TansEmpire

December 06 & January 07

Hi there. Well I am finally feeling well enough to write about our adventures here in the USA. It’s hard to believe we have been here nearly 2 months, time has flown but unfortunately not in a great way with all the illnesses I have faced. But things are better right now and we are settling in to life and some sort of routine. So here is a summary of what has been happening:

Health I am doing much better and the reactive arthritis isn’t running my life for once. I have just undergone some more blood tests to see how my system is and my specialist and I are hoping we can reduce the medication over the next month or so. Although at this stage he is still unsure whether I am likely to suffer this again. It really is a mystery but then again so are a lot of my health problems, especially over the last 2-3 years. It’s more than likely Andrew accidentally broke my nose at X-mas (for the 3rd time, but Andrew’s 1st) but it has settled down and I don’t plan to do anything about it at this stage. So I am planning to get back into the saddle over the next week or so and begin exercise and to continue the weight loss. 

Work  Andrew is enjoying his work and is currently on his first interstate trip in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I have just spent the weekend with him, it takes around 4 hours from here to get there. His employers have been extremely understanding regarding my health situation so I am very grateful to them. Unfortunately he will need to travel quite a bit over the next few months to make up for the extra support he has been given, and I hope to be able to either join him a bit or travel to see him if he is within driving distance. I haven’t even thought about work at this stage and it’s unlikely I will look for work in my field as I can’t guarantee any employer I will be constantly healthy enough. So the plan at the moment is for me to get healthy and for us to start a family. 

Home The apartment is great, located in a complex complete with pool, gym, tennis court, kids play area and a common room and we are so pleased we chose a furnished place as with our inital focus being on my health there was no time to even think about the house. It’s a 2 bedroom place with a bathroom off each of the rooms so Andrew and I have decided to have a bathroom each with makes it easier getting ready in the mornings. The loungeroom and dining room is good with 2 couches and a working fireplace but considering we have constant heating / cooling it’s more a hassle to have fires so for now there are just candles in there. It has been strange getting used to a constant temperature but now that the cold has come it is very handy. The kitchen is functional with a small laundry attached to the end. Unfortunately there is no clothesline on the property at all so most things go into the dryer or onto the clothes horse in the spare room. There is heaps of storage including an outdoor storage room. I have posted a couple of photos of the outside but no inside as it is still a bit of a mess as I haven’t been well enough to unpack the boxes of our things as yet. Once the apartment is set up I will post some photos.

Weather When we first arrived we wondered whether or not it was actually winter. Some of the first days here were actually warmer than back in Australia! But over the last week winter has finally arrived including the snow which is great. Andrew isn’t such a fan of the snow so it will take some time for him to get used to it, but I am in my element and loving it. It was certainly a lot colder in Pittsburgh and the snow is more of a regular feature than here at home.  

Car Buying a car was somewhat of a nightmare. Due to having no credit history (a little hard when you just moved here) no-one wanted to talk to us so we ended up having to purchase the car over 1 year, putting on hold our International travel plans for this coming summer but it will make life easier when we have a family. We test drove a few cars, Andrew’s favourite being the Toyota Prius due to the gadgets and stuff, mine being the Jazz (same as I had in Australia) but with the Jazz being on a 4 month wait list and my absolute abhorrent thoughts about the Prius we decided on the VW Rabbit which is the same as the Golf in Australia. It is black, with a sunroof, heated seats (comes in handy at the moment), power everything and once the adaptor comes in, an Ipod adaptor in the glove box. It has been interesting driving on the other side of the road but I am used to it now and don’t have any problems. The only time I need to think about what I am doing is when I reverse out from a car park and have to calculate which way to swing to be on the right side. But that being said, our GPS (satellite navigation unit) has been a life saver, we wouldn’t have been able to get around without it. It takes guess work out of having to work out where you are going, allowing you to focus on the driving which is great.

Major Differences So to some of the major differences I have noticed. Food!! They have no idea what cordial is, using an equivalent which are crystals but they are so sickly sweet that it’s awful. Obviously we cannot buy vegemite or tim tams but we are gradually getting used to the differences. They are fantastic at frozen meals though, which has been our life saviour during my illnesses. There is a fantastic home delivery service whereby you can order online from a selection of restaurants and the one company delivers it to you. Their only problem is serving sizes, they are way too big! Moderation is certainly the key.

So that is my life so far here in the USA. I am certainly suffering a bout of home sickness right now as it will take time to meet people and get really used to the place but I am sure in time things will settle into a routine for us and we will forget the first few months and their trials and tribulations. I look forward to any comments you want to leave and please email me and keep me updated with what’s happening in your life.

4 comments January 31st, 2007