Sherman and I have secretly wished to live in another country ever since Willow was born. I found myself starting off a conversation with “Well, someday, we’d like to travel somewhere while Willow is young and show her some of the world.” And then I wondered if I would ever have the guts to do it or not. As Willow became a toddler, I mentioned to Sherman “Make sure that when you write your dissertation, you have to go to another country to gather information. Doesn’t our University have a potential relationship in China?” Sherman’s silence was always a discouragement that he would pursue that option. When Willow was in kindergarten, I felt the door closing in. My job was comfortable, and I was well liked and needed, but I was not satisfied with this as my life’s work, and wished to be pushed on to other things. How would I leap out of this coziness? Isn’t this best for Willow? Once she is in elementary school, she will have best friends and extra activities and not wish to leave. Meanwhile, Sherman was in the middle of his PhD coursework and could not give up the financial benefits of working at the same University that he attends.
Then we had the snowiest winter I remember. The cold was old habit. The snow was up to the middle sash on the downstairs windows, after it tumbled off of the roof. Then, in March, Sherman and I realized the timing. His school financial aid would end this year once he would be in writing his dissertation. Work became increasingly stressful for him, with the “old” phasing out and the “new” phasing in. We realized that it was the best time for us to leave. I asked Sherman to get his passport renewed. I already had passports for Willow and myself a year and a half ago. I guess I had been waiting for this time for a long time unconsciously!
How exciting- we could live abroad- but where? I know people around the globe- how about Nigeria or Rwanda? No. “’India would be great! Or China?” Silence. “I loved Thailand- I would love to go back!” “No, I can’t learn a new alphabet” was Sherman’s response. “How about Mexico or Brazil?” “I spent a semester in Brazil in undergraduate college- I loved it.” Yes, maybe we could do that. We put the thought away for awhile, and Sherman applied for his passport. Meanwhile, I stumbled upon an article that said that the friendliest people in the whole world are Cubans, Mexicans, and Brazilians. When I came home and told Sherman that, we decided there and then- we will go to Brazil!
I felt like a secret agent- and I posted our home for rent on the Waldorf World Wide- a website for parents and teachers in the Waldorf community who trade homes for a month’s vacation, and more recently, post for yearly exchanges. There weren’t many houses for a year out there, and only one in Brazil, but it was a small move to say that we could pull up roots. My mom won’t like this at all. Yikes.
The Grand Adventure 