A Bit of Reflecting after 8 Years



Eight years ago the Elledge clan stepped out of their American lifestyle into an European adventure that still continues.  This picture, taken the day we arrived, after traveling 22 hours, illuminates and perhaps foreshadows what was to come.

What did come?

  • The immersion into another culture and worldview.
  • The acclimation of a foreign language.
  • The building of new friendships.
  • The induction into an international setting for my older girls.
  • The transition into a German-speaking world for my youngest.
  • The expansion of experiences far beyond what any of us had accumulated.
  • The learning of an organizations dynamics.
  • The stretching of comfort zones.
  • The heartache of loss of family members that we never got to say goodbye to ... or put closure to the ending of a relationship.
  • The broadening of how we saw ourselves, God and each other.
  • The questioning if it was time to move back home.
  • The affirming of a life's work.
  • The joy of success.
  • The depression of grey days that lingered and seemed to close in on us.
  • The decision to push through despite difficulty.
  • The tears of children who just wanted to go "home".
  • The weeping of a Momma in the shower so no one could hear who just wanted to go "home".
  • The fighting of self-doubt.
  • The ignoring of voices that said this was too hard.
  • The separation of our core family to two continents.
  • The adaptation to a four family daily life and long-distance correspondence of our Addison.
  • The accepting of "normal" for almost every abnormal thing we experienced.

To say the first 4 1/2 years of living here were easy would be a lie.  These were not easy years.  They were not easy from the stand point of working for an organization in which the local culture was rigid and harsh.  Outside of our work environment, our new culture had it's challenges, but our love for this place, it's people, and the language trumped any hardships we came to experience.

Looking back, a lifetime seems to flash before tired eyes.  My oldest daughter now lives in my homeland just as long as she has lived abroad.  She identifies little with our European life -  despite her love for good coffee - though her teen years here heavily influenced by this culture.  

My middle daughter sees through an international lens that will most likely color the choices she makes for her future.  Walmart, big cokes, and luxury vehicles will probably not be high on her priority list.  She has been shaped through experiences that will more than likely take her toward "out of the box" decisions for her future.  

And my youngest daughter, living more "here" than "there", has been most influenced by her Austrian roots than her American heritage.  She will carry language, customs, and worldviews into her future that will be louder than her sisters.  She will come to think of what once was so "foreign" as her "home".  

And My Chris and I ... we have experienced more satisfaction in the last 2 1/2 years than perhaps in the first years combined.  Establishing a nonprofit operating from Vienna was the last thing we thought we would do eight years ago.  Operating bilingually seems normal and so out of reach to our eight-year-ago selves.  Adapting to this culture and embracing new norms as preferred defaults in our lives seemed too high an achievement for us 8 years ago.  Big things have become smaller and the little things - like sipping creamy, black, velvet espresso across from a friend for hours in a quaint cafe - have become bigger.

Vienna is in my blood.  I often don't know where my "American" and "Austrian" selves draw dividing lives.  My friends don't know the "Sound of Music" but do know the value of a lazy Sunday afternoon leisurely walk through a park.  I love my homes ... both of them.  Having the privilege of becoming assimilated into another culture has been one of the biggest blessings in my entire life.  

Because of our love for all things 70's, here's to 8 years!



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