New Arrivals

When moving to a new place, we can shed our uncomfortable stranger's coat more quickly with the help of a few new friends.  In fact, finding friends is maybe the most important thing when moving. Much more difficult than finding my way to the supermarket.  I have the impression I already mentioned this before (here here and there).
In any cases, there is this family that has been preparing his relocation for a few months, making a pre-assignement trip with his wife in november, dropping suitcases along the way, finding a house, choosing a school, getting a visual on what it is to live here. In other words, this family is arriving here much more prepared than us - not only mentally, but logistically and linguistically. I am envious. Furthermore, a couple weeks ago, on their first week, a greeting crew" was generously organized by a colleague's spouse, emailing a bunch of us to meet the newcomer.  How wonderful. It touched me again, thinking how much such small gathering can make a immense difference in the adjustment process.
So in the matter of one morning, this lovely new lady got to meet a bunch of other lovely ladies, and get a full briefing on the situation here. All this while our kids met each other and screamed their head off played. And this while we binged on coffee and cakes.
Our conversations quickly geared from light to introspective, from serious to desperate: "what do you do? what kind of work can be found here? what kind of work permit can we get?" Answers are candid, desperate or frustrated. But one of us summed it all: either make a baby, work from home or go golfing/horse ridding/kyte surfing.
A few weeks later, it is all business as usual, with the integration process running its course: the newcomer  invites us all to celebrate her son's birthday. Cake, pool, furniture breaking, kids screaming wildly. All back to normal, no need anymore to talk about what we expat wives cannot do here.
Have a bit more cake, dear.