This week hasn’t felt much like we are living in another country.  Monday we spent entirely at home, doing laundry and chores around the house.  Sometimes on Mondays I miss work- that day away to talk to adults.  Sigh.  

Tuesday we met the Farmers at a cinema (movie theater) in Greenwich for a discount showing of dated movies.  The movie for the day was Tarzan but it wasn’t the Disney Tarzan I was expecting.  It was a German version of Tarzan with the voices of American actors that was probably never released in America.  Having never heard of it, I went back and read some reviews which pretty much summed up how I felt about it.  

“This computer-generated mo-cap version … turns Edgar Rice Burrough’s loinclothed apeman into a tree-hugger defending his jungle against capitalists.”

Aside from an over saturation of cliches and man vs ape violence, it was nice to sit in an air conditioned theatre and relax a bit, and kids aren’t usually too picky about their entertainment.  After the movie we went to McDonald’s for lunch and then did a bit of shopping.  We rode the bus home and it was brutally hot so when we got back I let the kids put on their swimsuits and spray each other with the hose.  

It was exactly the kind of summer day we might have had in Kuna.  Which felt nice and familiar.  Except not familiar at all because everything here – including McDonald’s and movies and transportation and backyards – is totally different. 

Today I planned to stay home all day in the hopes that our belongings would be delivered, but alas no such luck.  When I realized it wasn’t likely, I decided to go the library and run a few errands.  We now are the proud owners of a rubbish bin and a broom.  It’s been a long three weeks without those two things! 

As some consolation, yesterday I ordered a dozen miscellaneous things on Amazon and they all came today.  Free one day shipping for Amazon Prime!  And virtually free shipping on everything else, even if it isn’t Prime eligible.  That’s a perk I just can’t get over.  

I suppose that some level of guilt is inherent to motherhood no matter where you live. I find myself feeling guilty that we aren’t doing MORE to explore this amazing city. I know that two years will go by so quickly and at the end of it I will have regrets about things unseen or undone.  Right now though I feel the restraints of limited energy, patience and finances.  So I try to balance all those factors with my desire to maximize this experience for my children.  I just don’t have much confidence that I’m going a good job of it.