Wow, have we met some really fantastic people while living abroad. I think it’s thanks to my kids really because they force you to interact with people, all people, people normally I would never have the good fortune to meet. Our friends in London are from all over the world: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, America, Canada, Lebanon, Wales, and Russia. All living in this cosmopolitan metropolis for very different reasons. Bankers, attorneys, models, billionaires, students, opera singers, and musicians. With all of our differences we have a common bond, we all have children and all of our children speak French. Our kids school is a small private school and so all of the families are very close. Often we spend weekends and holidays together. When the kids are at school we socialize. We stroll through Notting Hill, frequent cafes, shop, run, hike, bike, visit museums and share our stories. We have another bond, a love of travel. We relate to one another in a way that I never have with anyone else before, even my closest of friends. I believe its because there is something so real, so raw about living in a foreign country. I can’t even analogize it to anything else. I’ve lived in multiple US cities and never have had this feeling or experience. All these new friends, all from different walks of life, reminds me of how small the world is and how we are all the same inside, no matter what our background. This opportunity has been so special to me and I feel like I’ve grown wiser from it. In saying all of this, I am also reminded how bittersweet this lifestyle is. All this goodness is followed by sadness as my friends depart in their own time. London is filled with transient people only destined here for a brief time. They return to wherever they came from or move on to their next destination. I am grateful to the internet, it is a salve for my loss. September is close now, a new school year, a new group of roaming families waiting to connect. I can feel the excitement in the air…God, I love this town!