How It Began

Baba and I have pretty much lived in San Francisco our whole lives. No complaints about that though – there’s a reason why so many people come to this beautiful city. We are also blessed with great family and friends who all live nearby. Life is pretty awesome here to be honest.

So why would we give that all that up to live in another country?

Several years ago, Baba asked me, “If you died tomorrow, is there something you regret not doing?”

I thought long and hard. Life has been good and there’s very little I would change.

But then, I heard a little voice pipe up. And I knew what it was.

“Well,” I replied meekly, “I guess I would regret not ever living in abroad.”

Living abroad had always been an elusive dream. I wanted to study abroad in college and grad school but it never happened due to financial and timing reasons. That dream seemed farther out of reach as I started my career, got married, and had kids. Basically, adulthood got in the way.

To compensate, Baba and I did travel a lot. But visiting a country for a week is very different than living there. Living in a foreign land and immersing yourself in another culture is eye-opening, exciting – and for a dweller like me – completely life-changing.

I’m not looking for something better. I’m looking for something different. I want to broaden our perspective of the world. I want the boys to be exposed to other cultures, and develop an attitude of acceptance and understanding. Yes, I realize it could all blow up in our faces. Maybe it will be a horrible experience. Maybe we will end up hating our life there. But how will we ever know if we never tried?

Baba listened intently to my reasons. He didn’t object to any of it, but wasn’t gung-ho about it either. I didn’t think much about it after that day. I was used to shelving this idea anyway.

But as weeks went by, we’d find ourselves broaching this subject again and again. And slowly, we began to realize this crazy idea of moving abroad wasn’t so crazy after all. So at the end of one of our many discussions, Baba turned to me and said, “Let’s do it.”

And that’s how it all began.