Home Life

We've been here a little over 2 weeks now, and things are still going well.

There was a marked improvement in the mood around the house once internet was installed. We've especially enjoyed talking with friends and family via Skype and MagicJack. You get what you pay for with internet service. I had heard a lot of complaints about slow service here. I don't know; maybe it's that our internet service in Virginia was SO bad, or maybe it's that I'm paying for a gold package static IP, but it doesn't seem very slow to me.

What IS slow, however, is the mail. Some things we can ship to our DPO address (like an APO/FPO), but many companies and products can't go that way. To solve that problem we have something called the diplomatic pouch, which can carry many more items to us. It, however, has some restrictive rules (no peanut butter or kitchen knives, for example), and can be pretty slow. I understand that they have more important things to deliver than our Pampers, but Huggies (which we can buy here) are just awful.

Another benefit of internet installation is cable TV. I opted for non-digital until our HHE arrives. We still have something like 50 channels, including NBC, ABC, & CBS from Denver (so we haven't missed an episode of LOST). I'm hoping to find a line-up that will make my TiVo work once it gets here. Malachi really enjoys watching U.S. cartoons in Spanish. Go figure. I'm enjoying Food Network.

We've had a break from the afternoon rains, so last week Malachi and I planted pineapple in the backyard. We probably won't be here long enough to actually harvest one (assuming it grows--I think its spot is maybe too shady) but the plant is supposed to be very pretty. I also planted some thyme in a pot out back. I chose thyme because I wasn't sure what the other seeds were (names of Spanish herbs & spices were not taught at FSI). But this functions as an introduction to something I'll probably talk about often in the future: gardening. I'm planning on having two raised-bed (6'x4') vegetable gardens during our stay here. The wood is coming in HHE and I'll have to find soil/compost and seeds/plants locally. There are lots of nurseries around here (and a Home Depot clone) so it should be no problem.

I was going to write about the actual work, but I think I'll save that for next time.

Things we wished we'd brought with us or put in UAB: measuring cups, some sort of baking sheet.