The BIG Transition (repatriating to the USA)

Happy New Year! It's hard to believe we've been back in the US for 6 months... I wish I could say it's been an easy transition and I don't miss Qatar, but that wouldn't be true.

It's a bit hard to explain, but although we have moved back to about the same area, it feels as though we moved back to a new place and are starting all over again. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but just a reflection I've made since we've been back. Change is not always bad, but is often hard at the beginning.

Before moving back to the States I read up on various blogs of other expats and their process of repatriation, so I knew that we were going to have our challenges acclimating back with friends, bills, new jobs, etc. It's one thing to know in your head it would be a challenge, but its another thing to actually go through it.

When we first moved to Qatar there was a lot of transition to their culture, jobs, friends, etc., but it felt like an adventure, so although we were homesick at times, looking back it didn't seem as "hard" as it sometimes has since we've moved back to the States. Plus, the community there was so welcoming and it was easy to make friends/build relationships there.  I think one major difference was our simple lifestyle - when you have less you worry less and stress less, is what it seems like. I also think God helps us to forget some of the more challenging times in our lives, where we don't remember the tough times and remember the better times. So, although I know we had our challenges in Qatar, those memories have faded away more.

Since moving back, Mark and I have bought a house (exciting, but scary!), started new jobs, tried different churches to call our "home church", began meeting new people, and spent more time with family (its nice to not have to reply on Skype/Facetime as our main form of communication). It's been an extremely busy 6 months. I definitely miss the simplicity of living as an Expat.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact we didn't have bills, so we were able to travel the world while saving money at the same time...just a thought. ;)

Our jobs were extremely less time consuming in Qatar. I didn't bring home work hardly ever during the week (or quite a bit less than now) and was able to go tutor (by choice) after school and be home by dinner each night.  Unfortunately, now I can't even imagine tutoring, because I get home by dinner, but still have work I could/should be doing... That goes for both Mark and myself. We had it easy, there is no two ways about it.

Mark has started a new job endeavor in personal finance, so we will see what that has in store for us in the future. He continues to teach, but does personal finance on the side.

Our work-life balance has been a hurdle for us thus far in the transition. This is a constant prayer for us to find that balance to ensure we are spending time with one another, growing closer to Christ, spending time with loved ones, and ensuring we are doing a great job as an educator for our students. I won't even try to sugar coat it...it's plain TOUGH. I am beginning to sound like a Cubs fan when I say, "maybe next year" it will get better with that balance. I love where I work though, which helps to make that transition more enjoyable. I work with wonderful teachers, have a great administration, and love my kids.

Other somewhat expected challenges at first were re-acclimating to American grocery stores and the American culture (dress, societal views, etc). I wasn't prepared for so many options with certain items while shopping. It's funny, there are probably 30+ options when it comes to BBQ sauce, but only about 4 choices when it comes to rice. It was normal for us to see an entire aisle for rice in Qatar, where as here it is a small section in one row of an aisle.  There are many things I struggle with in our American culture, but will just leave it to that for now as I see this post is getting long. I just found a true appreciation for modesty while living abroad, which isn't necessarily something always seen here. On the flip side, I truly value our freedoms here. We are very fortunate!

 One true blessing this year was spending the holidays in the States.  The holiday season was often more challenging abroad and was a time where we felt more homesick. A tradeoff to help with that was traveling. Although the traveling was amazing, it was nice to spend the holiday season with family and friends this year and enjoy the yummy food.  Trying to make certain dishes in Qatar just didn't taste right for various reasons. So, we definitely got our fill this holiday season. ;)

The list truly goes on for the various ups and downs of returning back to the States...so, I'll leave it to that. Although there have been some challenges along the way, God has continued to bless us in many ways.

In 2016, I am looking forward to us getting more acclimated in our roles at home, work, and church. We have settled on a church for the time being and are looking forward to spending more time with loved ones, getting plugged into a small group, begin volunteering, and continuing to grow in our faith.

May your 2016 be a year filled with love and joy! :)

With Love,

Kristin

Goodbye Doha...

It's hard to believe our time in Doha has come to an end. This place became home and where we had done quite a bit of growing as individuals and as a couple.  Everything about leaving is very bitter sweet.  I'm excited for the next chapter in our life, but truly enjoyed so much about this experience, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to live here for two years.

 If you would have told me 4 years ago that we would live in the Middle East for two years, I would have told you that you were crazy. Lets just say, I've learned to not ever say the word NEVER, because we honestly just don't know what God has in store for us.  I know he has quite a sense of humor, and although I was very against living in this part of the world when we began our job search 2 1/2 years ago, I'm so thankful that is where we ended up moving.  I've learned so much and have been able to open my eyes up and learn about various cultures, especially the Arab culture.

As I look back on the past two years, I laugh at some of the struggles we endured at the beginning, I shake my head at some of the things that still annoy me and am grateful to move back to where things will make sense (most of the time), I smile and tear up thinking about time with the friends and Doha family that we made here who are the hardest part of leaving, I am grateful for my faith and my provider who is always there, and I am filled with joy thinking about our travels/fun experience we have enjoyed both in Doha and during our travels.

I'm not sure when it will hit me that we've officially moved back to the States.  I'm excited to be reunited with family and friends, but our friends and family in Doha will always hold a special part in my (our) heart(s) and will smile thinking about our adventures.

So, as one chapter in our lives ends another begins. Looking forward to what is to come.

Love,

Kristin

Praise for answered prayers

It has been an eventful couple of weeks in the Wilcoxen apartment, as we've been preparing for our transition back to the States.  I'll be honest, I've had my moments where it has been tough to think about moving, because there is honestly a lot I'm going to miss.  Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to be back in the land where things make sense and to see/spend time with loved ones, but Doha has become home and it will be very bitter sweet to leave.

