Step By Step...

Well, it's offically been 3 days and we are feeling more and more comfortable over here.  I feel like with each passing day we learn something new that helps us feel like we might know a little bit what about what we are doing.  It is truly an odd feeling being in a new country.  I was telling Tom that I feel like I am a little kid again that needs to learn everything...the language, the location, cultural differences (who knew you kiss someone 3 times when greeting them but only if you know them well), and more.  But, we are taking it one step at a time and each day feels like a big accomplishment with as we learn something new or venture into a new area of town. 

Today Tom and I are celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary!  Who would have thought 4 years ago that we would be living in Warsaw.  : )  To celebrate the occassion I decided I wanted to get Tom a card.  After passing a lot of various stores on walks with Charlie none of them seemed like they sold cards.  In the states, I would have turned to Walgreens or CVS, but here a drug store is literally a drug store...not much more.  So, I asked the concierge at the hotel (who thought I was looking for playing cards for a good 3 minutes).  After we got our communication straight he suggested that I walk to the mall, about 10 minutes away, and go to the stationary store.  I didn't have a chance to go there today because I was out looking at apartments with a real estate agent and it is snowing here and quite cold.  But, I wonder where else in Poland you can buy a greeting card besides a stationary store?  Who knows...we'll figure it out.  This year I'll simply tell Tom how much he means to me.  ; )

Tom has been working hard trying to get settled into the office. He definitely has his hands full trying to understand the personalities in the office, deal with the cultural differences, and clean up a bunch of administration messes.  He got his new laptop for work today and had to call the IT department in France for help...needless to say he was on the phone with them for over an hour and its still not working.  I do have to say that I am really proud of him for taking all of this in stride.  He is chipping away at it a little bit at a time and doing his best to stay calm.  Charlie and I have been walking over to his office every day at lunch time to take a quick walk together.  It is great getting to see him in the middle of the day!

Last night we met up with an International group that we found through facebook.  They hold events every week or so.  We met them for drinks at a trendy bar downtown.  We were both tired, but glad that we went.  We met a nice group of people - some International expats and some Poles who have moved to Warsaw for work.  It was a welcome relief to get some basic help on things like bank accounts with different currency and the cheapest ways to talk to family at home.  It makes it easier talking with people who have gone through the same experiences.

Tom and I are planning a low key night of celebrating our anniversary!