Well, it has been almost a month since we left Ecuador. I was warned that we would experience culture shock, and I really didn't feel any at first other than just the difficulty making choices when there are like 50 snack foods to choose from and like 20 different types of Coca-Cola (cherry Coke Zero is now my favorite!)
I felt like we were doing pretty well, even when we left Alabama and came here alone to Florida. We got settled in and the kids met some neighbors pretty quick. I am still waiting to start my job at the hospital, but in the mean time I have been staying fairly busy. We went to a party for the 4th of July weekend like I posted. It was really a big deal with about 75 other people there from our neighborhood. That is when the feeling of being a stranger in a foreign place sunk in. Ken and I sat alone when the kids ran off to play. We tried to talk to people, but it seemed that everybody already knew each other and they quickly talked about things and people they knew, leaving us out of the conversations. I turned to Ken and said, "I miss Quito". Now he knows when I say that I don't really mean I miss the place, I miss my friends. It seems that no matter where you go, what really makes a place home is the friends that you make along the way.
And so here I am on the side of the road, trying not to be overwhelmed by the quiet and trying to come out of my comfort zone a little as we meet neighbors and make new friends. Although it is not nearly as dangerous as walking next to a canal full of gators, moving to a new culture does have it's share of stress. So please continue to keep us in your prayers as we seek direction in where God would have us get plugged in and how.
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