A few weeks ago, I was having a hard time with the upcoming move and was just feeling sad.  In addition to that, I had been applying for jobs for a couple of months, but didn't have any strong leads. Mark had applied to two jobs and received a job offer during his first and only interview with the second school he applied at.  A normal wife would be jumping for joy, but I was struggling because I had spent so much time applying, etc. and Mark only applied to two schools and got a job.  I was happy for him, but inside struggling with my frustrations and felt deflated. I started to feel angry about it all and struggled to talk to Mark about his job.  I recognized I couldn't handle this on my own and turned towards God.   I prayed quite a bit and was consistently reciting one of my life verses Proverbs 3:5-6
   "Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    Do not depend on your own understanding, Seek
    His will in all you do, and he will show you which
    path to take."

I sent my family an e-mail telling them the good news about Mark's job, but also asked for prayer because I was having a hard time.  I was writing the e-mail at school and tears were running down my face as I was just typing away.  My previous struggles with finding a teaching job were flooding back and knew I needed to continue to pray.  God worked on my heart and in a matter of two days the weight was lifted and my heart was softened.  There is honestly no explanation for it, other than God answering my prayer.  I apologized to Mark and was able to get truly excited for his new job and find out more details about it without getting upset.  This is not an area of my life that I'm proud of, but was so overcome with the answer to prayer that I can't help to share it with others.

Several days after God answered my prayer of softening my heart to be able to support Mark in his upcoming job, He began to open a door for me.  I received an e-mail from Traders Point setting up an interview with the principal.  After two interviews,  a recorded lesson, and more time in prayer, I received the job offer to be the 5th grade teacher at Traders Point.  I eagerly accepted and am overcome again by answer to prayer.

I honestly didn't think Mark and I would have jobs prior to our return to the States, but am so thankful that we do! This experience just continues to remind me of how great our God is.  Although things are not always easy, He provides us the strength to get through any hurdle in life.

So, thank you to those who had been praying for our transition back to the States and job search.

With love,

Kristin

"Half-Way" Meet-up

So, Barcelona may not be quite half-way between Indy and Doha, but it was pretty close when comparing our flight times.  My parents, Mark and I officially decided last summer that we would meet up for a vacation this year, and decided upon Barcelona. I honestly don't remember what all went into the decision making, but boy am I glad we chose it.  Barcelona was a fabulous city and would highly recommend for people to travel there.  It ranks as one of my top cities we have visited, as it is a beautiful city with lots to do.  It didn't hurt that we had great company there as well.

This marked our last vacation before moving back to the States this summer and feel as though we ended it with a "bang".  We had a great week with my parents exploring Barcelona.  This was my first time traveling with my parents, other than our beach vacations, and couldn't have asked for it to go better.  We all enjoyed similar activities and exploring the city together. :)

The sunrise while flying over Iraq

Barcelona's Cathedral...people were waiting for the Good Friday procession

We had a recommendation from a co-worker to check out the cat bar...we enjoyed having the beer from Indiana.  (#1 ART)

First night - enjoying the local cuisine (paella)

Mark had rabbit... 

Good Friday procession...very interesting, but didn't fully understand everything

Christopher Columbus monument

I learned over this trip that my dad likes to knock on random doors

This time someone answered...woops ;) 

Easter Service

Getting ready to tour the Sagrada Familia...an absolutely gorgeous church!

We went up one of the towers to enjoy the views...it was here where I began to learn of my dad's utter fear of heights

Fear of heights had not kicked in yet at this point...

dad's fear of heights kicked in and began quickly going down the stairs

My dad's reenactment of him quickly coming down the stairs

Went to the amazing light show...I can't believe they host these a few times a week!

Our only glitch (minus when my parents flight was delayed 24 hours on their return flight home, yikes!), was on Easter.  We managed to lock ourselves out of our apartment, and no we did not forget a key in the apartment.  The problem is we left a key in the lock and didn't realize it was there.  The key in the door on the inside prevented us from turning the key on the outside to get in.  We unfortunately didn't realize our mistake until 11:00 at night on Easter.  Keep in mind, everything is shut down, we don't speak the native language, and we have no phone to use for help.  We were in quite the pickle.  We found a small convenient mart open and some very nice Pakistanis allowed me to use their computer to contact the woman's place we were staying in (we did Airbnb) and then ran into other friendly women, one of which spoke good English, who called the police for us. The police came and tried to get in, with no luck of course.  Luckily, they were able to call a locksmith who came out within 15 minutes.  They pulled out their high tech piece of cardboard and slid it through the door to unlock it.  All of which took about 30 seconds, with a grand total of 200 euros! YIKES! We were just glad to have a place to sleep that night... I luckily was able to document some of the action (two photos below)

Mark using his HS Spanish skills to talk to the cops

The picture is blurred because I was trying to quickly snap a photo during the 30 seconds it took them to open the door.

Park Guell - amazing and interesting park, which was designed by the famous Antoni Gaudi

Dad is going to take a quick nap while we hike up a hill for some better views

My mom typically takes some rocks home from places she visits, but this one was unfortunately too big for their luggage

This sign was seen a little too late...the plant was already in the bag at this point. ;) 

Enjoying some Catalan dessert 

Roman Ruins

More sweets...enjoying some afternoon churros 

They are pretty excited about some fresh bacon!!

Enjoying a late afternoon snack/drink on the balcony (the views were nice!)

This place was AMAZING!!! 

We went to Montserrat for the day

My dad conquered his fears and rode the cable car

Taking a bit of a break with mi momacita while at Montserrat 

Candy store

This was an unforgettable trip and feel so fortunate to have been able to go and explore Barcelona with Mark and my parents. I hope to go back when they finish the Sagrada Familia. :)