Ever since my arrival it seems that everyone wants to know if I am "settling in." My response has been a consistent yes, but I always sort of wondered what exactly they meant. I think that now, three months after my arrival I am finally starting to understand what they mean, and I am not sure that I like it.
Settling in has meant many things. The first of which seems to be finding a house, and getting everything unpacked to a place where it gets to stay. My suitcases are hidden away, and I have stuff in cupboards and shelves around the house. Although my bed is incredibly uncomfortable, it is still a home, and more than that, it is my home.
Settling in has meant major purchases in this country. The first of those has been a bike, followed by a car, and hopefully shortly a lawn mower. Some of the little things signify settling in too. Such as needing to buy toothpaste here. When you go on vacation, you take it with you. You don't buy nail clippers because you don't have time to both loose the ones you brought and have your nails grow long enough that you need to purchase new ones.
Settling in has involved getting involved with activities outside of work. When people take 6 months trip for a mission trip or whatever, they go for a purpose, a task and that is what they do. Here, I have come to work in a church, but because I am here for so long I have become involved with a Rotary Group, which I am now Vice-President, a Tennis League, and am hoping to join the Bridge Club. I am setting up a life.
Settling in means having to host people for meals and parties. I know this seems like an odd thing to say, but in my first month or so here, I received many invitations to meals and BBQ's, which was wonderful. Now that I am "settled in" I get to invite people my direction. My home. What's more, I actually have people to invite. I have 10 people coming over for a Cinco De Mayo party on Saturday, not only am I hosting, I have a circle of people to host!
Settling in has also meant making commitments here in Australia. As I realize that I am going to be here for a while, I can't just stall my life; I have to live my life like I would anywhere else, and part of that includes commitments and attachments. The most significant of these commitments is that I have made in starting to date Marc here. It means if I just run off, someone might just care.
Settling in has been great. It has given me routine. It has helped me to feel like I am on my feet again. I feel like I have found a part of me, that I didn't even know I had lost while in Tacoma. I have found an energy and a happiness, that I realize now was most certainly gone.
Settling in here is also one of the scariest things I have ever done. It means I am starting a life, a full and happy one, somewhere very far away from home. Far away from friends and family who mean the world to me. From the people who have supported my life and made it even possible for me to have to confidence to step out on this adventure. It makes me homesick in a way I have never been before.
So for those friends and family reading this, when I say I miss you, I really do mean it. Even with all the adventures and great things here, even if I stay here for a while, know that I couldn't be here without you. Without your support you've given me to help me be the person I am today, and without the constant support while I am here I couldn't settle in. So keep calling, keep sending mail, emailing and posting on my facebook, I sure do appreciate it!
