The other day, Jon and I realized that we were about halfway through our first home exchange; sadly we only have 6 more weeks here in Ålesund. We are totally comfortable here in our new "home" and have gotten really accustomed to the Norwegian lifestyle. I was expecting to feel awkward in our exchange house, but after figuring out where everything is and how to work the light switches (no small task), we settled in and started adapting to the new surroudings. We know where to pick up oversized mail, how to navigate the ferry system with its Norwegian schedule, and we've even all learned some basic conversational skills. I am no longer intimidated by reading package contents at the supermarket, and yesterday I understood a bunch of recipes in a holiday cookbook that we found in the house. Wow. It almost seems as if we've moved here for good, except for the photos of a completely different family on the walls! Luckily, we found a great family to be exchanging with, and Jon and the husband chat online regularly to compare notes. We're always really curious about them and what they think of our area and our American lifestyle, until the other day when the conversation turned to that very subject. Husband said to Jon that they were just so happy, they love our home and the warm weather, and that they're having a wonderful time. They learned that they can be happy anywhere, he told Jon. That's it! That was exactly what I was feeling, I just hadn't worked it through yet. We can be happy anywhere.
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