Hey there! I’ve noticed a lot of new followers lately, so welcome! I’m glad you’re here. I started blogging in 2012, to document my journey of living abroad. Despite occasional attempts to focus on specific subject matters over the years, I always come back to the personal blog format: I write about myself and the stuff I think is worth sharing. I thought it would be fun to reflect on this crazy journey by re-posting some of my favorite posts over the years. Check back every Thursday for #tbt (throw back thursdays) posts! I hope you enjoy.

Originally Posted:  November 29, 2012

One of the many great lessons living in Hong Kong has taught me, would have to be how to live beyond my normal comfort zone.  Having just experienced my first year in Hong Kong, I’ve recently been reading other blogs written by Expats. Reading about their daily struggles has helped me realize that my struggles and feelings are normal, and that moving abroad is naturally challenging.

I love living in Hong Kong and feel so grateful for this experience. I’ve always taken pride in being fairly optimistic and open-minded. I typically love change. But more recently, I just want things to be easy again. More normal. Less sweaty.

Below is a post written by an expatriate in Hong Kong. It explains how I feel some days.

Breakfast for Dinner
As I was walking to the grocery store tonight, I was thinking just how much my life has changed in the past four months. Things are different. Little things…like: driving, grocery shopping, quiet streets, neighborhood get-togethers, walks with the dog. Most of these things I mentioned are ones I miss. I miss driving more than I thought. Getting in the car, putting on a good CD or listening to the morning shows. I haven’t listened to a radio station since August, and Pandora doesn’t exist in Hong Kong. I miss quiet walks with Dudley around the neighborhood. I miss picking up the phone whenever I want to talk to my friends. I miss that. I miss Chick-Fil-A. Alot.

I love our life over here, and this isn’t a pity party. I thought about the things I miss when going to the grocery store tonight…

This evening, I went to 2 grocery stores looking for chicken sausage (which I know they have). There was no chicken sausage. In either store. I refuse to buy the meat in the Welcome or Park-N-Shop because it scares me. SO, tonight we’re having breakfast for dinner because I didn’t feel like walking 30 minutes to the big grocery store. Eggo waffles and eggs it is.

As you drive to the Teeter today, and see a dozen varieties of chicken sausages…think of me. 🙂

So, I have a challenge for you…

Do something today uncomfortable.

Jump on a bus, take a walk down the other side of the tracks. Walk to lunch tomorrow from your office. Avoid the temptation of jumping into your germ-free, air-conditioned car. Embrace the heat. Bump elbows with a stranger. Go inside a place you’d never normally step foot into. Listen to a foreign radio or TV station for a full day.  Have that be the background to your day. Whatever it is for you, I challenge you to get out of your normal.

You may learn something about yourself you knew nothing about.