Relocation & Expat Coach

'If we really think that home ...

,,, is elsewhere and that this life is a 'wandering to find home', why should we not look forward to the arrival?'  C.S. Lewis

This is an interesting question.  I've just taken another step towards my own future home and over the past few weeks while I've been in transition, I've wondered if I will enjoy this next step.  C.S. Lewis asks 'should we not look forward to our arrival?' and I thought about this in relation to the decision that I've taken to move.  Not only that I've taken the decision to move, but also that I've taken the decision to move to a different country with a new (to me) culture. 

We sold our house and moved out the last week of February 2010.  Although I had a very quick visit to the island, I remained in the UK while the internet, telephone and other connections were organised.  This has not been a simple step, as it would seem.  Yes, we bought a beautiful property in an un-developed part of the island, but ... the guidance we were given about the quality of internet connection that we could have wasn't accurate and it has taken a number of weeks to resolve this issue.  No, it is not fully resolved, and this period of transition has truly shown that sometimes our plans don't give the result we expect. 

For me, the transition between one home and another has not been an easy step - this is for someone who has moved around the world many times without great about the move or truly planning it.  We are all very used to moving from one home to another - being very focused on where we are and where we are going.  Knowing how to stop our current services and start our new services - in many cases, just moving the services from one house to another. 

With the fantastic support that I've had on the island in everything that I've done, organised, scheduled, and planned it does come as a surprise when things don't flow as smoothly as you think that they should. 

Over the last four weeks since moving out of our house in the UK, I have not had that opportunity to be very focused on where I am going ...  I've been very lucky and this time has shown the number of truly true friends that I have, but  ...

... it has also been a very interesting learning!  Besides becoming very disoriented, very disorganised, not focused, there has been a huge impact on my health.  Those friends who have stood by me, housed me, fed me, made sure that everything that I could have needed has been provided, are those true friends that I know I will truly miss!  Yes, the question of making new friends (true friends and not just acquaintances) has crossed my mind many times.  This time has also shown that the challenges you face moving from one country to another whilst still trying to work and keep in a stable environment can be highlighted.

This last week specifically and finding this quote have really allowed me to understand the negative in just wandering through life, the negative in not truly understanding where I am, and where I am going, the negative in the expectations that I had; BUT it's been a fabulous opportunity to really know those who are true friends, to fully understand the benefits of meditation, of reflection, of the opportunity to talk to those around me who support me, to within my working life get a clear picture of those I do want to continue to work with and those I don't, and to truly design the life I want to live.  Some of this has been very hard - for example, people I thought held the same or very similar values to myself have shown not to do so!  So what to do ... this last week specifically has provided me with the opportunity to take time out and reflect and mediate on what I truly want from my own life - how I want to live it - and confirmed the reasons that I chose to move to this new (and exciting) environment.

Am I now looking forward to the arrival?  I can truly say YES!

Want to work through your challenges, your concerns, your fears, and
convert your dreams/aspirations to achievable goals? 

Take this opportunity to work with someone who will not judge the reasons you want to make your move, who will not guide you down a specific path, who will motivate you to make the right decision!  You have this opportunity to work with a qualified and accredited coach who has done it!  Sign up to coaching with Barbara on http://nyasa.coachinginteractive.com - select 'click here for a free session - My Life'.

'Power to Achieve' with Andy Harrington

 

Discounted self-development tickets to a 'Power to Achieve' weekend - Heathrow

 

A colleague and close friend, Dawn Campbell, recently purchased a coaching package from Andy Harrington (a leading authority on the psychology of success, mentor and NLP master) that included mentoring, DVD's, training, CD's and tickets to his power to achieve weekends, all good stuff. 

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Dawn is sharing these tickets with you.  Tickets that will gain you access to his ‘Power to Achieve’ event he only holds just 4 times.  Watch this 7 min video clip to see exactly how delegate’s lives are changed for the better in every way possible http://londonseminar.co.uk/r/pta1.php

 

For those lucky enough to join in, you have a choice between

1. Fri 11th - Sun 13th June 2010 (Renaissance Heathrow Hotel, London UK)
2. Fri 1st - Sun 3rd Oct 2010 (venue TBC but probably as above)
 

Over these 2 ½ day sessions, we'll be taken on a powerful journey.  To read the full schedule see http://londonseminar.co.uk/r/pta1.php.  We’ll also discover our own individual blocks and limitations that have held us back from the life we deserve.

 

Whichever area of your life you are seeking riches in be it better relationships, improved health, deeper spirituality, lots more money, or you want to start a business but lack the confidence to try, it could be any number of issues. 

 

One thing for sure, based on the video testimonials, people who take action (and I mean get out of their comfort zone, off the sofa and away from their home distractions) are unstoppable after going to one of these Power to Achieve weekends!  They get help with being blocked, they deal with self-sabotage, they get clarity around their goals and they gain a whole heap of confidence to achieve what ever it is they desire!

