05/01/2024
When I was nineteen, my family moved to Kenya with a mission organization. During the pre-departure training/commissioning, we were given loads of information, most of which I forgot pretty quickly. However, the information on stages of culture shock has stayed with me ever since.
Honeymoon. Negotiation. Adjustment. Adaptation.
The process proved true when moving to Africa, the process proved true when moving to Canada. And now the process is proving true coming back to America.
Granted, there's a large part of this cycle that also feels a little like the stages of grief, as we mourn the loss of friendships and knowledge of roads and create a new normal amidst a lot of change.
This week marks six months since we left British Columbia and started our Idaho adventure.
I marvel at the highlight reel of the past few months and celebrate the progress, while also acknowledging that settling in a new area a lot of work and still feels tedious at times.
🏚️ We purchased an acreage with a view, where we will eventually build and live.
🏞️ We enjoyed our first hot springs day and will definitely be back
🗻 We love hiking new trails, most within less than half hour from our house
😱 The girls have changed so much in the half year we have been here and it's beautiful to see.
🐑 We watched a band of sheep cross a main highway in town on their way from winter pasture to summer. (How's that for "that's so Idaho!"?!)
💕 We have a list of lowlights to match the list of highlights, but aren't going to dwell on those.
📸I miss photography a lot, but am still not quite sure what my business will look like in this season. For now, I'm not actively pursuing it but am still considering what I want it to be.
