I'm one of those person who day dream a lot. I think about what I want to do, or places I want to go before I'm too old. Usually, I end up thinking I should wait. I'll do this when the kids will be older, I'll go there when I have more money or when I have more time... If I wrote a bucket list, I would probably never tick anything off it.
I recently read Amanda's blog (Expat life with a Double Buggy) and one of her post struck me. Instead of dwelling on things she hasn't done as an expat, she thought about what she achieved since she moved to the Netherlands. She shared her "Reverse Expat Bucket List" and decided to do a blog link-up, to which I'm now participating.
So here it goes, this is my Reverse Expat Bucket list, things I have achieved since moving to Ireland 12 years ago:
1. Be pregnant and give birth in a foreign country (twice)
2. Come to Ireland on my own and be independant
3. Drive to The Giant Causeway and back in one day
4. Visit Newgrange
5. See U2 in concert, twice
6. See The Script in concert at the very beginning of their career
7. Marry a beautiful Mauritian man twice (once in Ireland and once in France)
8. Visit Mauritius 5 times thanks to him
10. Experience the atmosphere of a real traditional Irish pub
11. Drive to West Cork from Dublin on Saturday and come back on Sunday (14 hours drive in total), just to see a friend of mine who was coming to Ireland on holidays.
12. Learn a bit of Irish
13. Make Irish friends
14. Go to a wedding in Spain and in England of friends who used to live in Ireland
15. Drive on the left
16. Buy an Irish registered car
17. Spend a night (for free) in a 4 stars hotel in Dublin
18. Drink Champagne in the French Ambassador's residence for the 14th of July
19. Be part of a Musical and Drama society and act in 3 musicals in a Dublin theatre
20. Meet people from all over the world
21. Visit Belfast and learn more about the troubles in Northern Ireland
22. Own a home abroad and in France
23. Become bilingual
24. Nearly master the Dublin accent
25.Celebrate an International Christmas with Danish, Indian, French, and Mauritian friends
26. See dolphins in Mauritius
27. Start blogging about Mauritius and now about being an Expat
28. Do my hen party in Temple Bar
29. See the St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin
30. Be able to cheer for 3 countries in the Olympics
31. Bring my children up in three different cultures
32. Learn Mauritian creole language
33. Appreciate Irish humour
34. Speak, think and dream in English
35. Meet a great Irish family and consider the parents as my "Irish parents"
36. Go to an Irish wedding, end up on a table where we don't know anybody and still, have a fabulous time
37. Keep my friends in France
38. See Air Force One as it landed in Dublin Airport
39. Participate in a TV show recording
40. Watch a comedy show live and understand the jokes
41. Bring the kids to a pub and think it's perfectly normal
42. Eat a pub lunch at 4pm and think it's perfectly normal
43. Watch Ireland playing France at football and rugby, and cheer for both
44. Try to learn the National anthem (I'm not quite there yet!)
45. Enjoy a full Irish breakfast
46. Eat chips with salt and vinegar, and loving it!
47. See Riverdance in the Gaiety Theatre 3 times
48. Go to the hairdresser and tell the stylist exactly what I want, and actually getting it (took me a few tries though...)
49. Spend a third of my life in Ireland
50. Learn how to make Irish coffee
51. Travel through 12 different airports over the years
52. Be a pro at preparing suitcases
53. Ring Domino's Pizza, the phone company or the revenue and understand when they talk to me
54. See the lakes in Connemara
55. Visit Galway, Cork and Sligo
I'm sure I forgot many things but writing this list made me realise I have achieved a lot more than I thought since moving abroad. Even the little things count and I wouldn't have experienced a lot of the above if I had stayed in France.
19. Be part of a Musical and Drama society and act in 3 musicals in a Dublin theatre
20. Meet people from all over the world
21. Visit Belfast and learn more about the troubles in Northern Ireland
22. Own a home abroad and in France
23. Become bilingual
24. Nearly master the Dublin accent
25.Celebrate an International Christmas with Danish, Indian, French, and Mauritian friends
26. See dolphins in Mauritius
27. Start blogging about Mauritius and now about being an Expat
28. Do my hen party in Temple Bar
29. See the St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin
30. Be able to cheer for 3 countries in the Olympics
31. Bring my children up in three different cultures
32. Learn Mauritian creole language
33. Appreciate Irish humour
34. Speak, think and dream in English
35. Meet a great Irish family and consider the parents as my "Irish parents"
36. Go to an Irish wedding, end up on a table where we don't know anybody and still, have a fabulous time
37. Keep my friends in France
38. See Air Force One as it landed in Dublin Airport
39. Participate in a TV show recording
40. Watch a comedy show live and understand the jokes
41. Bring the kids to a pub and think it's perfectly normal
42. Eat a pub lunch at 4pm and think it's perfectly normal
43. Watch Ireland playing France at football and rugby, and cheer for both
44. Try to learn the National anthem (I'm not quite there yet!)
45. Enjoy a full Irish breakfast
46. Eat chips with salt and vinegar, and loving it!
47. See Riverdance in the Gaiety Theatre 3 times
48. Go to the hairdresser and tell the stylist exactly what I want, and actually getting it (took me a few tries though...)
49. Spend a third of my life in Ireland
50. Learn how to make Irish coffee
51. Travel through 12 different airports over the years
52. Be a pro at preparing suitcases
53. Ring Domino's Pizza, the phone company or the revenue and understand when they talk to me
54. See the lakes in Connemara
55. Visit Galway, Cork and Sligo
I'm sure I forgot many things but writing this list made me realise I have achieved a lot more than I thought since moving abroad. Even the little things count and I wouldn't have experienced a lot of the above if I had stayed in France.
