Leaving

My husband can't sleep when the kids and I are gone for the night. That's going to make for a long 5 1/2 months while we're bunking (without him) at his parents' house in his hometown of Marrakesh, Morocco, Africa. He says he'll get used to it.

We'll see.

The fam and I, which includes munchkins (Ha)Drea, 5, and Eli(as), 3, are heading to Marrakesh on Dec. 15. Ali, the aforementioned hubby, will be there with us until Jan. 8 and then we'll be on our own until May 20. Not technically, of course. We'll be living in a three-story home with my parents-in-law, grandparents-in-law, my brother-in-law and his wife and their son, and my sister-in-law.  There's also a whole host of other sisters and brothers-in-law and their children who will be in and out for regular visits. We definitely won't be in Houston anymore.

Now a word about the trip. Can I say how excited I am?!!!!! I can't believe I have the opportunity to live in another country, let alone Africa. When I was in college I always wanted an adventure and flirted with the idea of living in Europe, though I had no clue how to go about it. I did try (halfheartedly) to land jobs in other parts of the country, but nothing ever panned out. So now to think that I can so easily move to someplace as exotic as Africa is kind of mind blowing to me. I don't have to find a job or a place to live. I can just go. I didn't even really have to ask permission. I knew my husband's family would love to have us. Mind blowing!

Excitement aside, there are several practical reasons for the relocation. First, my kids have got to get to know their Moroccan relatives. This across-the-world, ocean-between-us situation is not really ideal when it comes to getting to know one another, and I figured that while my daughter is in Kindergarten is the last chance for us to make such a drastic move. So that's one reason. Plus, I'm eager to hear my kids speak Arabic. They've heard it from their father since birth and can understand everything he says but, because they don't have to, they don't speak it except when we prompt them. So I'm ready for total immersion and bilingual children. Anyone who knows me knows how important this is. Drea and Eli will also be enrolled in school full time,  six hours a day, six days a week.

YAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, excuse the blissful outburst. Back to business.

So anyway, between school and a bunch of relatives who will reward my babies' English with blank stares, I'm betting on 5 1/2 months equaling fluency.

My language problems are another story. I'm determined to learn....at least enough to get by. I realize after being married to Ali for seven years that I've picked up several phrases and was surprised to learn I can definitely understand more than I thought. But speaking? That's an entirely different story and a subject for another post. Let's just say I'll work on it.

So between now and Dec. 15 I'm concentrating on packing-something that's nearly done thanks to my Type A personality-and spending time with my family. I'm lucky that I'll get to see all four of my siblings and my close cousins and aunts and uncles before we leave. I've never been away from home for as long as I'm going to be in Marrakesh, and I don't know how my emotions will play out. In fact, I'm saving the "I crazy missing Ali and I'm about to spend $5,000 on a last-minute plane ticket before I lose my  mind" post for, say about, hmmm, three months into the trip.

Just kidding! I'm super excited to go, to have an adventure, and to break out of my comfort zone as my brother Marcus put it. He's right. Comfort zone out, Marrakesh in!!!!