Before jumping into this post, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has written to ask if I'm alright (I am!) and to those who have proposed blog topics. My online silence wasn't due to ill health or lack of inspiration but rather the need for some quiet time to figure out what I want to do with this next phase of my life.
Ask any expat how they feel when confronted by the challenges associated with moving to a new country every couple of years and they'll probably say that the opportunity to reinvent yourself is both a blessing and a curse.
While some expats plunge headfirst into their new lives, others need time to survey the possibilities. With the exception of diving into blogging when we first moved to Paris, I've always been the kind of expat who eases into life in a new country the same way I enter a swimming pool, by wiggling my toes first to cautiously test the temperature.
And, admittedly, my obsession with the presidential elections hasn't helped. Before getting out of bed in the morning, I'd fumble around in the dark searching for the news application on my cell phone to check if something catastrophic had happened in the US while I was asleep. Even on the days when all was well, I still found myself eating breakfast in front of the television to catch up on every twist and turn as reported on the news.
It was only after ticking the box on my absentee ballot earlier this week that I felt some sense of release. Aside from posting reminders on social media for expats to vote, the only thing that I can do now is hope that the majority of Americans have the same vision for the future of the United States as I do. Instead of worrying about something over which I have little control, I decided to forge ahead with a couple of projects that have been evolving in my mind during the past months. Even though I'm not yet in a position to reveal the details, the common thread between the projects is "Women Helping Women".
In the meantime, one of my goals is to write more blog posts about Prague and the Czech Republic. It's a beautiful country with a rich history that I'd like to share.
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| Prague - also known as "the golden city of 100 spires" and "a symphony in stone"! |