It just feels different

Many times over the course of the last couple of months, we have reflected to each other that our preparations (mentally, emotionally, physically) for our new term of service have a different feel to them.  There is much that is familiar.  We have moved to a previously unvisited country before.  We have worked with MCC before.  We have lived in SE Asia before.  We have had to say goodbyes and pack for a long time in a small amount of space.  We have had to learn a new language and culture.  Five years ago, as we were preparing to move to Indonesia, we had done none of these things.  

Yet, even with having done all of those things, in each case, we are stepping into something new: new country, new position, fresh goodbyes, new language, new culture.  Oh yeah, and there’s that toddler to whom we are constantly playing second and third fiddle.  

And so it begins, feeling unknown and familiar.  

Currently, we are in an in-between space.  We have left, but have not yet arrived.  We have the good fortune to spend about a week with our supervisors in Thailand before finishing our journey to Vietnam next week.  

We are fighting jet lag, enjoying Thai street food, learning more about the work that awaits us, living out of suitcases/storage lockers, chasing Edward, laughing lots, and trying to rest.

While our preparations have felt different, we know many of the feelings that await us in Hanoi.  There is the feeling of excited enchantment while exploring a new place and meeting new people.  There is frustration of not being able to communicate with words, instead having to rely on gestures.  There is loneliness.  There is curiosity.  There is exhaustion.  There are lots of opportunities to laugh at ourselves.  And there is much to learn.