We just got back from dinner at our local pizzeria.  It’s literally across the street from our apartment building – I’d say it’s 20 steps from the front door of our lobby to the front door of the restaurant.  And when I say pizza, I mean the local variety – super-thin oven baked crust, wrapped up a little to the front cradling cheese and meat.  It was good.  Darn good.  The food here in this country is so. good.  We are blessed.

It’s starting to get really frustrating to not know the language.  I know full-time study starts in just a few weeks, but we’re meeting people, and we sure wish we could at least carry on a basic conversation.  Our doorman knocked on our door last night when Kabob was out for just a few minutes, and he asked me in very broken, memorized English, “What is your order?”  I understood him just fine, but I had no idea what sort of order he was referring to.  When I asked for more details, he stared at me blankly, then said, “One minute.  My friend.”  He called someone on his cell, and a few minutes later a guy popped out of the elevator.  His English was very good – and it turns out he and his wife (who he says also speaks English) live on the 7th floor.  Very, very good to know.  We talked for a bit, and it turns out our doorman picks up our trash every evening at 7:30, and then takes any orders for basic foodstuffs – bread, milk, eggs, etc.  The next morning, it will be on our doorstop.

Wow.  I mean, wow.  We had no idea.  It’s not so much that we’re living at the Ritz, it’s more indicative of the culture here.  They go above and beyond with their hospitality.  It’s humbling, really.

And then the whole having neighbors that speak English thing…  I mean, we don’t want to use them as a crutch instead of learning the language, but it is an obvious relationship we could pursue.  We’ve thought of a few household things that we need to set up, and we’ve decided to ask them for help instead of our fellow foreign friends, mostly as a reason to pursue a relationship with them.  We barely know them, but we’re wondering if maybe they might make good language tutors for us down the road, if they have the time.  We’ll see.

So I know this is all mostly rambling…  But for me, I look at these people we’ve met so far, and I know this is the neighborhood for us.  We know we’re supposed to be here.  It’s encouraging.

Alright, back to unpacking the boxes…

posted: 07 March 13
under: culture