Repatriation

This week marks six months since we moved back to Austin.  I promised myself I would not evaluate our repatriation until we had been back for six months because experts say it takes that long to adjust -- both for expatriation and repatriation.

I can easily say that the first two months back were a big adjustment.  The first two weeks back we were struggling with jet lag, kids who were confused, both Matt and I took very little time off of work, and there was a ton of things to do.  But our furniture arrived (yippeee!), the jet lag dissipated and it started to feel like home.  We bought cars, cell phones, and got the kids into a new school.  Even though things started to feel normal, culture shock definitely hit us.  I felt overwhelmed by all of the new things in my life like a house, a car, and basically just everything felt new.  It was all good stuff, just overwhelming all at once and we had gotten used to the Singapore way of life so it was a bit of a shock to go back to our old ways of life.  Going to the grocery stores I felt like a kid in a candy store!  Grocery stores suddenly had the most amazing and cheap selections on earth.  A weeks worth of groceries for only $150?  WHAT?!?!  A  beer or margarita at happy hour for $2???... It also took a while for us to adjust to driving in traffic for our commutes to work and having to wake up at 5:30am. 

After three months we felt like residents again but kept finding that we didn't actually know our way around town like we used to ... new restaurants, shops, bars, etc.  A lot of deja vu moments where we felt like we had been someplace familiar, yet things had changed a little.  Roads were familiar, but felt and looked different. 

Language, although the same, was different again.  If Matt or I responded to anyone with "Can!" we only received blank expressions in return.  Good thing we didn't pull out the "Can can, lah" or the "Off the aircon" phrases.  And all of our fluent taxi Singlish was no longer an asset!  Our first domestic flights I was in shock that I wasn't asked for a passport, a green card, or visa requirements.  It seemed too easy to fly!  At work my memorization of country codes, time zones, and currencies were useless.  My brain was able to throttle back 15% because the only accents I had to de-code were American versions of English.  No more straining my ear to decipher accents and random phrases!

Now, after six months, we feel settled into our life in Austin.  The kids are happy and they are in a really great school that we love.  Matt and I are into a routine with commuting, working, and getting most of our chores done.  We are happy to be near old friends and our families.  I asked the kids this week if they miss Singapore and this is how they responded:

Ainsley: "No!  Not at all.  I like Texas."
Kara: "Yes, I miss my other home.  I miss Singapore!" (tears included)
Jack: "Look!  Spiderman!  ... "

Overall the repatriation experience was good for us.  It was a bit harder in the first couple of months than I imagined it would be, but now we are back into the swing of things and feel ... home.