Tuesday, 9:30 pm

This is pretty intimidating and overwhelming.

Well, first lunch. Went to dim sum with the Office Manager. She ordered, everything was wonderful, and we had a fantastic conversation with her. A very thoughtful, interesting woman.

Then we took the afternoon to checkout grocery stores and the neighborhood we had become most interested in. That's where things became overwhelming. There were limited organic fruits and vegetables available, and organic baby food was not much higher a price than is available in the states. But bread and dairy products are much harder, and much pricier.

And we must have picked the wrong walking tour, because our walk from the hotel to the office, and the office into Happy Valley was anything but beautiful. The buildings were old and nothing looked like a desirable home. The windows would be dark and look into one another. They'd have water stains down the walls and less-than-square windows. It just got worse as we went futher into the community. There was no green space to be found. Where would a little girl run around and play? For that matter, where would her feet even touch the ground?

As I started to fall apart, we reached a park. It had green space over terraces. There was a nice playground, and there were people playing with their dogs. We sat on benches and watched as the sky began to darken. As lights went on, the city became more interesting. And as the night set in, the city began to come alive. This was comforting. Even more comforting was the grocery store we found in the neighborhood, chock full of organic produce and whole grain bread flour. Their magazine even had Everyday with Rachel Ray - my current favorite! Another comfort.

But then we got lost on the way home, and couldn't find anything to eat that hit our wants. We ended up with pastries - we would not have guessed that sweet bbq chicken would taste good inside a donut, but it does! And the people who grew into throngs became much more intimidating as we became more lost. As did the language barrier. As did my total want for recognizable food.

We ate our dinner on the couch in our lovely hotel room. And I've been swinging wildly between interested and intimidated. Hopefully some sleep will help. But I'm not sure that's the problem.