Settling In

My time here has been very full. It's been exhausting getting acclimated to a new culture and I've learned a ton of things. Language learning has been slow, but many people speak English so it's okay. The biggest problem is not knowing numbers, so eventually I learned those so I could pay for meals and groceries. I do know how to say "Take care of yourself" and I usually get lots of hugs and kisses when I say it :-). They greet and say goodbye to people they know well with a kiss on each cheek and a big hug. They are a very affectionate people, including men and friends hold hands in public. However, with their close affection comes a lack of desire for personal space. We've found ourselves really close to people on the streets and in the trams or buses - we protect our purses well in those times!

I'm really starting to get to know the area well. I get can around the neighborhood with ease now and I can generally eat out without too many communication issues. There are vendors everywhere and we call streets by their most prominate vendor...like book street, wedding gown street, shoe street, fish street, etc. and 2 other big streets are busy street and boys street (they sell only manly stuff). We live in a nice neighborhood that's known to be safe, and it's also located by the sea as I mentioned before. I go down the the sea nearly everyday and it's beautiful. There are parks down there and huge rocks to walk on. You can see the European side and you can see some nearby islands. This Saturday we're going to one of the islands to go bike riding, enjoy the view and talk with some of our new friends! I'm really excited and I plan on taking pics.

In general, our day schdules goes like this: in the morning we usually have something with our group - time to learn language, worship, or receive training. Then, we go to campuses and make friends starting convos with them at cafes or in parks. In the evenings we have Bible study, time with God, time with new friends, and coffee houses. The days can be pretty packed but they're lots of fun too. I don't feel terribly busy, but at the end of the day I'm always exhausted (in a good way) from going so many places.