My fear of drowning my little grey ones- in expat cocktails

Dear reader,
When I decided to replace my busy full-time-work-life in Norway with expatwife-and-mum in India,  it meant moving faaaaaar out of my comfort sone. Geographically yes,  - and mentally. In addition to worry about the rest of the family and how the move and all practical issues would be, I was having a series of discussions with myself: What was I going to do there? Was I going to be bored? Was I going to loose all (oh, you have no idea:-) my little grey brain cells along the way? Was I only going to stroll around from lunches to cocktail parties all day long? And then, what? What if this and what if that?  

Well, I concluded my own discussions: I am going to make the most of it! Arriving Mumbai,  I signed up for all activities available plus making some of my own. 10 months down the Indian expat road,  I look back and see that many of the activities has kind of flaked off... And regarding the little grey ones -I discovered the perfect tool! You see- in between lunches, cocktail parties (of course!), NGO work, writing, book club, explorer's group and yoga - I found the time to do some online courses - and they were great! My concern for the future fate of the little grey ones faded away like clouds before the sun when I started to bury my head into articles, books and homework. I am sure my little grey were ecstatic!  

For example, in addition to actually perform yoga physically, (felt kind of an obligation to join - after all we are in the Motherland of yoga itself..) I followed an online course about yoga. What a revelation! For me it was like completing the puzzle Yoga as I was diving into yoga and meditation philosophy and history. As yoga means union (of mind, body and spirit), the combination of physical strength asana and breathing pranayams is the very essence. So, I was reading about how Gandhi lived with ahimsa - non-violence, I learned about santosha: to be content with what you have and not be frustrated about what you don't have. I focused on not to do the pose but to be in it - " just sit in it" and about intent - why am I doing this and how to go for what I need most! I learned 16 poses and about how they are connected to 10 yoga commitments. You can also skype with your teacher -  I admit: it can be a bit weird at first - you are in your home and there she appears - in the computer. So, you try to be the mountain- doing your pose, balancing, focusing - she is watching and you hear yourself chanting like mad: "be- the- mountain!-be-the-mountain!-be-the-mountain!"

River of Information - is another course I took. It was about organizing websites you access often and learning how to include them in a personal dashboard. We built up our own dashboard - which I use daily now - very useful. Probably the course which had an immediate effect on my expatlife  -.was the course I took about blogging! When? Well, if you have noticed when I started blogging - that was when! Tatarata! : the direct result is this blog!

So, to other expats out there - are you concerned your little grey ones might be in danger? Either the answer is yes or no, have a look at all the amazing courses you can take. In addition to new knowlegde, you get a nice looking diploma after completing each course:-):-)

 I am sure there are lots of course providers out there. I was inspired by The American School of Bombay and found my courses at ASB Online Academy. You can check out their courses here.

Have a lovely weekend dear reader! Cheers:-)