< Magazine Index > < Index For This Edition > < Subscribe >

Roger Van Parys with wife Carol, their two Bassets, and the Turkish cat now reside in Paris. Roger is currently serving as a program/country manager for a major international engineering and construction firm. In 38 years of marriage, they have managed to spend 10 years overseas. Current plans call for at least another ten years of globe trotting before settling down. Additional Resources Living Overseas  Nation Profiles  Contact Roger and Carol

The Decision Do you find yourself daydreaming about exotic places?  Are you tired of being shackled to a computer in a cubicle or working at a job that seems to be on the fast track to nowhere?  Maybe it’s time for a change.  “Sure it’s easy for you to say. You don’t have my problems or circumstances”. Well you may be right but we all have problems, some big and some small. The difference in life-style is in how you choose to handle them. I would like to share with you the benefits I have received by opting for a change of life style.

Tired of being shackled?

The mid-90s saw our last son off to college. I was 57 years old, running my own firm and was beginning to feel burnt out. My work, which in the past had been a focal point in my life, had turned into a continuum of drudgery. Everyday business events made a root canal at the dentist seem like an escape in itself. I needed a change. 

One day out of the blue, I received a call from an old friend asking if I would be interested in overseeing a $50 million dollar overseas construction project. The project sounded exciting but it required someone who could handle multiple relocations and in essence learn to live out of a suitcase. 

The question was, were we willing to take the chance and really change our life-style? Major changes are always unsettling. But changing professions, venturing off to a foreign country and trading the security of community roots for a gypsy like life-style was a major commitment. 

I took a moment to reflect and made one of those decisions that has turned night into day.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but my escape was in the making and I was heading “Somewhere south of Istanbul”. 

The Adventure Begins

With the die cast, in less than 30 days we sold the house, sidelined the business, packed our bags and didn’t stop to look back. I soon found myself in rural Turkey with my wife scheduled to follow along in 60 days. 
 

It was snowing upon my arrival!

Things really didn’t exactly start out the way I expected. For instance, I packed Bermuda shorts and it was snowing on my arrival. My site office lacked some amenities, notably heat, and I had made the mistake of drinking the water, Whoops!  I was beginning to seriously wonder about my decision-making processes. But as certainly as spring follows winter, my reservations were soon replaced with real world challenges such as where were we going to live?

My original plan was to find a suitable apartment near my project.   I soon discovered that while my
5,000-year-old Turkish city may have had a noble history, it lacked the western style accommodations to which I had unfortunately grown accustomed. For instance, I was sure that the hotel plumbing had been installed the year after they opened the city… 

With the wife on the way, I had to do something fast. I lived in a hotel whose heating system was regulated by a clock and whose output in no way reflected the winter storms outside. The hotel had also spared no expense by gaily lighting each and every room with two 25-watt bulbs.  It was time to quickly set about formulating “Plan B”.  (The one thing I have learned in life is that one must always have a “Plan B.”) 

In this case, “Plan B” was to live on the Aegean Sea and commute to my project. By doing so, we could live in a very nice coastal area. The beaches were beautiful and the scenery outstanding.   I found a delightful two-bedroom vacation villa a stone’s throw from the beach and awaited the arrival of my child bride. Life certainly couldn’t get better than this, I thought. 

Interestingly, I had initially assumed (a word that should be removed from the English language) that since this was a resort area, English would not be a problem. 

“Au contrar” as the French say.  It turned out that we were the only English-speaking couple in 200 kms. This small communications challenge was solved by never venturing anywhere without multiple dictionaries, learning the fine art of pointing accurately and speaking louder. Speaking louder always seemed to fine-tune the communication process especially when bartering for food. 

Speaking of food; Turkey is one of the two European nations that exports food. Blessed with a great climate and fertile coastline, Turkey produces some of the best vegetables and fruits in the world. Simple meals served in a modest café put many four star European restaurants to shame. My wife and I quickly became life-long fans of Turkish cooking.

Each Saturday was a shopping adventure.  We would visit the local market and purchase groceries for the coming week. By the third week, we had our favorite egg, produce, and fruit vendors. Our vocabulary increased and the Turks, who are noted for their hospitality, would graciously assist us in overcoming the language barriers.  We soon felt like members of the community and our new life was taking shape. We even adopted a stray cat. 

Hitting the Road

With my wife firmly ensconced in her new bungalow, I undertook what I like to refer to as the “You bet your life” commute to work. Turkish maps are really interesting. The line between the place where we lived and our project site was a relatively short distance on the map. I soon found out that the cartographer’s idea of a short line represented a curving, torturous 120 km one way commute. 

Turkey has a fine freeway system but the planners had somewhere overlooked our region.  The trip from home to work turned out to be over a two-lane mountain pass with vast panoramic views and no guardrails. This was the main traffic artery serving the region, which meant that if it had wheels it had to travel on this road.  Somewhere in the deep reaches of my mind a small voice said, ”Gentlemen, start your engines”. 

I found that driving in Turkey is akin to riding in the front seat of a roller coaster without a seat belt. If you survive you can drive anywhere. If you don’t, well that’s what spatulas are for. 

In Turkey there seems to be a continuing spirit to test the laws of physics. Fiat sized cars daily pit themselves against the Turkish equivalent of Mac Trucks and Greyhound buses… You don’t need to guess twice as to who always wins. I quickly developed what I call the lug nut theory of right of way. Simply put: If you can see his lug nuts, he has the right of way! 

Turkey’s geography hinders the establishment of an effective rail system. Continuous lines of mountains result in most goods being moved by truck.  Vehicle licensing is based on engine size and not gross weight. So when buying a truck, one normally selects one with the smallest engine but with a large carrying capacity. I quickly learned not to worry about road burning 18-wheelers here. 

Cargo capacity it seems has nothing to do with the size or shape of a truck. If you ask the question “How many (logs, bales of cotton, etc) can you stack on a Turkish truck?” The answer is always the same “One more!” 

This unique marriage of wee engines and huge payloads becomes most obvious when approaching a mountain grade. I quickly learned that not only did survival depend on grand prix driving skills, but also the ability to get to the mountain pass before the slow moving line of behemoths started their trek up the mountainous grade. 

Unfortunately, Turkey does have the highest rate of “no walk away” accidents in Europe. The government enacted a public awareness campaign to rectify this situation during our stay. Television ads and road signs called attention to the problem.  The program culminated with the decision to require all motorists to carry a body bag in their car.  I found this approach rather pragmatic and novel. It certainly established a tone for the campaign and may help eliminate the roadside litter problem. 

I actually learned my Turkish numbers by counting road causalities on my daily commute. In the first month I counted 13 dead mules, 2 horses, over 25 dogs, plus the occasional remains of someone’s once prized vehicle. While driving was a somewhat sobering lesson, I did learn my numbers quickly. 

My work eventually took us from the Aegean to the Mediterranean where we continued our adventure. New friends, new experiences, more good food all were there for us to enjoy. All projects however must come to an end and so it did with mine. Again we packed our bags grabbed the cat and hustled off to the next adventure. 

Since our Turkish travels, we have experienced living in a Dutch community, (in Iowa and not Holland), and are now living in Paris. Each change has brought new friends, limitless opportunities, and the ability to experience those things that fill travel brochures. The best part is that we get to see the world and get well paid for doing so. I have to say that our lives are like being on a full time vacation. 

Lessons Learned 

None of this would ever have happened if we hadn’t made that initial decision to “Go for it”. 

Looking back, I can isolate four particular factors that are universally applicable to escaping the humdrum and enjoying an adventuresome life-style.