Living abroad and experiencing the adventure of a new country doesn't mean sacrificing the comfort and coziness of a home that aligns with your family's needs and values. It doesn't have to be a constant stream of newness. Even amid days filled with first-time experiences, you can return to a familiar, comfortable haven. I discovered this truth one weekend afternoon, when I first started out as an expat, long before I had my own children.

 

Working at a school with many expat families, we were fortunate to be surrounded by a supportive community. The expat parents and teachers looked out for us, recognizing that the foreign environment was entirely novel for us. One particular afternoon, the school principal and his wife, who served as mentors, invited three of us ?student-teachers? to babysit their two children. As ?student-teachers?, our compensation was the valuable experience, not financial gain. Our ?student-teacher? apartment, though safe and functional, lacked the homely touches we yearned for. It resembled more of a dorm room?sparse, with pictures taped to the walls, a semi-clean kitchen used minimally for cooking, and a fridge that often stood empty due to our limited financial means.

 

Babysitting for the principal of the school we worked at, provided a stark contrast. Walking into their apartment felt like entering the coziest space ever?bedrooms filled with toys and books, a warm kitchen stocked with everything, and a living room adorned with couches, family tables, and shelves full of books and framed pictures. It was a comforting environment that seemed almost surreal in the midst of our new country experience. Amidst the excitement of being in a foreign land, I found a strange dichotomy in feeling at home in this expat family's residence. It prompted me to question whether I could replicate this lifestyle?living abroad, being an expat family, and still having a warm and inviting home to return to.

 

That babysitting experience became a guiding vision in the background of my life after returning home from Taipei. As I pursued a teaching job, got married, and started a family, I kept my eye on job fairs, international school updates, and interviews, gathering information until the time was right for me. The goal was clear: to raise my kids with the same blend of global experiences and the warmth of a safe and cozy home. Living abroad, for me, meant living awake, embracing new experiences, and imparting global literacy to my children.

 

The impact of witnessing that apartment was profound?it was evident that it wasn't merely a place of work and sleep, a temporary residence before returning to "real life" in my home country. It was their home, embodying a harmonious blend of adventure and comfort.