Expat Identity Crisis

Lately, I have been feeling very emotional, my mood was almost like a roller coaster ride. In less than 3 months time, we are leaving France and back to Singapore, our hometown. Our 3 years contract here is finally coming to an end.

I don't know why i feel this way. If it was my first year here, I would very gladly said that I want to go back Singapore. I admit that our first year in France was the toughest. We came without any furniture, the house was empty, Erica is only 7months old and Stacy couldn't stop crying wherever we go. We have problems with our home address, internet, our resident cards, medical insurances, etc.. almost everything have problems. Lol.

In our 2nd year, things only started to get better. We have friends, the children have grown up alittle more, i started driving and i am able to take care of the house and children. We are also starting to understand simple French. And when we are finally enjoying our 3rd year, it's time to say goodbye.

Well, in singapore, I was rather fortunate. Everytime i went out with the children, there will always be my mum, my in-law, helper or friends with me. When i knew that i have to come to France, i have to put a stop to my job and learnt a foreign language. All this were not the biggest problem for me. The hardest was taking care of the kids. With my limited French, 2 crying children, no friends and clueless on where to buy things .. but, all these, seem like a dream to me now. The hardship has passed.

Now, we are experiencing a different crisis - expat identity crisis. I quote from a website "You can only visit your old life a couple of weeks a year and you would feel like you are a visitor in your home that you grew up in. But you also feel the same way and maybe treated like a visitor in the country that you are currently living too. You feel like you don’t belong anywhere."

Now, our problem is going back to our "old life". Its another adjustment for us. My 2 children are so called grew up in France and we are already quite comfortable here Going back is like a question mark to us. Our views on way of life have definitely change.

But my home country will be always be where I belong.

Monkey Park Indoor playground - Toulouse

Newly open in Toulouse. This same location used to be Rigolus Parc but have since close down.

Monkey park is a massive play structure all joined together. Which means the children can climb from one structure to another without getting out from the structure. Awesome! There are also mini cars, giant legos, soccer and basketball area. Lots of obstacles and challenges for the kids. They will definitely be tired after that. ;)

Babies and toddlers won't miss out the fun either. There is a smaller play structure for them, a ball pits with slides. Yippee!

Very clean and tidy. I even saw the staff cleaning the floor and play structures when they were not many children around. The toilets were very clean and dry. Sorry, it does matter to me how clean the toilets are. Come on, its about hygiene right? They also have a diapers changing room for the babies. Great!

From their website, they claim that their staffs speak English, Spanish and French. Woohoo..

For food, it's the usual kids meals like chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers, fries. They serve salads, pizza, waffles, crepes, ice- cream, etc. Price for food is reasonable but for drinks, it can be a little expensive.

They also organise birthday parties but I'm not sure about the charges.

During summer, they will open their outdoor play garden! When we were there, they have not open the outdoor play yet so I couldn't take any photos.

Overall, the place is entertaining for the
children and yet, relaxing for the adults.

Address: 1 Chemin De La Caussade, 31240 L'Union
Http://www.monkeypark.fr