Let me start by saying this past week has been the most exciting since we arrived 6 months ago. I just wish I could have enjoyed it more. But these have been some tough days for us. We are finally in our beautiful, shiny apartment (pictures are coming soon)! However, it's been a difficult transition to living (somewhat) on our own after 6 months of hotel life.
We've both been sick with severe sore throats this past week. It started with Ryan and spread to me. It's just a cold, but even those seem to be a bit more brutal over here. And then I got conjunctivitis (awful). And I haven't been able to sleep due to the aforementioned ailments, the absolute silence, and our hard-as-a-rock mattress. And the stress of moving and unpacking and shopping and cooking. And well, it's just been a rough few days. Plus, unpacking is really lame.
I'm struggling with cooking here.
1. Our apartment is far from all the grocery stores. Traffic is awful. Once inside, the stores are crowded, noisy, foreign, and, of course, cash-only with the biggest bill equaling about $6. Checkout is slow and often manual.
2. I have to go to 3-4 stores per trip to find the stuff I'm looking for, which takes hours. Hopefully, I'll start to get a better idea of where to buy what in the near future.
3. The prices are outrageous. I find myself gawking at the price of things and just refusing to buy high-priced things I may want/need. And we have limited cash here.
4. I forgot what I used to cook all the time! Every dinner idea I come up with I conclude will be tricky here. Or ridiculously expensive. And, I'm really just struggling. Plus I have the added pressure of providing lunch for Ryan every day at work. There's always ramen-type noodles, but I can't do that to him yet.
5. All of the "yellow" onions I bought, are in fact, red onions. What the heck!
6. Non-American produce is filthy, bruised and ugly. It must be incredibly wasteful to only get the pretty stuff in American grocery aisles, but man is it more appealing. The stuff over here appears to have fallen out of the tree or off the truck. Our best produce markets are on the side of the road (or under a bridge) and during rainy season, it isn' t a cleanly venture.
I did make a grilled cheese sandwich today that was just about the most glorious thing I've tasted in 6 months.
I've seen numerous people using the bathroom in the empty lot/local hangout area outside my kitchen window. Which is obviously very, very unfortunate. And I don't just mean #1. Wish we would have spent more time checking out the view before choosing this particular flat. Gotta keep the blinds closed.
Today I unpacked all of the toiletries we packed, and I really don't know what I was thinking. We have SO MUCH toothpaste and deodorant Both of which can be easily found here (albeit at higher cost). And why, oh why, did I pack ALL of our towels. And why do we even own so many towels to being with? I wish I had less of that stuff and more personal items like framed photos.
There's a weird leak in our kitchen. We can't figure out where the water's coming from because it isn't near the sink and it's not coming down the walls. It's just a puddle in the corner behind the door??
I've realized that some things are missing from our air shipment: my sewing machine, an over-the-door mirror, and some dvds. Boo. Hopefully they aren't lost and will turn up on our doorstep soon.
I'll post again soon and it'll be happier. I really am relieved to be out of the hotel.
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