Come September....

September has been a new beginning of sorts for me in recent times, notwithstanding it being my birthday month. Let me assure you, my birthday is the last thing on my mind, or has been in a while. We are over our jet lag, and trying to settle ourselves in the new place. Which means instead of just unpacking our suitcases, having to contend with unopened cartons and finding a place for everything.
Not something which I take to easily :)

So we have partly set-up cupboards and corners of the house, and nothing is completed, sigh! We hung up the curtains today and I've part arranged my crockery. Finalised the school for the children. There were two we looked at. Unlike the place we lived in before, there are not many expats/immigrants in this area and we stand out, rather the children will stand out in the school. This is something we will have to get used to. The school is also rather small, the previous one was just ideal. But can't lament about that anymore. Keeping fingers crossed.

Tomorrow is first day of school and I can't wait for my personal free time of 5 hours 45 minutes! Have been waiting for this for more than two months now. Of course, because we are in the middle of nowhere, I will not be able to continue my language classes unless I am brave enough to drive 22 kms into the nearest city. That I am still chicken about. Husband assures me when he heard me talking in Dutch to the landlady, etc that I am able to speak ok, but I know the need for practise in a foreign language which otherwise evaporates pretty fast. I am still to get over the fact that this time in Bangalore when I tried to give directions to the auto-guy in my seemingly ok Kannada, he told me he speaks Hindi too =-O

Spoke to my friends in our old place and they might as well be in a foreign country. Husband assures me the change will do us good, and I ought to be more flexible, but I cling on to the memories of my old life here, one I had just about managed to be comfortable and content with. Still need to figure out so many co-ordinates here, it is mind boggling. One thing in this place is there are so many flies, that literally fly-swatting is something I have to engage in, like it or not.

So, trying to adapt to yet another way of life, amidst all the previous ones I've known, with two children delighting in the little garden space we have. Met two neighbours and spoke to them, we've been visited by flocks of doves and crows. Lil g finds the neighbour's hens in the end of the garden very interesting. Big G found an abandoned bird house and is talking about painting it. It seems it is me who is holding back,  why? What kind of women were the wives of Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus, I want to know, while wandering round the rooms randomly settling stuff, cooking in a half-set up kitchen, in anticipation of the life and memories we will make in this new place.