I’ve just spent a week in the Netherlands, and it did me good. I even started missing our life in Norway.
So, I’m happy to be back.
Being away gave me a chance to look at our life from a distance. For a while, I started questioning whether I was doing the right thing. However, talking about it with friends and family made me appreciate our life even more. Sometimes, that outside perspective is exactly what I need to feel confident about the path I’m taking.
As I was reflecting on all of this, right before returning to Norway, I received a message from Bernardo’s grandmother, Luisa:
“When I read Jule’s last post on the blog, I was apprehensive. But today, when I watched the latest video on the new ‘Bernardo and Jule’ YouTube channel, I was moved and tears welled up in my eyes. I associated Jule’s post with the video and remembered exactly what happened to me.”
“I married Bernardo’s grandfather when I was 21 years old and went to live with him in an isolated place in the mountains of Mozambique, where he worked at tea plantations and tea factories. All I could find to the right, left, behind or ahead of me were tea plants, fruit trees, some flowers and lots of local people.
There were no shops, pharmacies, cinemas, clubs, entertainment, etc. I was the youngest person in the village. Everyone else was much older.
At that time, I hadn’t finished my studies yet. I continued studying remotely, but I also felt very isolated. We stayed there for another 2,5 years, and then we came to Portugal.
Amazed by how much I saw myself in her story, I kept reading:
“I think it’s a good example for those who are sometimes going through unpleasant times and give up. Because only later do we realise that the experience was a life lesson, one that taught us to become stronger and more resilient.
When you truly love, and you don’t have life experience yet, you tend to give up. But later, when you look back, you understand that the experience was beautiful and enriching to see. In my case, how those indigenous people lived and probably still live, harvesting tea every day, in rain or wind, heat or cold, and singing joyfully while they worked, sometimes carrying their children on their backs...
I missed the city. However, love takes us further. Today, after 57 years, Bernardo’s grandfather and I are still together, with the same love that connected us.”
This was the last bit of reassurance I needed to return to Norway with confidence.
Thank you, Luisa.
Jule Noah
Experience is the best teacher Jule 😘