Two weeks

We have been in Cambodia for two whole weeks at this point.  The first day was very long as we drove straight to Battambang from the airport after a quick lunch.  We were blessed to be joined not only by Lily who is working as an intern here for one year, but also by three short term interns.  We all found each other in the check in line at LAX and got along very well together.  Having the interns with us helped a lot since they helped us entertain the kids, and then helped us manage the luggage here in Cambodia. 

The first three nights here we spent in the hotel, but spent most of our daytime hours shopping and getting our house clean and ready to live in. It has a few oddities (like having our master bedroom in the inside kitchen) but it is mostly working out very well.  The house came with lots of furniture, so we only needed to get a few more beds... we have a lot of people in this family!  I did a lot of shopping for smaller things that every home needs.  Towels, sheets, dishes, laundry supplies, etc. 

We were also able to buy a larger fridge and washing machine.  The ones that were here were old and very small.  They were both inadequate for our size family.  So having the new ones is a huge help.  Dryers are not an option around here, so we have a clothesline near the back of the house on a patio area.  It is covered, so even when it rains our clothes don't get soaked... unless they are too close to the outside wall.  I'm still learning to run and get the clothes if it starts raining.  One other benefit of where our laundry hangs is that only one set of neighbors can see it. 

Since we moved into the house I have been venturing out into the city via tuk-tuk to shop for groceries.  There is no grocery store in town, so my explanation of the shopping routine will have to be it's own post.  It certainly has been an adventure! 

Many things here are more difficult or at least take longer to get done than in the US, but overall living here is not a struggle only different.  Everyday we are here we get more accustomed to the way things are and we get closer to being settled enough to jump in and start the work we came here to do.