settling in
Five days since the Big Move, and we're slowly but surely finding our feet. It's the little details that really slow us down and use up a lot of mental energy, like deciphering the washing machine settings which are in German and French, doing laundry by trial and error, discussing curtains and curtain hooks in broken French to a salesperson, and figuring out how to apply for cable, Internet, or even a supermarket card.
The kids are pretty bored of being carted around looking at furniture and household supplies, and when we're home they're still bored (especially Bao) because it's the same old bag of toys to play with. Our shipment is due to arrive either this weekend or the next, so in the meantime we make do, especially where cooking is concerned. My mother is pretty resourceful and it's nice to see how we can use just one pot to cook various home-style dinners.
Adding to the general fatigue is lugging the kids around on public transport. Our home is actually pretty central, but the buses that serve the area often don't go directly to most of the places we want to go, so we need to change to a different bus or tram. Not an issue if you're an adult or even with The Bun, but throw in Little Miss Fussy Bao and it becomes a pain to go out with her.
She must be teething because I can see the tiny edge of her bottom incisors coming through, and she's cranky as hell, refusing most of her food except bread and some fruit, and she's even off her milk. She's also super clingy and will wail if she sees me in the distance because she must be in my arms all. the. time. It takes quite a lot of effort lugging her and the stroller, which we actually use to cart all our bulky household bits and bobs home, up and down the buses and trams. Our car arrives sometime this week (I hope!) and I'm looking forward to it.
Even TV in French is good enough on a boring Sunday.
But I doth complain too much. This is definitely no hardship posting: the space and light in our apartment is wonderful, I have help in the form of my hardworking mother (who is in sticker shock and refuses to eat out because everything is so expensive), the kids are generally settling in without major issues, and there is still plenty more in the city for us to slowly uncover. My lifesaver in all this is my new iPhone with an unlimited data plan - it has brought me back in touch with friends and family back home, keeps my sanity intact with Internet radio, and provides plenty of Google-fu support when J and I are trying to figure out things. When a highlight of your day is a successful Google of your washing machine operating instructions (in English!), then that expensive mobile phone plan has paid for itself.
The view from my side of the bed: the lake and the mountains beyond.