Why we moved? Why we moved!

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Yesterday, Adam wasn't feeling well, and so he stayed home from work and we had a very quiet day. Lately, we've been finding ourselves in the second stage of cultural adjustment that our wonderful posting counselor told us about. From the image above, you can see that, at first, when immersed in a new culture, everything is exciting and different. His and hers sinks and a walk-in closet! Trader Joe's all-natural salad dressing for only $1.99! Outlet shopping! Unsweetened iced tea! A new iPhone! American holidays!

But, gradually that 'honeymoon phase' fades and the reality of everyday life begins to take over. In this second phase, people begin to experience frustration and annoyance with everyday differences. Ugh, we can't let the cats out into the hall outside our unit. Our neighbours aren't nearly as amazing as Liz and Ziad. Trader Joe's doesn't sell vermicelli or fish sauce or dried lentils. The dry cleaner across the street isn't as nice as Fong. No credit history. No Piggy Market. No pay-by-weight vegetarian restaurant on our corner.

So, it's not surprising that we've started asking ourselves why we left our perfect little lives in Ottawa where we had fine-tuned everything--our condo, our closets, grocery-shopping, commute times, bill-paying, social networks--to our exact preferences.

Fortunately, when these feelings threaten to take over, we're always confronted with something new and exciting...reminding us that we left Ottawa to avoid getting into the deep rut that a city so safe and lovely can encourage.

Today, my new and exciting was to visit Sabor'a, a Latin American food truck parked only a few blocks from our condo. Food truck culture is really ramping up here in DC and I'll write more about it later, but suffice to say, we're grateful to Amy and JP for introducing us to the Portland version of this delicious, ground-level phenomenon last summer. Very grateful!

Strangeness is inspiring, my friend Christina likes to say. Yes, it is. And that's why we pulled up stakes and moved the mass of our family and household to another country. It's been a shell-shocking, challenging, exciting, delicious and fascinating ride so far. And on we go!