10 minutes away.  I was craving one of my favorite treats, an open-ended sandwich.  While enjoying my curry chicken and salmon sandwiches, I thought about how blessed I am to be an expat.  (To be honest, I think about this several times a day.)

I first visited Europe 10 years ago and I was immediately bitten by the travel and expat bugs.

The travel part was easy.  I was a flight attendant at the time so I could travel around the world, stay in four star hotels, meet great people, and experience different cultures all on the company’s dime or at least at a discounted price (when I traveled outside of work).  The expat part was much harder…so I thought.

While traveling to the UK, Germany, France and Holland (the airline I worked for has hubs in London, Paris, and Frankfurt) I stumbled across many American expats (mostly employees of the airline); a few African American female expats, as well.  My #1 question was, ”What made you decide to move to Europe?”  The answers usually ranged from marriage and boyfriend to WELL, WHY NOT?.. I hated that response.  At that time, marriage was not an option for me so I wanted to hear serious, heart-felt reasons.  See, back then, I thought of moving to Europe, working for the airline, being based in one of the European hubs.  But I made up so many excuses why I couldn’t do it…”Oh, Americans are not really welcomed outside of the US (Bush was in office then),” ”Oh, my mother will worry (she worries no matter where I live),” ”Oh, I want to marry soon and have kids (there were and still are men in Europe),” ”Oh, I don’t know how they treat blacks in Europe (this was particularly silly because I use to rave about the attention I received in Europe – besides stumbling upon a Nazi rally in Germany ((my public school, college-educated ass thought a free concert was being held across the street from my hotel)) I have never experienced racism in Europe or the US, for that matter- not ‘openly’, anyway),” ”Oh, it’s too expensive (Chicago was an expensive city to live in on my flight attendant’s salary, that didn’t stop me from living there).”  Point is, I made so many excuses to forgo the desire that I had at the time.

I write this all to say…don’t be like me.  Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.  Stop making excuses.  Become an expat NOW!  No, it’s not easy, but you have to try.  Not easy because it requires much research, time and effort, a little money for paperwork (I recommend going the embassy route not a private agent), sweat, and tears. If you are struggling with finding a gig/new gig in the US try looking outside of the states.  Teach English in Asia; develop a new idea in Africa; volunteer in South America; meet your husband in Europe; freeze your ass off in Canada (I read that Canada’s job market is booming).  Apply for positions abroad within your company.  Just do it!

Start by asking questions.  Drop a few, or many, expats a line (on their blogs or via email).  Ask them about their experiences.  Travel to that country as much as you can.  Off peak travel is less expensive and a great way to see the country without fighting other tourists.  Plus, you may experience the not-so-warm weather that country has to offer.  (Sorry, but I’m not a fan of Switzerland’s weather.  The summers may offer warm-hot days, but the mornings are too brisk for me.  And it’s too cloudy; rains more than I am use to from living on the East coast, in the South, and in the Midwest).

If being an expat is not your thing, I recommend traveling.  See, experience, and taste this fabulous world and its many different people.  Three weeks ago, I met a person from Tibet…my first Tibetan (at least from what I can recall).  I had to throw this in there. But seriously, if you have a desire to follow in the fabulous footsteps of other American expats…I say, ”Do it.  Why not?!”

Sounds like sound advice to me To hear more about Kiya’s adventures, check out her blog Kiki in Switzerland.