Good Morning from Africa...

“Good morning, beautiful… do you want tea or coffee?” Followed by the smell of fresh cut grass…

Oh, yeah… it’s summer here… sweet!

Different sounds (new birds and horses…monkeys on the roof!)...

Different smells (the African air (if you know, you know))…

This is the first morning I’ve woken up as a resident of Africa. 

Oh my god…we did it. We live in Africa!

Followed by this internal feeling that you can’t explain unless you’ve experienced it. An internal peace with mass excitement at the same time. The “This-is-what-it-feels-like-to-be-LIVING feeling.” It's often during a time when all 5 senses are hit at once. I remember one of the first times I felt this was when I woke up in Bermuda and felt the same: the sound of the kiskadees, the smell of the humid, (subtropical) Bermuda air...waking up in another world -   it's a really cool feeling. 

I want to spend a lifetime collecting this feeling. 

One of the questions I get asked the most, why Africa, and why Zimbabwe? (As opposed to any other African country.) 

I'll be honest, we didn’t do it blindly.  Bermuda, I moved to never having been there before, not knowing anyone, not really knowing where I was going to live, not having a real plan - and wherever we move to next, will likely be the same!

But Zimbabwe, Steve has been coming here for work for years, about 4 times a year for meetings, so we do know people here, we are familiar with the area, and we do feel very safe and welcome in the community. I had been an expat living in Bermuda for almost 10 years, Steve for over 20. We wanted to move our home base to be able to experience a different culture and explore more of the world. If we start in Africa, Zimbabwe seemed to make the most sense! 

We arrived *yesterday (* “yesterday” from the time I wrote this) and we are staying at a friend's farm until we get the keys to our new house tomorrow (so excited!!) 

We’ve been actively working on this move for about a year and a half. And while most people will think it sounds so exciting and like one big adventure (it is!), it also comes with underlying fears, anxiety, second guessing yourself - all while STILL being very confident and excited about the decisions you are making. 

It’s very weird feeling such conflicting emotions like that at the exact same time but I have relied on much of the life coaching tools I have learned from my training (ie: constantly checking in with my values to re-ground me!) - the exact same tools I use with/teach all my clients - how to keep inner peace and confidence with all the noise around you. (The inner workings of your brain work the same way no matter where you are. If you tend to get stressed, you will keep getting stressed; if you tend to worry, you’ll keep finding things to worry about; if you tend to look for happiness everywhere, you'll start to find bits of happiness everywhere...) 

How did we find our dream house? 

How did we pick the right school?

Aren’t you worried about stability (raising children)? 

Did you move there permanently? 
​
How can you say you value family when you live so far away from yours? 

What about friends? (Making them and keeping them!)

So if you want to join me on our move, keep checking in! And...  

​Welcome to Africa.