Differences

Just a few days until we leave Albertville, France and I'm reflecting on our stay here....

I think after 7 months, we've finally adjusted to living in France.  I guess that means it's time to pack up and move on to an even harder adjustment.  Just thinking about adjusting to life in Africa is a little daunting.  It takes me back to when we made the move here to France.  Adjusting to living in a foreign place was no easy task.  When we first arrived in France we were hit with so many differences large and small.

1. Airport.  Not so much the language barrier, but that we couldn't get our strollers until baggage claim and that those picking you up are not allowed in baggage claim.  Thus we had to carry everything from the plane (including 2 very sleepy kids) all the way from the plane, through customs, to baggage claim and then we were still on our own (but with wheels) until getting through 2 sets of security doors.  Feel free to read or reread my post on that experience.  http://wildauersgototogo.blogspot.fr/2015/01/mission-impossible.html

2. Time.  The time is 7 hours different.  Jet lag really hits you when you move across an ocean with kids.  It took our kids several weeks to adjust to the time difference.  The first few nights they would wake up for an hour or more in the middle of the night ready to go for the day...but it wasn't day.

3. Food.  It's hard to imagine now, but the first time I went to the grocery store, my mind was blown.  I didn't know what anything was, what any of the labels said, how much anything cost, nor how to cook it (and I like to cook).  Thankfully, it only took a few times of going to the store, to figure out what things were, how much they cost, and that food here tastes so much better and is better for you because they don't add a ton of preservatives.  Without having a car, it took us a few weeks to really stock up on the essentials.  I won't miss trying to get home while lugging a stroller tied down with bags of food (that easily out weighed the kid sitting in the front of the stroller) every week.  On second thought, maybe I will.  We will see how things are like in Togo...

4. Language.  You would think this would have been number 1, but surprisingly I think we got by a few days without the language barrier being a problem.  Of course knowing French would have helped at the airport and at the store, but you can find ways to communicate without words; it's just a little more challenging.  Eventually though, you really need to learn the language to get by and not make so many mistakes.

5. Schedule.  We didn't have much of a schedule before moving to France.  Pastors don't have a 9-5 day job, they work all the time, here and there and everywhere, thus making days a little less orderly.  I actually really like order, so this was a nice change for me, albeit difficult to follow a schedule with kids.

6. School.  I had been out of school for 7 years and Micah 9, so getting back into school mode was a big challenge and of course we had the added kid obstacles as well, 3 kids that is.  I admire any full-time student with kids.  It is not easy and something I would prefer never to do again (haha, I still have more language learning to do).

7. Sicknesses.  I had never had conjunctivitis before coming here.  Now the kids and I have had it twice, a few weeks after getting here and now a few weeks before we leave here.  Liza and David seemed to be sick all the time with all the different viruses that were passed around between the little ones at the nursery for the first couple months.  Then allergens really hit in the Spring here.  Apparently being surrounded by mountains isn't all glorious.  Allergens are trapped with no where to go, but to your eyes and nose and throat.  I wish I would have brought a bunch of allergy medicine with me (it's not cheap here).

8. Housing.  I don't know how I almost forgot this one.  Moving to an apartment building with kids (who love to be kids - read: love to be loud all the time) and tight spaces can really try one's patience.  Yet, the community has been great for all of us and the kids have loved having friends to play with everyday.  Even though the friends will be missed, I am definitely looking forward to having our own house again.  And even though Sam is trepidatious about speaking to the African kids in French, I think he'll be just fine and will pick up a few tribal languages before we know it.

Here's to moving to Africa!  Although I might not be looking forward to dealing with all the challenges we will face, I am ready to get there and conquer them.  It's been a long time coming and I am excited to see how our Lord Jesus will bring us through to our new home in Togo.

Sam is really excited about moving to Togo.  David is just going with the flow.  Liza on the other hand is reverting back to bad sleep habits and clinging to mama.  I pray that I don't get so caught up in the move that I forget to give my children the needed attention which will aid them in adjusting to this major change as well.

Moving to Africa...Soon

I was trying to find pictures to go in this blog post and the latest ones are of houses in Dapaong.  I suppose that's a good topic to write about!  The house we thought we'd be living in is occupied by another missionary family (different organization).  Bummer, but hey, that means there's another family, with kids, who will be homeschooling as well.   We've been working with Jacob Gaugert to find a house to live in, and we decided to go with a 3 bedroom house with lots of space outside for the kids to play and a gazebo which we can *hopefully* use to eat outside most of the time.  This house also has AC units already, which may have had something to do with our decision.  Especially since we just went though a week long heatwave - canicule, in French - here where temperatures were just as high as they will be in Dapaong.  I have to admit, I am not looking forward to the heat or being so close to the sun.  I get heat rash and burn easily when I'm out in the sun.  Yet, somehow I will make do.

Our house in Dapaong 

We are wrapping up our time here in Albertville.  I stopped taking classes as of the end of June to stay home with the kids and get things done before the big move to Africa.  Samuel's last day of school was July 3rd, though he has wanted to keep going to school at home with mama as his teacher.  I've been trying to have school with him as much as possible while accomplishing tasks at hand.  So, we go on a lot of field trips!

Samuel enjoying a taco on his last day of school

We took a field trip on the train to Chambery last week to the travel clinic.  David and I still needed to get the yellow fever vaccine.  The others got their yellow fever vaccine in the states, but the earliest a person can get the yellow fever vaccine is 9 months old. Thus, David and I (since I'm breastfeeding) had to wait.  Thankfully, David just turned 9 months.  We went on 2 field trips to the pharmacy to pick up medications for a travel medical kit and for malaria.  And we took the bus on another field trip to go shopping for other "necessities" like sandals, bed sheets, and a can opener!

Recess: Bucket of Fun

We are getting rid of all of our winter coats and clothes and most of mine and Liza's pants, since we will be wearing skirts and dresses all the time (outside of the house anyway).  I'm starting to clean the apartment and soon will start to pack everything up.  Today I planned out the rest of our meals here to use up all of our food and will go grocery shopping one last time Wednesday.  Final exams begin Thursday and end next Tuesday.  Please be praying for Micah!  We have learned a lot of French in a little over 6 months and even though we still have a lot to learn, we are looking forward to moving to Dapaong to truly be immersed in West African life, culture, and language.  There, we must use all that we have learned.

Family Picture in Albertville, France

Conflans Medieval City and the Alps in the Background

So what day will we finally make it to Togo?  We move out of our apartment July 28th, pick up Micah's brother, Matt, at the airport in Geneva and spend a week with him in Germany.  Upon returning, Micah and Matt will leave the kids and I in Geneva while they drive back to Albertville to get all of our bags, come back to Geneva and check them into the airport.  The next day we will fly to Lome, Togo.  We will arrive in Lome at 10 that night.  August 6th is the day we finally make it to Togo.  We will spend about 2 weeks in Lome getting our visas, buying a car, and shopping for other needed items like pans, fans & cans of food.