Amigos

Making friends was not a top priority for me on this adventure. Of course I hoped that the kids would develop friendships through school, but I moved here with my best friend in the world, and have friends visiting throughout the year, so I viewed this year as an opportunity to spend quality time with my family and didn't put much thought into it beyond that.

We made very intentional choices when deciding where to live. Not only did we choose a very small, non tourist town, we also chose a house 8 km out of town in an "urbanizacion" (community) which is extremely private and secluded. This is quite a drastic change coming from a big city and a house where we know and talk to all of our neighbours on a daily basis. We were looking for a home where all we could hear were the sounds of nature. This mission was successful! The peace, quiet and beauty of being surrounded by nature brings me so much joy.

The other reason we chose this town is because it was not on the tourist map. We wanted to immerse ourselves in a culture and be forced to speak Spanish on a daily basis in the community. What we were not expecting was to meet a large group of expat families in the town.

One of my favorite parts about travelling is making a plan and then changing it mid stream because I found out about something new or more exciting along the way. Well this is kind of what happened with the whole friend situation.

I am not one to easily meet new friends. The friends that I have are very dear to me, and most of them have been around for a long time. Knowing that this was not a permanent move, and we would only be here for a year, making friends wasn't really on the radar.

The first day of school we met this amazing group of people who welcomed us into the community with open arms. There are a surprisingly large number of expat families in our very small school and town. The group is from all over the world and so incredibly diverse in backgrounds and circumstances that have led them here. Some, like us have just arrived, and others have been here for over 15 years. Some kids were born here, and others have moved here without a word of Spanish. However, everyone shares the common bond of knowing what it is like to move to a new country, culture, and way of life.

Our days are easily filled with morning coffees, bike rides, hikes, playing on the playa (beach) after school, tapa Fridays, playdates, BBQ's and more. We are so fortunate to have met such a wonderful group of friends here. Beyond the places we go and things we do, it is the friendships that will form the lasting memories of this trip. Our Spanish may be suffering because of it, but those are the sacrifices you make for amigos.