The next day we made our way to Papa. I really tried not to have any expectations of what the town would be like. I had seen some pictures so I had a little picture in my mind, but I really didn't know what to expect. I was a little surprised as we entered town.
We are here!
This is the road that our 'hotel' is on.
The town is more rundown than I thought it would be. The streets are very narrow. Driving here already makes me a little nervous and I'm wondering what it will be like to drive our rather large minivan here.
Papa is a small town, but it is very confusing and I still don't feel like I know where I am or where I'm going most of the time. I'm glad we have data on our cell phones so I can get directions.
This humble abode is feet away from where we are staying. I was feeling a little nervous at this point!
Our little gated community
Our temporary home.
This is our little apartment. It has plenty of space, although the layout is a bit awkward
.
This area used to be an outdoor space that they enclosed. Looks like that tank used to have some kind of animal in it.
The front room is full of all our stuff.
I'm glad we brought some toys in our suitcases.
This is the downtown walking street. This is more what I was expecting, this part of town is really pretty.
The church in the town square. They also have a fun playground nearby. I think we will spend a lot of time down there.
It's been an interesting two weeks. There are times everyday when I think, "What are we doing here! I want to go home!" One of the hardest things for me is the language barrier. Having never left North America before, I'm not used to being unable to communicate, read or understand the language. It is still intimidating for me to go places where I might have to talk to someone in fear of not knowing what to do or say. Someone went with me to the grocery store the first time which was super helpful. It's hard to shop when you don't know where or what stuff is! I went to the store by myself yesterday, and I feel like it was an accomplishment, ha! Driving is another challenge. Like I said, the roads are narrow, there are tons of bikers on these narrow roads and I don't know where I'm going. I got lost the other day and I had no point of reference. No mountains, no interstate, we just drove in circles for a while until I figured out how to get back to our place. From there I was able to reorient and get to where I was actually going!
The people here have been great! We've had so many people helping us, giving us advice, loaning us things, giving us rides etc. Very thankful for this community. We've stayed busy with all the activities they have going on. Carly and I went to the zoo, I've played Bunco, been to the international spouses brunch, and went swimming at the thermal bath. They have a little community center that is right by our room so we have another place to hang out. The kids started school last week and they are doing really well. Alyssa couldn't wait to get started. They are also doing soccer twice a week so they have really jumped right in. I think having a schedule is helping them adjust. Carly is home with me, and she isn't too happy about it. She wants to go to school too. I'm trying to keep her busy here and enjoy the one on one time with her.
Off to their first day of school.
This was Mason's real first day of school. sniff He really hadn't been away from me for more than a couple hours at a time (on a regular basis). He was so ready for it and he has done great.
They are making friends and seem to fit right in. I am so thankful God gave all of them the perfect personalities for this life. They are all so friendly, outgoing and resilient. They are handling it so much better than I would have as a child, and probably better than I'm handling it now. It is such a relief to my mothers heart to know they happy and handling everything well.
We found a house and are moving in tomorrow! We are excited to get into our permanent home, even though none of our stuff is here yet. There are customs issues with our air shipment and it hasn't even left Washington yet. Our car made it to the port in Germany, but has been sitting there for two weeks waiting on customs. Our household goods are enroute, scheduled to arrive at the port in Germany on May 20. I told Nate we would be lucky to have our stuff by my birthday. Luckily, we get loaner furniture and the community center provided us with kitchen stuff so we are able to move into the house. It won't feel like home for a while, but we are still looking forward to moving in.
