There has been a moment in every overseas move when I realize how far away I am. From a sight seen out the airplane window, to the delight of speaking a foreign language outside the classroom for the first time and being understood, and this time, just thinking about the fact that my old hairdresser was a 9 hour flight away and that I had to find someone new, in a place with little language. It's amazing what can overwhelm you. Anyway, this moment hit me late in the dark of night last night, and was compounded both by our isolation and by the fact that I really don't know anyone here. I haven't been in language training with anyone; I'm not going to the office to meet people like I did before. It's very different than my other posts, and waking up in the morning and facing a day of no one to talk to but the kids is really staggering. (I'd have lost my marbles by now if Mom wasn't here. Thank you.)
The only way out is through. And it takes hard work, sometimes, to settle yourself in. You have to find people, meet with them, reach out to them, talk to them again and again. Sometimes this is easy (toddler math: two toddlers are not twice as difficult as one toddler, and the mess of one toddler can, if sufficiently motivated, be greater than the mess of ten). Sometimes it's not; people, including kids, can take a lot of mental energy from me, and it's hard to go out when I'd really rather be curled up with my book. But putting out the energy to go see people and invite people over when I might not have really want to is what has helped make such good friends and networks back home, and I'm hoping the same holds true here.
So, today Mom and I set off, one stroller, one baby carrier, one diaper back, one baby, and one toddler in tow. First off was the bus; easily found, but Phoebe, who had been VERY excited about going on a red bus, broke down crying, and we got scolded by the driver for getting in the wrong door with the stroller. So, some drama. We took that to the tram, which was a lot of fun -- we were FINALLY out of the suburbs, and beginning to see some of the Vienna landmarks I'd been reading about: the lacy Votivkirche, the Parliament building, the Opera, and even a side of the Hofburg, as we made our way to the Burggarten, where the Vienna Babies Club was having a meet-up that day.
It's been 60-ish and raining since we got here. While the 60-ish part was great, after all the heat in DC, the rain had been hard with Phoebe. Now it was 75, sunny, no humidity, and we were in a beautiful green park, fenced to the busy Ring Road behind us. We found the baby group, pulled up a blanket, and I sat down to talk while Matilda engaged in some mutual eye-gouging with other babies. Mom took Phoebe to get some good running and exploring in around in:
As well as lounging on the statue of an emperor who probably would have had her executed for her cheek.
Getting
home proved to be something of a challenge, as (logically), the
Schottentor bus station was located two blocks from the Schottentor
U-Bahn, and around a corner. We walked around for, oh, a good
half-hour, with Phoebe snoozing in the stroller and myself with a 19-lb
baby strapped to my chest. Anyway, we made it home in one piece,
refreshed for the weather, the feeling of finally seeing the "mythical"
Vienna, and for me, having laid down that first tiny bit of a foundation
that will hopefully make this someday feel like home.
Someday = week before packout, of course.
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