You’re Going to do What?!?

Posted on October 20, 2008 Updated on January 22, 2014

As many of you already know, an interesting proposition presented itself over the summer. For those of you who don’t know, Jeff received a call in early June from a German automotive/ aerospace company. As it turns out, they were looking for experienced engineers to work in a city known as Barcelona. In speaking further with the HR rep, Jeff learned he would be working directly with Nissan in the automotive field…perfect! Naturally, we were quite stunned yet excited, and when he received the job offer we felt elated. Could this really be happening?

Not being one to stand idle, I began my own job search for jobs in the teaching field. I just so happened to come across the American School of Barcelona (ASB) and decided to apply…what’s the worst that could happen? I hit “send” never expecting to receive 2 missed calls from the director of ASB while we were on our honeymoon! Jeff and I had more or less decided we were going to take a leap of faith and go for it by this point, but this turn of events really nailed it for us. I interviewed with the director a few days later, and after waiting a week for his call he offered me the position!

So imagine…Jeff and I both received job offers from company’s in our lines of work, and our contracts were to begin at exactly the same time. It really seemed as though the stars were aligned and that this was supposed to happen for us…who were we to deny it!?

The rest of the summer was spent working tirelessly on condensing our lives into a few suitcases that were destined for Spain. Endless emails, craigslist ads, paperwork, and packing was daunting at times. Having the summer off was truly a necessity! Though the excitement of our pending move was overpowering at times, the reality of what it entailed was humbling. Nostalgea, sadness, fear, stress, anxiety, and confusion are all very powerful emotions when faced with this kind of life altering decision. “How do we give up what we have established? We’re quitting our perfectly stable jobs…are we crazy? How do we say goodbye to family and friends…the people who matter most? What if it doesn’t work out…then what? We’re trapped in a foreign country, we don’t know the language, and nothing is familiar.” This is the internal battle we both struggled with for months, but in the end we knew we were making the right decision for us.

You must be thinking we’ve lost our minds, and in some aspects we probably have. But try to see it our way…life is too short to let it pass by. When an opportunity presents itself, take advantage of it…go out on a limb…what do you have to lose? If the opportunity you are waiting for doesn’t arise, then stop waiting! Make it happen…it’s never too soon or too late…those are only excuses. Remove yourself from what’s familiar…you may find yourself where you were meant to be.

If you’re not convinced, here’s a quote we found to parallel our lives as they are today:

-Paul Arden
Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite

To us adventure is the spice of life, and we enjoy a lot of spice!