"The better to understand what was transformed."- Moving back to the US but no regrets on 3 years in Central America

First off, I apologize to who have written to me offline asking really great questions about sabbaticals, I hope many of you are living it now or planning is going on. I will respond to you!

An explanation for going AWOL virtually and our big change: we have moved to the  Pacific Northwest. Three years ago we left very abruptly thinking it would be a year; we didn't focus too much publicly on the fact that our oldest daughter was having a lot of health problems. (A post to follow about international insurance- buy it, it's not more expensive than peace of mind and it happens to be reasonable.)

One year turned into three but the realization that something remained elusive in understanding our daughter's health became very clear. Finally, we have an answer that is years in coming. It took a young Costa Rican doctor who was an international conference hound to piece together the puzzle and in doing so set off a bomb in our world. This Spring he suggested that our daughter had a hereditary blood disorder.

 The short conclusion is: the minute we learned that there was medicine available in the U.S. (it will never be available in Costa Rica we are told because it is too expensive and ironically enough has been available in Europe for 30 years) we knew we had to come back.

This week we saw the doctor for the first time and our lovely and brave daughter will start weekly transfusions of the medicine just as soon as the insurance can be sorted out. You know it's at scary financial levels when the drug company assigns you a case worker.

There's a lot to catch up on and we want to communicate it all to those who feel a stirring as a family to take a sabbatical. We've been back now for a little more than two months and I've listened to what feels like a million times people probe the kids about living in Costa Rica and speaking Spanish etc. I wish there was a way for you to hear them yourselves, you wouldn't doubt for a minute that taking a sabbatical might be the best thing to happen to your kids.

I was reading an article by the NY Times Magazine's photography critic, Teju Cole and I stopped cold when I read the following: "When I'm moved by something, I want to literally put myself in its place, the better to understand what was transformed. . . how do raw materials become something else, something worth keeping?"

We are completely transformed by the love and friendship that was offered to us so openly by the people of Costa Rica. I will say one more time- try to learn the language, even a couple of phrases. With free YouTube lessons to sophisticated programs, there is just no excuse. I rarely strike that tone but I say it for your own good. I remember vividly an expat who spoke no Spanish saying, 'you'll never become truly friends with Costa Ricans and they won't show up at your parties.' Both not true but I have to say with full honesty that speaking the language helps. 

Our older children knew barely a word of Spanish before we left and now they are virtually fluent; it's possible to take on another language but it takes some elbow grease and the belief you can. 

We are transformed by what we learned.

We are transformed by what we saw.

We are transformed because we have become different people forever- a thorough a dramatic change? Absolutely.

Is taking a family sabbatical an idea worth keeping? I believe so with all of my heart.