Today was probably our busiest day so far: we looked at two apartment possibilities in different parts of town, Dan went by his new work to get some of the paperwork started and out of the way, we went shopping for non-food grocery items (which here you don’t buy at the grocery store), we went to the bakery (one of my new favorite places) for a loaf of bread and we had the cleaning lady come by. And that was all before dinner, and in addition to the normal activity of life in a new place with two little ones. Whew!
It was a very busy day. With all of our activity, and the fact that Liam isn’t quite adjusted to the time change yet, we’re exhausted. By 5:00, when we were finished with all of our errands, I was completely drained. We were headed home and were discussing whether we should stop to grab a little something to treat ourselves on the way home. I was too tired to walk the extra few blocks, but Dan went, and he brought something home for me: a grande soy chai, from an actual Starbucks. Even at home, I would have enjoyed and appreciated something like that after a long day. But there’s something extra special about having a little treat from home when we’re so far away. They make it a little less sweet here, but otherwise, it’s so familiar: the taste, the smell, even the cup (it’s written in English, too!). Because even though we’re having a wonderful adventure, and it’s great to explore all of the things that are exciting and different, it’s comforting to experience something warm and familiar at the end of a long day.