Saturday 23 November 2013

Happy birthday, expatliv!

A year ago today, I was sitting at my desk staring at the "Publish" button. My finger kept getting close to it, and then hesitated... I left the desk, went to make a cup of tea, and then back. Should I press it? Go live? I took a deep breath, and pressed it. Help! My very first blogpost was "out there".

I started to blog for these reasons:
  • To update people "back home". In my pre-blog life, I could post a picture from my India life on fb, and it created a lot of questions and comments like - What do you do there? - Tell me some more about that! - Write us an email. - More pictures! - You should start to blog!
  • I have always had writing as a passion, and for many years I made my living from it. By blogging I could try a new way of writing, and the best of all: - do it "just for fun" 
  • I took a course about blogging and creating a blog was part of that... so I was practically there already by the end of the course.
  • It seemed like a nice way to digest the memories from our new life in India, and also to keep track of my everyday adventures here.
What a fun year it has been! The blog has now over 30.000 page-views and has readers from all over the world. And the extra bonus, which I did not anticipate, is how many wonderful people I have connected with through my blog. People who share my passion for writing and exploring and who enjoy what I do.

I feel humble and grateful. And as a people's person, I so enjoy discovering my readers and their world as well! And what a global world it is: the Canadian in Stavanger, the Greek in Melbourne, the Indian in New York, and the Swede in Bahrain - just to mention a few. I have been contacted by expats, prospective expats, visitors, tourists and companies. I have had great joy of connecting with my Indian blogger friends from whom I learn new things about India every day.

Being more a dialogue-person than a monologue person, these connections have meant a lot to me, and I am so grateful - also because I actually managed to push that "publish" button a year ago. So, to each and one of you, dear reader: thank you from the bottom of my heart for following, commenting and for reaching out. I appreciate every single one of you and wish you only the best.



PS: I have made some changes at the page- menu at the top. I made a "Mumbai-tips"page  (as a reader asked me to), and added some relevant overview of posts on the others. I also added Connect with Google Friends gadget:-) Hope you like it. Have a great day!  

12 comments:

  1. That's a great achievement Eli :) happy birthday to your blog! Hope you continue writing and sharing your expat adventures :)

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    1. Thank you so much Pallavi! I I so enjoy following your expat adventures as well! Warm thoughts to you:-)

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  2. Many many happy return of the day Eli. Happy blogging !!

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    1. Thanks a lot Jahid, I appreciate it:-) Love your stories:-) Best to you!

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  3. Yay! Many many happy returns of the day to Expatliv, it's been great connecting with you, Eli! And I so look forward to our journey together, may you continue to blog for many many more years to come. All the best! :)

    PS: Your blog b'day is just 2 days after mine, mine just went by - on 21st November, I completed 4 years of my blogging journey. :)

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    1. Thank you Arti - I am so happy to have connected with you as well! Continue to share your wonderful Yatra adventures, please - and happy birthday to your blog too! 4 years- that is so great, mine is just a baby compared...:-) Big hugs:-)

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  4. Lovely! Happy bloggy-birthday! Love your blog and so happy we connected. It is scary sometimes to hit publish, but it is so rewarding in so many ways!

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    1. Thank you dear Alexandra! I am happy to have connected with you as well. Send you warm hugs:-)

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  5. B'day wishes to blog baby! :) A well written blog.. Glad to follow you

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    1. Thank you:-) The feeling is mutual, Sangeetha. Best

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  6. A very happy birthday to blog...Thank you for visiting and following me..Glad to follow you back!!!

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    1. Thank you Bhawna:-) Happy to connect with you. Best

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