New Arrivals

the view from our temporary apartment

Often times when expats arrive to their new home city, they stay in temporary accommodation until they find a place of their own.  If you are lucky, you visit before you actually move and try to secure something but many of us don't have that luxury for one reason or another (or were unable to find something in a quick look-around trip.)

One of Joe's colleagues happened to move out of his apartment the day we arrived in Norway so we lucked out and were able to stay there versus living in a hotel.  (I've lived in a hotel for close to a year total and while it's fun in the beginning, tripping over suitcases and being unable to cook gets old fast.)  We appreciated the space, the laundry facilities and we didn't feel under too much pressure to settle on an apartment we weren't happy with but the first week, we found our dream apartment.  When all the nastiness went down, we were told we'd have to continue living in the temporary apartment until things got sorted out. It killed me but I understood.

I feel like I shouldn't complain about this little place...

When we arrived in Gabon, we checked into Hotel du Parc which was mediocre by African standards but probably 1.5 stars by Western standards.  There was no hot water in the shower and the hotel wasn't equipped with a pump so the water literally dribbled out.  I couldn't wash my hair because there wasn't enough water to rinse it so I had to make arrangements with one of Joe's coworkers to shower at his house.  The only English channel I consistently had was CNN, there was no internet, it was out in the middle of nowhere beside the stinkiest 'zoo' in the world and every night I drifted off to sleep listening to the prostitutes knock on our neighbours doors.

but I'm going to...

While it doesn't compare to my first nights in Africa, this temporary apartment is starting to wear on me.  The kitchen is tiny and ill equipped for cooking.  The bottoms of the pots are charred with some mysterious food, the utensils are minimal and the knives are dull.  The microwave is in the laundry room on a 7 foot high shelf causing me to lift my food over my head to put it in.  Our bedroom is a mess of vacuum bags filled with clothes that have no where to go and we don't really want to buy anything until we know exactly what we need in the new home.

I cannot wait to finally have our own more permanent home, unpack and settle in!  Our dream apartment magically came back on the market last week and our offer was accepted - we get possession October 1 and I'm counting the days hours!