 

If you too like the idea of being one of these confident, action orientated, empowered people, then start by booking a ticket with Dawn right now.

 

Tickets for this event are available on-line at £1,497 Inc VAT at http://londonseminar.co.uk/r/pta1.php. 

 

But I don’t want you to pay that because I didn’t.   Dawn is offering to share her good fortune in getting a package with a few other people on a first come first served basis.   She is offering you a ticket to this life changing event for only £699 Inc VAT.

 

To find out more about the event or Andy Harrington visit http://londonseminar.co.uk/r/pta1.php or go to Dawn's site www.dawncampbellholistichealth.eu

 

To purchase one of her discounted tickets contact dawn@holistichealthcoach.eu

 

Here's to a more rewarding, richer, happier life for all of us :)

Change - Community Outreach!

The regular blog followers will be aware that Mark Wilson - a 19-year old student from Canterbury Christchurch University has been developing the   programme.  Since launching this programme in 2009, Mark has now set Change up as a Charity.  To do this Marks has been working with the Charity Commission in the UK.  To read more about the current programme Download 2010 E-PROGRAM DOCUMENT.

Disaster and Destruction! What the weather can do ...

... Saturday 20th February, 2010 was a poignant day for me.  Friday 19^th saw the final bits and pieces of our house and garden contents being packed into the container to go into storage.  I awoke on the morning of the 20^th in our bedroom with nothing in the house but my office equipment.  I had a full day of work ahead of me and then the task of dismantling the office technical equipment!

Mid-evening I was sitting on the floor of our bedroom watching a movie on my laptop and thinking about the previous few days (more on that in another posting) … when a text message arrived on my mobile – ‘xxxx – have you seen the news re Madeira?’  As I didn’t have a TV, I hadn’t.  I stopped the film – got onto the internet and searched.  Wow!  What I found was incredible.  Of all the clips, videos', etc. that I found on the internet, this one really explained how the water had rushed down the mountains - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em4N0hVvADo ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlWAoxnwuFM&NR=1 ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=132vS9ByYNo&feature=related ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7GggrReZ8o&feature=related ... and although the majority of the information that I found was based on Funchal - this video shows Ponto do Sol, Calheta beach (where I was swimming in September 2009) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTlBGdDEmYU&NR=1 (when you get the sub-title - the beach is gone - this, in September 2009 was a beautifully sandy beach (the sand imported from the Sahara)!) and Madelena do Mar.  These three are towns/villages on the south coast, working your way west of Funchal.

I sent a text message back, then tried to call friends on the island – nothing!  I could not get through.  I then phoned my parents in Australia as I was really concerned that they might think we were in the middle of this.  My husband was in the Algarve with his car and trailer, waiting to board the ferry the next day.  I called him, as he too was unaware of the devastation.  I then tried calling friends on the island again – still no connection!  It was interesting as I had tried during the day and had not got a connection, but at that time thought nothing of it.

After a very restless night I was into Sunday – the last day I had in our house in the UK.  I was expecting the new owners to pop round for an instruction on how the alarm worked!  Two hours later they left and I was back on the phones … still no connection with Madeira.  I was really worried about all the people we know on the island.

Download Funchal_20022010

My husband in the meantime had driven to the ferry terminal – 2½ hour early – to find that he was the 25^th car in line.  As he watched 2 cranes arrive to board the ferry too he was pulled out of line.  Being a weekly ferry he didn’t know if he was pulled out to see if there was still space for him, or if it was because he was towing a trailer.  Thankfully when the ferry arrived late, after watching all the vehicles disembark he was boarded.  Once boarded the ferry was held in port – eventually leaving 20 hours late (7am on the Monday morning).  It was for this reason, he arrived on the Tuesday after the mud/water slides.  The ferry took a lot longer from Portimao than scheduled landed successfully in the main harbour at Funchal (not the industrial harbours further along the South East coast) as we expected.  As he disembarked from the ferry he was stopped by customs – he explained that all he had in the trailer (bright yellow)/car was household ‘stuff’ and that he was going ‘home’ to our new home on the west side of the island– the customs guy asked him to drive out of Funchal as quickly as possible and go home.  The only comment was about re-registering the car … !  We believe that the reason for the lack of interest in what was actually in the car and trailer was that the queue of cars was holding up the unloading of the cranes   My husband explained that although we had talked about using the road along the north of the island (longer, more twisty, but we believed not damaged) the roads from the port that were not cordoned off took him towards the south west motorway.  Once onto the motorway he said that it was slippery, slow, and he had to weave around a number of boulders – but driveable!  It took him probably an hour longer to do the journey than it would have done normally – but once at Paul do Mar (the village we have been staying in on the south west coast), he said the roads to Ponto do Pargo were fine.  I later learnt that Ponto do Pargo had been warm and in sunshine on the 20^th February, 2010 – the day of the disaster!

Driving out of Funchal I gathered that there was not a lot of see, but since then I’ve received many photographs of the devastation caused by the mud slides and rushing water! See these photos for an idea of the devastation in Funchal.