Hi. My name is Susie....and I'm a Global Nomad.

For the past 13 years, I have been a very reluctant world traveler.  I have followed my husband around the world kicking, screaming, crying and complaining.  I have resented my husband, I have resented my husband's employer, I have resented God for "calling" us to this lifestyle.  All of my hopes and dreams for happiness were fixated on the day we'd return to America....home....the proverbial Promised Land.

On June 1, 2012, I finally got my wish.  We arrived back in the States full of hope and optimism; I was sure that life in America would ease all of the pain and disappointment of the previous 12 years.

I WAS WRONG.  We'd often heard from our friends overseas that the move "home" is the most difficult move of all.  However, when you are living in impoverished third world countries, it is impossible to believe that going back to the States could be anything less than fabulous.  But once we returned, reality hit....and hit us hard.

We learned very quickly that all the perks and support offered to us overseas disappear the minute your feet land on US soil.  The financial ramifications and complete lack of emotional and logistical support left us feeling exhausted and completely alone.  We were on.our.own.

So, we struggled to find our way.  Slowly, over several months, our new life began to take shape.  A new house, new schools, new job, new church, new friends.....piece-by-piece it started to come together.

Then, on May 29, 2013, a crazy thing happened.  I went to the airport to join my husband for a few days while he was working in Mexico City.  As I worked my way through check-in and security I was struck by the familiarity of it all -- the rhythm of international travel -- and it was oddly comforting.

Then my arrival in Mexico.  The anticipation as we began our descent, passport control and immigration, getting foreign currency, finding the safe/pre-paid taxi stand.....all these activities as natural to me as breathing.  Once in the taxi, I was overwhelmed by the realization that I felt more "at home" after half an hour in Mexico City than I had felt after 11 months in the US!  How could this be?!?

Day one in Mexico City brought an additional landslide of emotions.  There was a HUGE international festival occurring on the main avenida outside our hotel; booths from all over the world selling clothing, food and souvenirs.  As I walked down the street, it was a literal stroll down memory lane.  So many countries that have shaped the life of our family....Turkey, Guatemala, Israel, Nigeria, India, France, Belgium, the UK, Thailand, the Czech Republic, Germany.....each booth bringing an onslaught of memories and emotions, and, again, that unexpected feeling of being "at home".

That is when it hit me.  We ARE a third culture family!  Our first allegiance will always be to the United States, but we have left pieces of ourselves all over the world. Each country that we have either lived in or visited has left its stamp on our souls; for better or worse, who we are as individuals and as a family has been influenced by these foreign nations.

According to Wikipedia, a global nomad is someone who is living a mobile and international lifestyle. The pessimist in me says "Then no place is home"; the emerging optimist in me is beginning to say "EVERY place is home!"  We are citizens of the world, and it is up to us to focus on either the negatives of what this lifestyle has cost us, or on the positives of how it has enriched us.  I have focused on the negatives long enough, and that choice has not served me well.  So, I embark on an attempt to focus on the positives and be thankful for the lives and experiences we have had as a third culture family.  I can (almost) proudly proclaim: "My name is Susie....and I am a global nomad."