Moving to Medias with the boys!

It has not been the easiest transition. School was out June 1st and I have been home with my two boys since. Since then, we have moved from Cairo, Egypt to a small town in Romania called Medias. As we try to settle in and find what we need for our home among the small scattered stores in this town and by traveling to bigger cities in the weekend, I am exhausted and realize that even now, two months into it, we are still not done.

Moving means spending weeks at a hotel and eating out every day until we find a place to call home and actually equip it for cooking. Now, the part where I don't have to cook and clean is just fine by me. The part where I'm cooped up in a hotel room with two active boys while hubby is at work - not so fun.

It also means eating out a lot which is where the iPod and an assortment of die cast cars have helped save my sanity.

We spent the first two or so weeks exploring the town (well it's a city but I can't imagine it is anything more than a town) on foot. Then we spent the next while trying to set up the house we chose. The boys liked exploring although they did complain a lot when the walks got too long. Especially Omar. Poor Omar is too big for a stroller now and had to drag his feet during our many hours of walking.

We took the house. A fairly large house with some garden space and an extension where apple, pear and cherry trees grow, as well as grape vines along the fence. It is in what we believe is a nicer part of town and has a lovely view. It's also walking distance to my beloved hotel! We spent three weeks there and all the employees have become chums. It was the most socializing I have had since we moved here.

The language barrier does not help me make friends. That coupled with nowhere to really go out and meet people and a couple of rowdy boys that are my full responsibility until their nursery starts mid September.

I have started a conversational Romanian course through a Pimsleur audio CD packet I purchased. It is quite good but I am only on lesson 3 of 16 because it is not easy to carve out 30 minutes of uninterrupted time while my two wardens are home with me. But so far, I can successfully and politely tell people that I do not understand Romanian. A declaration I have found, just makes them shy away if English betrays them.

So here I am, trying to maintain my sense of humor as I take on the lonely task of starting out a life in a new place, with two young but energetic ones in tow and an untapped world that I must somehow break into. We have definitely stepped off the beaten path and that brings fear but also excitement.

Being in Medias, the best way to verbalize my feelings is through the GPS software's announcement when we enter an underground parking lot "lost satellite reception." So here I am, finding a way to reconnect with the world and bring Medias to life with this humble blog!