Canada Born-Alaska Grown-On The Road

  I’ve been stalling writing because life has been a bit overwhelming. We are stuck in a world of awe and frustration. I’ve been worried that writing about the realities of moving and living here will make me sound like I don’t recognize the opportunity we’ve been given. But life hasn’t been easy. In the slightest. Some of the challenges are simple PCS challenges and others, we are told, are unique to the Italian brand of indifference, bureaucracy, and “va bene” attitude. In an effort to be transparent I’ve decided to also write about that side of moving to Italy. The part where we exist in a fairytale with nightmare moments.   All of the annotates that can illustrate our daily frustrations are really hard to do justice to the story. It is a combination of the million small obstacles that leave us exhausted on many levels. Literally every step of getting here, getting paperwork, renting an apartment, buying a car, and Brian learning his job have presented a litany of unexpecte...

Our first international trip while on location in Europe is complete! We traveled to Sweden to watch Vicky, and Team USA, at the Women's World Curling Championships and take in some of the sites of rural and urban Sweden.  First, being amongst curlers again was an incredible heart lifting and morale booster that I didn't even know I needed. They are our people. We speak the same language even if in different dialects. When a sudden gasp comes from a group of curlers we all know an unexpected miss just happened. Or cheers and claps for an awesome shot even if it wasn't for our flag and colours. Curling has given me a lot over the years but the curling community in general is the biggest gift. I loved sitting amongst curling parents, who are all the same: nervous, chatty, and proud. Curling parents are hilarious - in one breath they're commenting on a call or a strategy decision and the next leading team cheers and highfiving strangers. I love it and we joined in.    We f...