Cefalú Ruminations - Echos Of The Next Transition

We've been back in Cefalú for a week and a half. We are over the halfway mark and have three weeks remaining. Wife and I have been in deep discussion on our feelings about this experiment and where we are going to go from here. So in no particular order of priority here are some of the things we are mulling over.

How Quickly We've Acclimated - One of the more shocking insights was our return to Cefalú from Copenhagen. I remember telling Wife as we settled back in to the apartment here that first day back, "It's nice to be back home." Home. Like this is a place we've been living for years. Yet we've seemed to settle into a life pattern here that is so comfortable. Which has led to a realization of...

How Little I Miss From Our Current Home - Wife and I had a conversation while out to lunch today. What do you miss from our home in Albuquerque. I could only come up with my favorite chair, my memory foam mattress, the ease of cooking in my kitchen, and that was about it. Then I thought about all the 'stuff' we have and how little I even think about it here. Maybe that would change if and when we extend to a longer stay. But now, not much. Not even my wine (don't get your hopes up jackals, I'm not giving it away that soon, you know who you are). I definitely don't miss my car or driving!

The Influence Of Environment On Behavior - The influence of the pandemic lock down, decreased personal travel, increased work with Theodora, paying clients and Rotary, had led to a daily schedule that was pretty much a full-time working and mostly working at home. Wife complained that I was in my office early in the morning and only coming out at dinner. Coming to Cefalú affected a complete change. For one, the time difference. There was no way to communicate to anyone in the States until late afternoon. Second, as Ghana was now a couple of hours behind, I could move them later too. Now I have my entire day until about 3pm to myself and Wife. I am only working maybe 5 or 6 hours at most. Since we are in a small apartment, Wife and I are together most of the time. We'd worried that we would be ready to kill each other. That hasn't happened at all. We still do our own things, just in the same space for the most part. 

Scratching The Itch Of Living In Another Country - When I was a student in college decades and decades ago, I spent a year studying in France. It was a life changing experience. For a while, I sought a way to work in Europe but it never panned out. But always I remembered that experience and joy of living in another country. As we began to travel, I had hoped to somehow recreate that experience but there was this desire to see so many different places. So the experience was much different. Then age caught up with us and we realized we could not travel as we had. We were contemplating an expat transition when Covid hit. Now as things have returned to a more normal state, we wondered if we could still pull something like that off. Being here and just living has brought it all back to me, that enjoyment of being in another culture. The experience that comes from a different lifestyle. There is no big thing that need be done. No Cathedral to be seen. No monument to go to. It is being immersed into a different rhythm of life. 

The Importance Of Breaking Patterns - Getting Out Of The Rut - One of the big lessons we've learned is how easy it had been to fall into a rut. How much we had been going through life as a repetitive pattern without thinking about whether it was really nourishing us as people. What we see in this experience is despite stereotypes about what one should do or be at a given age, the opportunity to grow and expand as a person is there. For us changing our environment seems to be the key.

We have a ton of research to do before we can make any definitive plans for example:

• As much as we have enjoyed Cefalú, Sicily is not where we would want to be long-term. We are thinking somewhere in Spain is more likely for a variety of reasons. We will need to plan some exploratory trips in 2023 to determine if that is the case.

• We need to decide what we are going to do with our house. To pull off a expat move will mean finding a way to turn that non-earning asset into an earning one.

• And if we are potentially getting rid of our house, do we still maintain a base in Albuquerque?

• If we can't get an expat visa somewhere, what is our next best option? Would we want to go to various places for 3-months at a time as tourist visas allow? Maybe. Doesn't sound like a horrible option.

• How aggressive to we want to be now in terms of getting rid of stuff?

If you ask me, it is all terribly exciting and stimulating.