Upon arrival in Redding, we were met with intense heat, i think it was about 39C. Since that day, the daily temperature maximum hasn't dropped below 37C. Initially we were drinking litres of water and we all felt the heat. These days, it seems normal and our bodies have adapted. Amazing really. That being said, the heat is strangely different to what we experience during summer in Australia. We've all been out in the sun, during the heat of the day, without sunscreen or hats and no one has been burnt. The Ozone Layer certainly has a lot to answer for!
We spent the first few days in Redding very tired but very busy making all sorts of arrangements. It seemed to take forever to get over what I can assume was jet lag. We were so tired during the day and then the kids would be awake for a few hours in the middle of the night. Totally whacked.
One of the first things we did was go shopping for food. And so began an adventure that continues even now. Finding foods that we recognised, that tasted familiar and were not filled with High Fructose Corn Syrup (bad news) was harder than we'd ever imagined. So many foods have seemed as though they were ok from the outside and then turned out to be completely different. Yogurt, cheese, bread and butter are some staples that are very different to what we know in Australia. They do not drink instant coffee here, so I've bought a little coffee maker and am actually enjoying the process of making 'real' coffee each day. We bought a bread maker off of Craigslist (an online classifieds that everyone uses here) today and I sure am excited about making bread that doesn't taste sweet and stale. It's surprising the things that make you feel as though you can face the future! The fact that I need 'real' bread to feel secure is confronting! I suspect I value my carbohydrates more highly than I should.
We were living in an apartment in the 'lower socio-economic area' of Redding, owned by a 4th year student at BSSM. It was cheap and served our needs well but after a midnight episode of helicopters, sirens, searchlights in the carpark and dogs barking, we were keen to be on our way.
Earlier this year, we purchased another Aussie family's home contents and their car. It was a divine arrangement by God, with each family involved getting what they needed. Such a blessing! All our new things had been put into a storage unit and our car had been looked after by a friend of the previous owners. It all worked out beautifully.
So, with heaps of help from some other wonderful Aussie's and a monumental effort on a boiling hot day, we moved into our new Redding home. We are renting a 4 bedroom place about 8 miles from church. Many people have been surprised that we live 'so far away' from church but when you've previously travelled 40mins each Sunday in Australia, 10 mins (on a slow day) is nothing.
The excitement of moving in was dampened by the fact that the air conditioning was not functioning. It was a long, hot, boring day. The kids had no toys to play with, all we had to eat was a few bananas and some biscuits and did I mention IT WAS SO HOT!! Eventually someone came and fixed the aircon and we were able to sleep in comfort.
It took a while to find out what we already had and what we still needed. There have been many trips to Walmart to buy random home items. One of which was a washing line. No Aussie would be comfortable using a dryer when the clothes could be dry in a matter of minutes in this heat. So we've strung up a make shift line across the back patio which is working a treat and I feel more at home hanging out the washing than I ever imagined possible. The kids have been beating the heat by running through the sprinkler in the nuddy. Us responsible grownups keep our clothes on while frolicking in the water. At least while the sun is up...ha!
A week after we arrived in Redding, Sam started school at Bethel Christian School. He is in Kindergarten (the US equivalent of reception) and loving it. Having done 2 terms of school in Australia already, he is quite a bit ahead of the class in terms of reading and writing etc. I think it makes him feel pretty clever already being able to read and we're glad that this move is boosting his self confidence, not the other way around.
Lachie has also started 2 mornings a week at Pre School at Bethel. He's doing so well and is always very happy after a session there. On his first day he apparently did a wee in the playground instead of going inside to the toilet. These things happen growing up in the country! Anyway, upon returning for his second session, the teacher told us about the wee issue and so we made sure he knew the rules and where the toilet was. When I picked him up later that day, I asked him if he went to the toilet this time. He informed me that no, he didn't need to go to the 'party' and asked me why they call the toilet a 'party'. So funny. Poor kid probably thought there were going to be balloons and streamers and instead found a loo! 'Going Potty' is the accepted term here. Even for adults. Curiouser and curiouser........
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