Some Things Change . . .

And some things don't.  We moved, in case you missed that.  We used to live in the plains of India.  A place that I had a love/hate relationship with.  I loved all that I was learning and I loved my friends there, but I hated how crowded everything was and the unbearable heat.  I could go on, but you can read previous posts if you're curious.  Instead, I'm going to share a bit about our new home.

We moved into the mountains to a city that is about the same size as our previous city, but as different as night and day.  Just imagine trying to compare living in New York to living in Seattle and and then take those differences times 10 and you get the picture.  So, some things have changed.  For instance:

• Space!  The same amount of people are spread over a much larger area which means that our new house has 2 floors, a green yard, and a large garden besides.  This compares to a 2 bedroom flat with nowhere for the kids to run.  Before we moved to our home and were crashing at a friend's place, there were 4 rainy days in a row and I remembered what it had been like.  Thank you, sunshine and space!
• Smell.  It can't help being different.  Here, many sewers are underground since it freezes and snows.  There, sewers were almost all above ground.  Also, trash is disposed of better.  People here sometimes complain about the trash and I know that they never lived in the plains.  Here, there are green plants and mountains everywhere!
• The View.  Did I mention there are green plants and mountains everywhere?  Our new home looks out over mountains in every direction -- the sun sets over a lake with mountains in the background.  Woah.  Our last view -- which we were very thankful for -- overlooked a construction site, a septic pond, and -- when we were truly blessed -- people taking their morning relief in our backyard.
• Transportation.  Here, most of the people drive or ride in covered vehicles (snow, remember).  Gone are the days when our whole family zoomed around town on our motorcycle, sigh!  I can't hop out my door and catch a rickshaw either.  It's an auto-rickshaw or taxi for now.  I don't yet know how the bus system works and that's pretty hard with 3 kids in tow.  We're realizing that we'll probably have to make the jump into a 4-wheel vehicle . . . gulp!  It might be the first time we ever owned a van.
• Cost of Living.  Gosh, the plains were easy on the pocketbook!  Here, veggies and fruit, housing and vehicles, basically everything costs more.  Probably because it's further away from everything and lots of people want to live here.  I'm no economist, though.

I'm sure there are lots of other things, but that just gives you a few ideas of the pros and cons of our new area.  There are some things, I'm discovering, that don't change with location.  Some are:

• Early-morning risers.  Yep, the kids are getting up just as early even with all the fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.  5 am is, apparently, a great time to start the day in any part of the world.
• Friendly (and non-friendly) people.  We were welcomed into our new home by a great family that also lives on the property.  They remind me of the family that we got to know with 'Hannah' our house helper.  They are spoken well of in the community and have 2 very sweet kids and the wife has already hugged me and invited me to tea.  Woohoo!  On the other hand, there are still people who eye me with suspicion and don't return my greeting when I pass them on the street.  I guess there are grumpy people in any part of the world, too.
•  Transition stress.  Some call it culture shock, but it can come at any time of transition.  These last few years, our family has had our fair share of them.  I'm learning that no matter how great the company, how big the space, how beautiful the view, transitions can be hard.  The change to a new home, a new routine, a new space, a new network of relationships takes its toll.  It is multiplied by the number of people in a family.  Even though my kids love their new home, they're still more likely to fall apart in fits, tantrums, sobbing moments, or disrespectful behavior because they're dealing with all the same stuff I am.  But they don't have grown-up words and outlets for it yet.  And, I have to admit, that when I hit the stress, I can be pretty childish in my reactions, too.  I'm longing for the day when my family can settle somewhere (hopefully here) for more than a 6 month stretch.  It would be great if this really felt like home before we have to pick up again.  I'd love to hit our groove!
• God's Grace!  Each new transition, each new stressor reminds me that God is with me and that He is giving me the grace for each day.  Sometimes it doesn't come in big bites.  But, the little nibble when I'm feeling pretty famished can be even more satisfying that a big feast when I'm already full.

Well, I'm sure you'd love to see pics of the new place.  You'll have to wait until we can download some to the computer.  We have yet to develop a good internet connection.  Thanks for your patience, love and prayers as we maneuver this familiar, yet not-so-familiar terrain.  Next stop, settling in and putting down roots!