Week 1

Well we officially completed our first week here! Yay! It went by so quickly, almost a blur...probably because we were so tired!

Arrival, Sun. Jan. 6:
Our flight over was fine, deff a no frills airline but only 9 1/2 hours from JFK so not too bad. Upon arrival I was surprised at how small the airport seemed. Things would have been great except we had three bags missing, our pack and play and ALL of my luggage! For some reason I was convinced that I would never see it again (no one could tell us what to do- they just said to check back the next day so I didn't feel very reassured). This was my first "I want to go home moment" (I had been warned that there would be several during the first week,thankfully, I can only recall a couple). We were pretty tired as it was around 5:30 in the evening and we had all been up most of the night. All we wanted to do was find a bed but our sponsor picked us up and said that we were going to his house for a dinner party with our mutual friends from Egypt who were only in town for one more night. Ahh... we had no choice but to find the energy and on arrival we were blessed with great hospitality and the chance to eat and relax. I decided to leave the dinner around 8:30 because poor K was so tired, my girlfriends drove me to our new home and gave me a quick tour. I was impressed right away, esp. to see food in the fridge and the master bed made up. I thought the furniture was very nice and I liked the layout. J didn't end up coming home until 1o that night so it was a little strange to be all alone in a new place.

The rest of the week was actually pretty relaxing, I joke that we have never had such an easy move! J was able to recover my luggage the next evening and we had the internet and our first shipment set up within two days. Being able to skype family is wonderful- we all had fun talking to eachother from different sides of the world. My prayers of moving into our home and the Inet right away were answered. The house also brought many pleasant surprises. All one level so no stairs to worry about with K, purified drinking water from the kitchen sink and a washer and dryer within the unit. I usually try not to have any expectations so that I'm not disappointed moving somewhere, this time I was positively delighted because assumed things would be more challenging in those two regards. The only downside to where we are living is getting used to no dishwasher and also not knowing any Americans in the neighborhood. Hopefully we will find some but I expected to be surrounded by other Americans and instead they are spread out within a 10min. radius of the Embassy. We have met a couple of the local neighbors though and they were very nice with excellent English.

After two days of being stuck in the house, I finally got out to my first tour of the Embassy and safety brief in order to get my security badge. The Embassy was nice (again, not having any idea what to expect), the people were exceptionally nice and the only unpleasant time was the security brief and thus, my next and last of the week's I want to go home moments. Without giving the details here, I just know that I always have to be aware of my surroundings (yes, mother!) and remember that I am a "western woman" [read: easy].... of course, I knew being a woman would make it more difficult for me than for J but I really wasn't prepared for just how much more I would be scrutinized. Again, not going into the details, I didn't expect to have to do anything more than dress conservatively but now I know that there is more to it than that. Ahh, it will be an interesting year! I also worry about the traffic and crazy drivers but I am working hard to keep things in perspective. I am not a worrier by nature so I am dealing with that by praying more of course :)

We got out for our first event in the city with one of J's old professors and his friend, another professor, who took us to lunch. I didn't understand half of the conversations but entertained myself by watching the people at the table next to us. I could only see the woman's eyes so I was interested to see how she ate. The family ate with their hands and looked/dressed very traditional (what I would think of as saudi-like) dress. Our first lunch out was amazing, the food was so good! A couple times I worried about getting ill, but that's just normal for me now after two bad spells of food poisoning in Greece and Vietnam- I'm always concerned about getting sick in another country! I actually felt a little yucky for most of the day (yesterday) but have no idea what from since I have been trying to be careful. I'm thrilled that K hasn't had any reactions to the change in water, milk, meat ect. things deff taste different though, the cheeses esp!

We've been grocery shopping twice, on the Embassy and locally and it was shocking to see the prices. Expired cake mix for $4, salsa for $5, Folders coffee for $20 etc! I think twice now before I eat anything because I don't want our stash of shipped food to run out too quickly. I was also taken on a drive tour of the city yesterday by my sponsor. It was amazing to see the crazy traffic up close and very intimidating! I know I'll need to drive soon but I hope it will be easier than it looks, insha allah!

The most fun we had the first week was attending an Embassy birthday party. Lots of friendly people, good food and drinks! I deff needed the red wine by Fri. night! It was more upbeat than I expected, a great DJ who kept the party rocking- I loved hearing the arabic music! May have to take those belly dancing classes here afterall :) Also happy to meet another gal with a daughter identical to K's age. The playgroup starts this week and I'm really looking forward to meeting other moms. (Do they struggle with the carseat/traffic issues as much as I do?) Also, K has been a bit fussy, her molars are coming in and I know that she's in pain and also feeling the enormous about of change we're undergoing. It's funny to watch her listening intently to the Arabic conversations she hears, I can see her brain struggling to understand what's being said. They really do love babies here and everyone waves to her or tries to make her smile. I've been told having her along on our the trips will make things go much easier for all of us! J is getting really excited to travel and has some great trips planned for us. I know once we start getting out the time will fly. It's almost overwhelming now to think about all of the places we need to visit. I pray esp for safe and easy travels but I'm sure there will be many stories to come. We've already enjoyed hearing about the trips of our friends here- I can't wait to swap stories. I am just not looking forward to J's solo trips at this point. I'm sure after I have a few friends and in a routine it will be easier, I just hope to doesn't leave me anytime soon :)

So, all in all I'd say we had a pretty good first week. MUCH easier than I anticipated and no tears yet (although I'm sure they'll come eventually :) again, skype helps SO much! The only issues I'm facing at the moment is what to make for dinner (we really need to stop ordering out but it's so hard to spend $ at the grocery store when the prices are outrageous, at the least the restaurants seem reasonable!), we also need a car and a good nanny. There are already things we need a sitter for and it's stressful not knowing who to call! (wish grandparents lived closer!) I pray we find someone who's terrific. I also need to get out and go for a walk, starting to feel a little housebound with a busy toddler who is into everything! Hopefully, I will feel comfortable enough soon. We were really lucky the first week to have a three-day weekend (thurs-sat) and this coming weekend again with MLK, J's got (fri-sun) off. We plan to get out and start discovering some of the cool things in the city! Let's hope Week 2 is just as good!