When we visited India in April, 2016, Sarah got to spend a week getting acquainted with the music programs in the elementary division at the American International School Chennai. Little did she then know that she would end up applying to fill a vacant faculty position for the next school year. But the stars aligned and we decided to take the plunge and move to India in July 2017 to spend the next few years living in Chennai and opening ourselves to the incredible opportunities to learn and grow and experience so many elements of life so very different from our own–to be in the minority in nearly every possible way; to be thrust into new cultures and histories; to adapt to new weather patterns, with hot, hotter, and hottest seasons freshened by weeks of monsoon; to gain new perspectives living in the midst of ancient religious beliefs and practices; to learn a new language–or two or three; to walk in new ways to lead our lives in nearly every respect, with new spices and smells, tastes and textures, and manners of politely bringing the food from the plate–or the banana leaf–to one’s mouth; and to so many mysterious new places and delightful new faces.
While Sarah was excited to be joining the AISC faculty, I looked forward to capturing as much as I could of our daily enlightenment through photos and words in this Fetching a Toothpicker blog to share regularly with you–and to welcome your feedback and your own travel adventures.
As the Headmaster asked when he offered Sarah the job, “Are you and David ready for an adventure in India?”
We absolutely loved our three-plus years in India, but our adventure intersected with the Coronavirus pandemic and Sarah decided to take an early severance package as the school had to deal with the situation. What would be next for us?
Portugal, of course! One thing we learned in our immersion with so many excellent educators who had made their careers teaching and raising families all over the world was that one could retire . . . ANYWHERE one wanted!! We considered Chiang Mai, Thailand, and others recommended Bali, but the draw of old Europe and the short(er) flights to the US narrowed our focus to Portugal, reliably among the top few places to retire in many annual surveys. We hoped to make a scouting trip to Lisbon to select a neighborhood and a flat, but, again, the virus had its way so we hung out for nearly three months in England hoping that Portugal might open up for tourism. Alas, that was not to be, so we decided to return to the US at the end of October, 2020 to begin the process of really moving to Portugal. But that’s another story . . . .
