Today marks one month since we left the hectic packing of our life, familiar sites and sounds, amazing friends and family, and everything that didn't "fit" for a tiny desert country in the Middle East. It seems like we've been here for quite a bit longer than one month... not sure if that's good or not.
I remember when I first moved to Morocco like it was yesterday, although it's been much much longer. After a month, I was so culture shocked and green I hardly wanted to leave my apartment. I didn't own a car and wouldn't have driven if given the opportunity anyway. I had barley oriented myself to my street, let alone any other parts of the city, and was quite happy never to go exploring.. ever. I had figured out how to gesture to the veggie/fruit/meat vendors to get what I wanted, but had NO idea what the pricing was nor did I care if they were robbing me blind ("very good price for you")... I remember my utter shock when I ordered chicken from the (outdoor) vendor and was greeted with a whole chicken.. My trauma must have shown because he immediately whisked it away and brought it back de-feathered and packaged up. Never mind my further trauma when I arrived home to realize the innards were all still... well.. in. I quickly learned to motion to take out the innards after that, which totally blew the vendor's mind (that I didn't want 'best part'). I was totally intimidate to utter the few French words/phrases that I had rolling around in my head and Arabic was.. well totally foreign.
After a few years, I was a much different being than the one who had stepped of a plane wondering what she'd gotten herself into. I was a confident driver, teacher, shopper, speaker (well close), bargainer... I fell head over heals for the culture, the cuisine, the language.. Later, I met my A when he came to teach and some of my life-long friends are from my time in Morocco. It holds a substantial place in my heart.
Arriving here, in Doha, was much much different... Obviously, I have A and the littles. The first evening, my anxiety was tremendous remembering how difficult the transition to life had been in Morocco and knowing that somehow I had to do it a whole lot quicker this time. A reassured me that we'd take it one day at a time, and after a good night sleep, I felt much better. The first day here, I went grocery shopping, unpacked a lot, made a spaghetti dinner (only using a fork and sauce pan), and took a walk with the kids. As time has progress, so has the speed of our transition. We got our rental car a few days after arriving, and have steadily explored the city since. It is a much smaller city, which helps.
So, what's the difference? I think the biggest factors are 1) that I have a husband and kids who depend on me (I don't have the time to panic.. kids must eat, play, and have my attention) 2) I have a husband to help me (this is invaluable) 3) I'm older (oh so much older.. and somehow my flexibility has grown with age), and 4) we have had loads of transitions over the past decade or so. That last one is without a doubt helpful. We've come to rely on each other a great deal because of our many transitions. Family is what's been constant. We have friends from each place, whom we love dearly, but on a day-to-day basis, we are together. We've also learned that we will adjust and adapt to whatever our surroundings may be and that our outlook will have a tremendous impact on our experiences in any given place.
There are rough moments/days.. there will be more, but for now we are adjusting, adapting, and taking one day and one experience at a time. The first month has been good and I expect that the coming months will continue in that direction. Ups and downs will come, but I feel like we have a decent handle on approaching the downs. Time will tell!
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