Lately, we have been busy off and on. It's always something - language learning, work-related responsibilities, unexpected guests who tend to stay for hours at a time, long work-related meetings on video with people in different parts of the world, etc.
Work: we continue to learn language and we're not very fond of the language program that we have to use. We do better learning from socializing with people. Our language program requires certain hours to be met each week and projects to complete in a timely manner. We are spending time with nationals as part of our requirements to practice our language and subsequently develop relationships.
Culture: I am always learning interesting things about the culture here. Yesterday, I was reading about the honor/shame culture in this country (and Western cultures are mainly guilt cultures, with emphasis on right and wrong). Americans are highly individualistic and independent. People in this region tend not to be. They are more group-oriented. This influences the decisions and choices that they make. Also, I recently went to a baby shower of sorts which was pretty neat. I will have to post about it with some pictures soon. I am learning the superstitions in this culture - some makes me laugh, some makes me smack my forehead. It's not much different from America, though - we have our own urban legends and superstitions, too, whether we realize it or not.
A: She goes to preschool three days a week and loves it. She has been sick this week with congestion and sore throat from which she ended up getting conjunctivitis. I kept her home last week from school and she's on the mend. Her vocabulary expands by leaps and bounds and she's forming good sentences. She's highly social and loves going places. She waves at random people on the street. On Saturday, we were waiting for a specific bus and A waved from the sidewalk to someone sitting on a bus that was being boarded by some people at our stop. He beamed and waved back. Yesterday, we walked by a restaurant and there was a couple sitting in the window. A waved at them and they also beamed and waved back. Friendly kid.
Hearth and Home: We live in a bigger, spacious flat than we ever did since we were married. There is not a lick of carpet except for the rugs we put down. That's a lot of floor to sweep. I've come to a realization that since we have a guest (usually our language tutors) almost daily, it takes time to clean. And add a toddler to the mix and you get the idea. I'm still slowly making it a home. A recent touch was new curtains in our living room. I found a fabric store that leans more to my taste and was able to find bright and cheery material that I like for curtains. I had them made and now they're hanging. All I have left for the living room is to hang stuff on the walls. I still have to make curtains for Ava's room and hang a shelf and some pictures in her room. We also have a guest room that we need to outfit. I've been baking once a week, pretty regularly - mainly pumpkin muffins (which only last couple of days) and most recently spiced carrot bread. I ground brown rice to make rice flour for the first time over the weekend. It was a bit of work because I had to grind, then sift out the fine flour, grind then sift, grind then sift. I used the rice for that spiced carrot bread I mentioned.
Free Time: I get pockets of free time here and there and I read to de-stress a bit. I probably should be using those free time to accomplish more stuff but sometimes I just need to escape for a little bit. I usually read for about 10-15 minutes in bed each night before drifting off. It's my favorite part of my bedtime routine. Right now, I'm working through the Kathy Reich series and currently devouring the book, Bare Bones. I have not been able to sew much although I am expecting some Christmas fabric in the mail to make some Christmas decorations. I will have to get on the ball then! I'm not sure what G does for his free time - it's usually something on the computer. Sometimes when our brains have just ceased to function and we're exhausted, we will put in a movie and just disconnect for a little while.
Upcoming Holidays: We will be celebrating Thanksgiving with our Sunday morning house group on Thursday. Sweet potato isn't really available here but I saw some in a store that import some things about a couple months ago. This week, I will be on the hunt for it because I really want me some sweet potato casserole. Yummy goodness. G's birthday is on Thanksgiving so I may attempt a coconut cake for him. Somehow, I'll have to cram in the time for that. We've put up our fake Christmas tree but it's bare of lights and decorations. I have to find some lights before I can hang ornaments. We will be spending Christmas here and will have Christmas dinner with our Sunday morning house group. A is at the age where she's understanding what Christmas is all about and is getting excited. It's definitely fun now. We don't do Santa with her but she's really excited about getting a star tree topper for our tree. Don't ask why...
Weather: It's been nice and nippy lately. We had some rainy and overcast days for a while and the sun has broken out in the last couple of days. It has mainly been in the low 50s during the day. Our flat stays pretty warm and sometimes too hot. I'm so accustomed to keeping the heat low and wearing a sweater in the house but in this flat, I can hardly bear long sleeves because it's so warm. We crack some windows to release the heat. I try turning down our radiators but I suspect apartments below us also heat up our apartment. The days are shorter, obviously, but I get surprised when it's dusk at 5 and pitch dark at about 5:30. When I pick A up from preschool, it's usually dark by the time we start our trip home. It just feels awfully late but it's not. I don't know why that's disconcerting to me - I forget that I don't live in the Sunshine State anymore.
Visitors: After Christmas, we will have some dear friends come and stay with us for a little while. We will take them sightseeing around the city, let our kids play, eat some food and play games, and enjoy the fellowship. We are looking forward to that.
It's lunchtime and I'm off to chow down.
1 comment:
Loved reading all the details of your days. Love you much!
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