Settling in

Well we’ve been here for one week now, and much of our week has consisted of going shopping to get things we needed to set up our apartment. This hasn’t bothered me at all because I really enjoy shopping, and hubby has been quite patient even though it isn’t his favorite. Things in the stores are quite different here and so not being able to read simple labels on household products has been frustrating at times, but we’ve had good helpers who have lived here a while to help us in this endeavor. Contrary to popular belief, just because it is made in China, doesn’t mean that we can get it here.

We’re getting lots of good exercise due to living on the seventh floor with no elevator and are adjusting to the high altitude (about like Denver, Colorado- the mile high city). When things have seemed all out of sorts we have retreated to a quiet little haven called “The Wicker Basket”. It’s a quaint little restaurant that sells American cuisine (which means it has English on the menu!), and also has a little store inside of it which sell fresh baked goods, and some imported things as well. Today we started language study which we are grateful for because we are anxious to be able to communicate.

Our first holiday (Thanksgiving) away from home was a little emotional for me. We were blessed, though, to be able to share it with new friends and celebrated with a wonderful feast with all of the norms such as turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and lots of other yummy food. We are very thankful for every provision, in helping us to get to where we are today, and are thankful for friends here who have helped us in this transition. At the same time, I was also a little sad to be away from friends and family. Please be thinking about my family as this is the first holiday season without my father.

Here are some snapshots of our current apartment. We’ll be here for about 6 months before our lease is up and we’ll be looking for another place.