on finding, settling, sorting, and being happy

i have been in northern ireland for exactly one month, so i figure it's about time for a progress report from me... i will frame it with four questions that have been echoing in my ears these past four weeks.

(*pronunciation guide: how = a mix between who/hue/hie; to = tie/toy; you = yu/yi)

"how are you findin' things?"

As Mike likes to quip, "we just look, and there they are." (however, it's difficult to find tofu, molasses, caraway, or cornmeal...)

It's a good way to avoid answering the question when you have a less than glowing review, and I think both he and I found things a little less...favourable than we anticipated. That is to say, when the reality of what our lives and work would be like here sunk in, it was rather disenchanting - which simply means, not as enchanting as the description looks in print or in the expectations you've build up in your head. It's just, well, kind of normal...a very small, somewhat disorganized, financially strained non-profit organization in a period of transition, with all the blessings and curses that that brings...

To give an example: I wasn't aware until I arrived that the whole accommodation block - which is where we host groups for residential reconciliation programs - was out of commission, having been flooded due to burst pipes in December - and will be until late April, which means no residential groups until then.

"how are you settlin'?"

you don't settle in here, you just settle. It's a slow process. Especially when Mike and I are pretty much left completely to our own devices as far as figuring out how to work and live together and be a community (or not) is concerned. and that's made even more challenging by the fact that we both have very similar quiet, introverted personalities. but after four weeks, we're beginning to settle into the schedule, the expectations, our roles, our surroundings. i've been enjoying exploring the local vicinity from Castlerock to Coleraine to Portstewart, getting a feel for my geographic place on this planet and a bit of a taste for the local culture.
Northern Ireland being a "first-world" English-speaking country, I haven't experienced too much in the way of culture shock, so the adjustment has been much faster and easier than, say, if I'd gone to...well, almost anywhere else that doesn't speak English. Of course, it also makes me very aware of the few things that are quite different, because they stand out more (like the vocabulary or the almost tabloidesque newspapers, or the funny-looking street signs, or the lack of a farmer's/local food market...).

"we'll need to get yous guys sorted"

and you don't get sorted out, just sorted. Sorted for food money, background checks, and trainings (and laundry, banking, health care, driving lessons and a car, tv antenna, keys...none of which are sorted yet). The washing machine is broken, the tv guy hasn't shown up yet, the car has been fixed but can't be picked up for inspection yet because the repair shop wants to get paid first and Kilcranny doesn't have the money to pay for it until a few more checks come through...

we've gone through a child protection training course, a 1st aid course, and a food safety & hygiene course, so we're all sorted for those, although they're not very useful yet, since we don't really have groups coming in...

"are you happy enough with that?"

(this was the question continually posed to us by our 1st aid trainer and our food safety instructor. you just showed me a picture of a laceration and i'm supposed to be happy? now i'm responsible for making sure myself and others follow a bunch of procedures that i think are ridiculous or unnecessary, and you're asking if i'm happy?)

i am. i am happy enough. i am happy enough for now.

it's a matter of finding a way to take things as they come, let them be what they are, and figure out how to create happiness within that framework, rather than dwelling on how things are not and wishing the circumstances were different. and so i will make do with what i've been given, take what life has presented me with, and make the most of it. be independent, make my own decisions, make friends, ask questions, do my best, give thanks for the blessings, pray, and laugh as much as possible.