We made it!!

We're here!!  We arrived Thursday at noon.  You never know what you will see here.  I thought it was funny to see a BBQ restaurant.  But come to find out, this place is quite westernized.

Here is Lydia in an L.A. hotel, ready to go.  It has been hard to keep her out of our suitcases.

We have been house hunting since day one.  We have now seen nine apartments and are narrowing it down.  We hope to have a final decision made sometime next week.

Here is Lydia's plane seat.  Fun times! 

Our sweet friend, Emily, from the plane.  Lydia is two weeks older than Emily.  We had fun playing and eating and crying and running up and down isles...

Here is Lydia after 15 hours in airports and 5 hours in the air.  Now in L.A., not quite to our final destination, but we are glad to be in a real bed!  Her hair explains it all.

Sorry the pics our not chronological.  Uploading chose the order. 

 It is Sunday afternoon here.  We had a wonderful time of worship this morning at CDPC.  The pastor introduced us to the church.  We had a very warm welcome and an encouraging time of prayer.  I think we are adjusting well to the culture, climate, people, city life, food etc... I say I think because I can't help but think we are still in the honeymoon stage.  

I thought rice would be a given at every meal here, but noodles seem to be more prevalent so far.  I am much more of a rice person than noodle.  My hunt continues for good, spicy rice dishes.  Fresh fruit juice of all sorts is sold at most restaurants.  The drink menus are lengthy.  Chinese tea, Indian tea, coffees, juices, and things I have yet to discover.  Peanut butter is common!!  Lydia LOVES peanut butter.  We are happy to know Asians do too.  They have the coolest mini fruits.  Tiny oranges and mini bananas.  They are super sweet and so cute.  We accidentally bought white sweet potatoes.  They smelled like strong perfumed hand lotion.  But after cooked they were not so bad.   

We talked to our parents this morning via Skype.  It was WONDERFUL to see their faces and hear their voices.  We miss our sweet family!   

Today after lunch, Micah drove around town for the first time.  He did great!!  It is funny the habits we have, like reaching over left shoulder for seat belt.  Driving here seems crazy at first, but there really is much less tension.  Drivers are not angry and stressed.  It is nice.  Learning our way around will take some time.  Micah already has an idea of the outlay of the area.  Me, on the other hand, it will take a while for me to get my bearings.  

First things first.... my first purchase was a hair dryer.  That exposes my vain tendencies.  The test all electronics at the counter before you purchase.  The customer service here is superb!