Larissa on settling in

After twenty years of living in Connecticut and rarely testing my comfort level, it's quite an adjustment to be in a totally new country where it seems as if my comfort level changes on a daily basis.  Although most people in Cape Town speak English very well, there are such strong accents that sometimes I still feel as if I am speaking to someone in a totally different language.  The times I notice this language barrier most are when I'm trying to travel or get work done.  If I get in a taxi bus and try to convey where I need to get, it can take a few extra exchanges to figure out what's meant.  In the case of my trip to the grocery store last week, the language barrier meant getting dropped off in a completely different area than where I was expecting!  Or at work, when a teacher asks me to do something, sometimes I have to clarify multiple times before understanding what's being asked of me.  

Another adjustment is the food here, and shopping for meals.  It's hard enough to be on your own for the first time having to cook meals, and then add twenty other people to that craziness, and a foreign grocery store- it can be quite the struggle.  We have quickly come to find that between having to walk to the grocery store and carry your bags home and having to pick from ingredients that are just slightly off from what our stores offer at home, it is definitely something we have to get use to!

Being away from home the one thing that is always sure to bring comfort is to talk to your loved ones a few thousand miles away, but this has proven to be much more difficult than I had ever thought it could be.  With a time difference of seven long hours, it's not easy to find a time that I am available here and my loved ones are available at home.  This usually ends up meaning staying up late or waking up early to talk to people at home.  

A big part of picking up your life and living in a foreign place for a few months is getting use to the way of life in your new location.  Some things are easier than others to adjust to, but surely all these new ways will become the norm to us by the time we leave here!

Jerard & Larissa