A Letter to My Children on Learning We Are Moving to Egypt

Peter, Clementine, and Sam, 

I know you are probably feeling a million different emotions right now. You might be disappointed, sad, anxious, nervous, happy, excited, relieved. And you have every right to feel every one of those emotions. I will never tell you how to feel about anything. You are entitled to your own emotions and to feel the way you feel. And nothing I can say will change that. 

I know I will be very sad to leave Sri Lanka. I love living here and I love the lives that we have built here. I'm so proud of you guys. And I'm proud of all that we have experienced and achieved over the past three and a half years. We lived through a global pandemic, an economic crisis, fuel shortages, and political upheaval. It hasn't been easy, but we persevered and grew stronger as individuals and a family as a result. There is no place in the world I would have rather been and no one in the world I would have rather been with.  

There is no responsibility mom and I take more seriously than to figure out where to move our family next. And there is no factor in that decision that is more important than to consider what will be best for you three. 

Early on, mom and I decided it would be best if you all continued your education overseas instead of moving back to the U.S. You guys have grown up in overseas schools. It is where you are most comfortable and it is what you are most familiar with. Similarly, we also decided early on we weren't going to bid on posts that required me to learn a language. For me to take a year to learn another foreign language would have meant you all would have gone back to school in the U.S. for one year which could have been disruptive or difficult. It also could have been really good, but mom and I felt that it would be an easier transition to move directly to our next post. 

Of all the factors we considered, finding a good school was the most important. We only bid on posts with really good schools. We even got a chance to bid on posts with SAISA schools. But when I bid on a post, I am competing with 10-15 others who are competing for the same post. Sometimes, they pick me. Sometimes, they will pick somebody else for the job. Unfortunately, I didn't get picked for the jobs in Mumbai, Muscat, Seoul, or Taiwan. I didn't even get picked for the first job I applied for in Cairo. 

There are jobs available in Chennai and Dhaka. Both posts have really good SAISA schools. But running outside and cycling are two things that are really important to mom and I, and we wouldn't have been able to exercise outside in either Chennai or Dhaka. (Especially Dhaka) In addition to making sure our next post has a good school, mom and I also want to make sure it is a good fit for us, too. 

The thing is ... no matter where we go, I know we will make the most of it. Whether we go skiing in the Alps, shop the souks of Cairo, scuba dive in the Red Sea, climb Kilimanjaro, go on safari in Tanzania, or swim with the whale sharks.  

I thought it fair to explain the process to you and our thinking and rationale. I know this won't change the way you feel but I want you to know mom and I are always here for you.

I love you very much. I hope you have a great day and a good practice. 

Dad