Guest Post-Sophie B.

What has it been like for you on your travels abroad?

Most people balk at the thought of taking their children abroad, far from grandparents and the extended family but over the past six years, traveling from the UK to New Zealand, the Fiji islands and then to Australia, we’ve discovered that for those who dare, despite the sacrifices, there are great rewards to be had.

As we have moved from country to country, we have been so blessed with an ever-increasing family, not related to us by blood but related to us by the bond we’ve made with them, bonds of faith but also bonds of shared experiences, knowledge of cultures other than our own that we couldn’t possibly have built up without living there.

When I see New Zealand on the news, I know the scorching sun and the chilly wind that blows through the houses, I feel for the community of Christchurch when it is hit by earthquake and I look to see what it means for friends living there. When I hear of a cyclone hitting the Fijian Islands, I think of my friend Lina on Viti Levu, battening down the hatches, making sure that she has plenty of candles, matches, hurricane lamps and kerosene. I think of our house girl Asenaca and her family, living on the shoreline and hope that she has gone further inland to the shelter of the mountains and I wonder if the electricity has gone off again for days and whether my friend Kristine will be able to get her washing done.

Living abroad changes you forever. Travel, if you really see a country as it truly is and not the Travel Brochure Version, changes you forever. There is something that you cannot ever undo when you see the vibrancy, the colour, the abundance of life, the dirt and poverty of a developing country.

I grew up in the Southern Alps, spending 17 years there and still, 18 years after I left, it is the country that touches my heart the most. The suffering of people there is heartbreaking and although most of the West think of it as a haven for terrorists, for me it will forever be the country of early morning mist on the river, Moghul forts, bright colours, breathtaking mountains, tall pine forests, inquisitive wild monkeys and, most of all, of hospitable friends. I miss it so much.

When I returned to the UK at age 18, I realized it was easy to spot those who had travelled, who came from another culture or had experienced another culture. Trying to put my finger on what it is exactly is difficult. Is it friendliness? Is it an openness to other cultures? A reluctance to judge cultures or make assumptions? Possibly it is an openness of mind, an awareness of others, an ease within themselves.

I long to pass it on to my children because whatever that quality is, it is rich and beautiful. We are so privileged to have seen so much of the world when others have barely ventured out of their town. I am delighted that my children know their time zones, that they realize that not everyone has the privileged lifestyle we do, that they accept that other people eat differently, live differently, that our lifestyle is simply one choice among many. I hope it encourages them to see justice done, to help those who want and need help, to give generously, to have an openness to new friends, to new cultures.

We are incredibly blessed to have had the experiences we have had in our lives so far. I hope they’ll be many more adventures to come.

Sophie

*Sophie is a wife and mother of three little girls. She calls her husband the gorgeous Frenchman. They have been on the move for six years now and have lived in UK, NZ, Fiji and lived in Australia for three years.

*Thank you so much for your post and for being a guest on "Our Trip To Ethiopia". Sophie is a fellow member of SITS (The Secret to Success is Support). To read more and get more insights on today's Guest, please visit http://www.familytravelogue.blogspot.com and http://www.littlegumnut.blogspot.com