Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, and Where We’re Going? (Part 2)

Last Updated on March 10, 2023 by Kirsten Raccuia

The longer it’s been since I last wrote a blog, the harder it is to start. I realize I suck at telling my own story. Like, who cares? But I want to continue working on this blog, and I can’t just start a story in the middle without explaining how I got here.

So, I’m going back to where I last left off with our decision to leave Malaysia.

Which feels like a decade ago.

Where we’ve been:

Penang, Malaysia

My last blog was about making the decision to leave Penang. And honestly, I’m not sure if it’s all settled in. It all feels a bit limbo-ish—this life of ours. Certainly, being gone from Penang for 10 months last year made the ultimate move off the island a bit less painful. A little bit.

However, I lament for what our lives were like when we lived there, pre-pandemic.

Penang changed for me.

It wasn’t the life-giving island it had been for so long. And it hadn’t been, even before the world shut down.

Our lives in Penang were feeling stagnant. We had been discussing the idea of moving elsewhere, and I was pushing for change.

And change we did. On a grand scale.

June-July

We gave ourselves one month in Penang to say our goodbyes and sell it all. Again.

It wasn’t a lot of time, certainly not enough. But we knew no matter how long we gave ourselves, it wouldn’t be enough. Saying goodbye has no time limits. It doesn’t come with a finish line. Like once you’ve crossed it, you’re done. It is endless. A slow and painful goodbye.

Thankfully, we did get it all done.

On September 11th, 2013, we came to Penang with four suitcases of clothes.

On July 13th, 2022, we left with the same four but with an additional bike and 3 boxes of art. Plus, one shipped painting. Not bad for nine years of nesting.

We saw as many people as we could possibly fit into those 34 days and packed up our lives. Sorry to anyone we missed (Aamena, I’m looking at you).

Never does the saying, “it takes a village,” seem as apropos as when moving across the world.

We couldn’t have done it without Michele Grimsley ruthlessly (yet with a smile) negotiating our home sale items.

Or without Jake and Nicole trying to feed us in those final days and miraculously getting us to the airport.

For Sharon being the loving neighbor and dear friend. Who taught us how to pack in her lock boxes. And selflessly came to our rescue when she, too, was leaving the country.

For Denise and Terry, who stuck around an extra couple of days to say a last goodbye before flying to Australia.

I can’t list the names of our entire village here, but you know who you are and know we thank you from the bottom of our very tired souls and couldn’t have gotten on that plane without your support. I wish I could take you all with me as emotional support “animals” people. I certainly needed you.

Malaysia gave us the last kiss goodbye…

The week before we left, on our anniversary, Mark and I were coming home on the scooter, and we were hit by a car.

I saw him coming from behind us, and like slow motion, I screamed at him to stop as I started hopping off the bike. But Mark didn’t understand what was happening. The car hit us and knocked Mark over and the bike on him, but not before he somehow sheared his very large bunion nearly off.

It all happened in a blur. And the next thing I knew, Mark was lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the street.

We were both in shock. And unsure of whose blood it was and why there was so much.

He kept telling me to put my helmet back on, and I was trying to see where all the blood was coming from. Turns out both his feet were in bad shape. And a puncture wound was pulsing out blood with every heartbeat.

Mark got up to make sure I was ok. And thankfully, I was because otherwise, Mark would have unleashed his demons on the driver. Who turned out to be a very kind and scared kid.

Although Mark had a few broken toes, a significant bunion reduction and a knarled-up knee, he was ok. We were beyond lucky because if the driver had hit the gas just a little more, we’d have been under the car’s front wheels.

Was Penang trying to kill us or really giving us the boot? It felt like a not-so-subtle way of Penang telling us to get the F out.

And we listened.

Tragedy in my (almost) hometown

If a scooter accident didn’t rock us, the mass shooting on July 4th in Highland Park certainly did. It hit very close to home. It practically was my home.

I grew up in Deerfield. Four miles from where the shooting took place. Highland Park was our rival city.

My Uncle Jeff still lives there, and my mom is just a few minutes away. We know a lot of people who were on the way to the parade or at the parade, running from an unknown sniper on the top of a building.

I’m grateful that no one in our inner circle was tragically affected by yet another senseless shooting by a nutjob. But shattered for all the others who don’t feel safe anymore and will never be the same.

Unfortunately, these mass shootings have become synonymous with America. I wonder why people can’t imagine why we’d want to live in another country.

When I got home, my uncle, mom and I went for breakfast and walked to the memorial site.

On the way, this is a statue declaring that Highland Park is sister cities with Puerto Vallarta. I took it as a sign.  

Back in the USA

Chicago July-Sept

From Penang, we went back to the US. I went directly to my mom’s place in Chicago. Mark went to his dad’s in Connecticut.

It felt surreal being back in the US, knowing we weren’t returning to Penang.

Our lives in limbo were just beginning again.

How long would this aimless, living out of a suitcase, couch surfing last?

Just over three months in total.

And what a lovely and trying three months it was.

Chicago summers are glorious. There is really nothing better. The weather is perfect. The people are happy. The restaurants all have their outdoor patios open, and they are bursting at the seams. There is a real buzz in the city.

However, we weren’t staying in the city.

Most of the time was spent with my family in the burbs and at Dan and Barb’s river house. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thankfully, my big brother Ken was able to come for a visit so we could all be together. I don’t want to say I made up for lost time because that’s impossible. But we had a lot of fun.

Until our long-time, very good friend Zoran died suddenly and shattered that happiness. We hadn’t yet seen him, and it rocked our world. But he made me promise to send him pics of Puerto Vallarta sunsets.

It certainly put our move back to this side of the globe into perspective. It reminded me that life is a treasure. And moving closer to family was the right decision.

Connecticut Sept-October

On September 15th, Mark and I flew to the east coast to spend time with his family and friends. And as usual, we spent most of our time outside working hours eating and drinking.

We both gained a bunch of weight eating at Shell and Bones (our fave restaurant in the area). And we were the grateful recipients of Dan’s homemade pizza and bagel “trials,” as well as his and Andrea’s ocean-view second bedroom.

Our Penang friends Amy and Jay came for a visit and to meet Mark’s dad.

We took a quick road trip to Salem and Boston. (Spoiler alert: Salem was a nightmare. And not in the witchy way I’d hoped).

And then, before we knew it, a month had passed, and we decided to head back to Mexico.

Where we are: Mexico October – ?

And so, on October 16th, we landed in Puerto Vallarta. Back to the same pad we had before in the Romantic Zone.

And just like that, our friends Ed & Sally and Dawn & Phil were here to explore Puerto Vallarta. Then we traveled with them to Mexico City for Dia de Los Muertos. And we just got back. I have a lot of blogging to do.

So, now it’s time to get back to our regularly scheduled programming. Work, explore, eat, and sleep. Repeat. Hopefully, we’ll create a balance with all of that.

Where we are going

Our plan is to stay here for at least the next six months.

No idea where we are going or what our future looks like. We will play life by ear for a while and hope to do a lot of slow travel through Mexico.

And that’s the story. It’s no longer in the middle. So, now we can get into the travel part of this travel blog. Stayed tuned for some good ol’ Mexico travel and life info.

The last few months have been an emotional roller coaster. Some incredible highs and for sure some disheartening lows. But that is life. It’s like a box of chocolates, or so they say.

As always, thanks for reading. And for hanging in on this journey with me.

XO,

Kirsten

TLDR: We moved to Mexico.