From One Bubble to Another

A bubble artist in Salzburg

We have hit the six-month mark of living abroad. After traveling around like vagabonds for the summer,  we've been settled in our village since September.

If you've followed the blog, you've read about trips to the hospital, vacations in Iceland and Spain, getting a haircut despite the language barrier, and so much more. We have certainly had our share of adventures large and small, and continue to plan more. What hasn't received much ink is the everyday, the mundane.

I wrote one post about grocery shopping, and now I want to take that to the next level. There is more in our lives that is mundane than spectacular. I believe that anyone reading this would say the same of their lives, too. We all have to eat, sleep, do laundry, pay bills, etc. This is the stuff of life. Without the mundane, there is no spectacular. If all of your meals are at Michelin-starred restaurants, they become mundane. The street food eaten at a downtown sidewalk becomes spectacular.

I am aware of the perception that anything happening in Europe seems exotic and special. The reality is a little bit different than the myth. Most of our days are run-of-the-mill, nothing special. Workout at the gym, stop in at the grocery store, work, make dinner, work some more when everyone in California is at their desks.

Not only are most of our days quite simple, we live in our own little bubble. In Santa Barbara, we talked often with our friends about "the bubble." The Central Coast is one of the world's most scenic places with mountains on one side and the sparkling Pacific ocean on the other. Palm-lined avenues and red tile roofs complete the picture. In addition to its beauty, abundance of local produce, great restaurants and culture, there is tremendous wealth among the residents of the small town. We stick to our cozy neighborhoods, safe schools, and comfortable routines, lucky to raise our kids in this perfect environment.

Part of the reason we chose to live abroad was to get our kids out of the bubble for a little while. Don't get me wrong; we love the bubble -- safe, familiar, easy. But we felt that maybe we could show the kids "more of the world". Not just checking boxes for museums and churches, scratching cities off a map, but really seeing something different. Different languages, different currencies, different political systems, different ways of getting around a city.

After six months, I can say that we have created another bubble here in Austria.

We chose another spectacularly beautiful place to live. I recently talked to a friend in the US who said, "I love the pictures you post of the mountains, where is that?" Everywhere, it's all around us. This part of Austria is on the edge of the Alps and there are mountains and lakes all over. Sprinkle some snow over it and the whole place is a giant postcard.

There is more to the bubble than picturesque scenery. In our village and nearby, a few other school families have found places to live -- not an easy task because the towns are so small. The school is British, so naturally attracts English-speaking families. Our close gang hails from England, Scotland, Australia and the United States. The obvious upside to having these friends is that we don't feel isolated. We can speak freely -- understand and be understood. 

The downside is that our German is not improving much. We can go several days without speaking more German than "hello" or "goodbye" to shopkeepers or people we pass on the street. This also means that we are not immersed in Austrian culture. We are too often observers, not participants.

This experience has led me to think about our notion of "the bubble" and if there is a possibility of living "outside" the bubble. It varies from each person. Politicians and celebrities often live in their own bubbles -- for security and privacy. Inner-city families live in their own bubbles -- perhaps plagued by high crime and lack of access to good schools and fresh produce. 

I believe that a bubble is comprised of our routines and schedules, of course, but also our regular grocery store, coffee place, and favorite restaurants. Our friends and neighbors live in our bubble, too -- carpool, sports team, poker group, book club and church. We need these familiar places and faces to give us comfort, share laughs, and help us in times of need. Think of a time you're gone to an unfamiliar grocery store -- it takes twice as long to get your shopping done because you don't know where everything is. Your regular stores are part of your bubble. We have that here, too. For almond butter, I have to go to Billa. For cheddar cheese, only Spar will do. 

I've come to realize that the bubble is the mundane part of life that makes everything else spectacular. We have been to churches and museums. The kids are scratching cities off the map. We've been to the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, the Eiffel Tower, and some of the highest peaks in Europe. We've eaten crepes in Paris, seen flamenco dancing in Seville, and swum in the Blue Lagoon. But in between these grand adventures, we eat nachos at home, go for walks in our neighborhood, and meet our friends for Friday afternoon happy hour, just like everyone else in their own bubbles.