The last two weeks for us have been jam packed with moving and all of the fun that comes along with it. I have tried very hard so far not to have a blog full of complaints, which is why often I write nothing at all, but this time I cannot avoid it. Two weeks ago, I think Kerry and I went through the hardest week we have ever had together, and, not to be dramatic, but perhaps one of the worst of my entire life. Now you expect me to drop some horrible news bomb of a dramatic event that occurred, well no. Just moving hassles. But every single day, many times each day, we were surprised with new struggles and disappointments. When every effort you make over a number of days fails, over and over and over, and you cannot even manage the very basics of life (like a hot shower), it really starts to take a toll on you, mentally and physically. What started off as an exciting and promising week, very quickly turned into a living nightmare.
The week of Thanksgiving, we were due to receive the keys to our new apartment Monday afternoon. Based on this, we scheduled movers to deliver our things on Wednesday and check-out of our hotel on Thursday (Thanksgiving Day). We arrived at the apartment on Monday to discover there was an issue with the contract, and they would not give us the keys. In addition, we were allowed in the apartment for a check in inventory and we find that the heaters, which barely worked, had not been replaced as promised. We have had lows in the upper 30s almost every night the last two weeks, so this is a big deal! They had not even attempted to schedule an appointment to have the heaters replaced. Pretty much everything over the next week went about as well as this. To make a long story short, in one week we dealt with: delays in receiving keys, one week with broken heaters, two days with no hot water, bank cards failing at ikea for no apparent reason (on two separate days), incorrect instructions and a missing key to our storage cellar, broken toilet, movers that broke our television and a vase from our wedding, unpacking 125/130 boxes before finding scissors (sometimes its the little things), three light bulbs burning out, a blown up power supply on our desktop computer (this one is actually our fault), a repairman that shows up one hour late, twice, and a brand new, expensive, cell phone that can only catch a signal about 3% of the time. Maybe it doesn't sound that bad, but for us, it was awful. While dealing with all of this, we are still faced with all the basic tasks of moving: back and forth on the tram from our hotel to our apartment to get everything out in time, we lost a day since we didn't get keys on time, rushing to the appliance store to pick out a washing machine, fridge, and microwave, so we can at least have clean clothes and food other than Pringles, unpacking boxes until our fingers are bleeding, assembling 8 boxes of Ikea furniture, and Kerry still had to go to work every day! So, like I said, it's been a struggle.
Ok now that thats out of the way, I'll get to the good stuff! In the midst of all this moving mess, we were fortunate enough to have been invited to two Thanksgiving celebrations. First, we attended the American Women's Association's Thanksgiving Dinner the Sunday before Thanksgiving with another Schlumberger family. We met lots of new people, ate all the traditional American Thanksgiving foods, and had a great time enjoying some English conversation. I don't get a whole lot of that these days so it's really a treat for me! I did a poor job photographing the event though, must have been too busy talking!
Our second Thanksgiving was a smaller celebration at a friends house. This was the Friday after Thanksgiving, which means it was right in the middle of our moving nightmares, and therefore a wonderful and very much needed break from all the headaches we had been dealing with. We were both exhausted by the time Friday night came around, so it was nice to relax with some friends and meet a few new people, although I imagine we didn't make the greatest first impression, we were lucky not to fall asleep in our pecan pies. Thank goodness for after dinner espressos!
The spread:
The spread:
Kerry with one of our gracious hosts:
And one snapshot of us:
During dinner, in traditional Thanksgiving fashion, we each took turns saying what we are thankful for this year. It was a nice reminder for us that, even though we have faced many trials during this relocation process (many more than most people) we are still very fortunate to have this opportunity, and we are lucky to have each other to lean on when things get tough. I am also especially thankful that since we have been here, neither dog has come down with any medical concerns, because I am completely unprepared for a French vet visit. And last but not least, despite all the troubles that have come with it, we are both very happy with, and thankful for, our new apartment! For the next few years home for us will be:
2bis rue Chamayou
34090 Montpellier, France
We have a lot of work to do to get the place fixed up, but we are thrilled to finally have a place to call our own!
I'm so glad you're getting to a point where you can hopefully enjoy the rest of your time there. Missing you both and can't wait to see you! Hug the pups for me, I miss them too.
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