You decide how you want to lead your life

Now for all of you out there who think that it is such a wonderful thing to be an expat. Everything provided for...house, car, school, helper etc... While your kids are in school, husbands at work, expat wives would gather together for high-tea, manicure, pedicure, facial, shopping...all the pleasures of life. Well, let me give you the reality of it all. Life is not always what you think it is.

I was reading a magazine on expat wives and one of the "illnesses" which expat wives suffer from is agoraphobia. It is a condition of anxiety disorder brought about by the fear of being in a situation from which a person has little or no means of removing themselves. Afraid of panic attacks in public settings, sufferers often avoid public places and in extreme cases, prefers being trapped in the discomfort of their comfort zone. (Cityweekend - Parents & Kids Aug 6 to Oct 7)

In one case, one wife actually kept herself in her home once her kids and her husband have left for school and work respectively. For the time she was in Shanghai, life was very much like that. The tough ones, went throught it, the weaker ones would crumble in. Her relief came about only when her husband was posted out of Shanghai and to...SINGAPORE!

Being able to speak both Chinese and English is really to my advantage. I had no problem with communication in the States and now here in Shanghai. The only problem was to gather enough courage to put my toes into the life of a Shanghainese...and I finally did!