(Photo credit: Deborah Wyman, 2021)
When I decided to move here, I knew that it would be hard. It’s a brand new language, new stores, new neighborhoods to navigate. At home it was easy. I lived in Boise for 34 years. I had my favorite Alberston’s, I knew what had to be purchased at Trader Joe’s, I drove those roads my entire life, and Target was my happy place.
I was totally prepared for any difficulty… yeah right!
Things that I had never considered could be difficult ended up being milestones each day.
Let’s start with dinner. Everyday I dread dinner. The stove we have here is either on or off, there is no temperature. The same goes for the burners. The products to make dinner are similar enough, I thought “Ok, this is no problem” but no, they are also different enough they change the flavor. And there are no frozen burritos to make my famous “poor man’s enchiladas” (no laughing, this is the recipe that made my husband fall in love with me).
To give you an idea, we attempted fried chicken. We couldn’t get the oil hot enough to thoroughly cook the chicken, so we decided to fry then bake it the rest of the way. After an hour in the oven that was “on ” it still wasn’t cooked. We had cereal that night.
Getting a car has been a challenge (there is another post about that). But that means that everywhere we go requires lots more planning and a taxi. Luckily, Roger (with Roger’s taxis) is very kind and pretty quick to come get us. We have gotten very good at “Hola Roger! Yo necesito un taxi, por favor. Cuatro personas.” Without fail, our ice cream melts before we get home, but I think that will happen even with our own car.
Lastly, the sheets. Oh, how I miss cotton bedding with the fitted sheet having elastic corners! I didn’t even appreciate it when I had it. The sheets here are a fabric blend, paper thin, and really hot, even when I first climb into bed. I don’t even know where to go to get sheets. Maybe I could order on Amazon, but that’s an entirely new puzzle that I still haven’t quite cracked.
I know these are silly things to complain about but it’s a microcosm to the entire transition. I knew it would be difficult, but I didn’t realize EVERYTHING would be difficult. I’m so grateful to be here discovering this new way of life and having the opportunity to solve these puzzles. While this is all very difficult, I am confident that this will eventually be home.
the eventually home 