Well, it's been quite a couple of weeks! My first 2 weeks in Texas have been something of an emotional rollercoaster, ranging from the excitement of new friends and the start of my dream job to the pain of missing old friends, family and especially my lovely fiance. Thankfully all the people I've met have been wonderful - Texas truly is the friendliest and most welcoming place I've ever been, and many of the people I've met have been through a very similar situation so I feel very supported by everyone here. Some lovely people at church have vowed to adopt me and turn me into an honourary Texan. Apparently I'll have an accent and be saying words like y'all before I know it!
All the warnings in the world couldn't have prepared me for the heat here, although all the rain in the first week has made me feel right at home :) However sad it was to get rid of all the furniture and things that I'd spent so many years building up, I've never been so thankful for a furnished flat. It was wonderful to have a sofa and a bed to collapse onto when we arrived, and it does make my life considerably easier in that I've managed to start work without worrying about anything like days lost wandering round ikea and wondering how I'm going to get everything delivered! The next couple of weekends will hopefully be spent looking for a car (although I've got my eye on a couple already!), as everything is spread out that it's going to be pretty essential for getting around. My realtor Becky thankfully did an even better job of finding me a place to live, as I'm only a 15 minute walk from work - quite a coincidence given that the center I now work for has around 10 million square feet of space around Houston! There have been so many things, important and trivial, that have made me feel that this is what was meant to happen that I can't help but think there was more to all this than coincidence. However hard it is to be apart from the people I know and love, I honestly feel that this is where I'm supposed to be.
Work is a little slow at the moment, as these things always are at the beginning, but hopefully things will really start getting going in the next few days. Then I'll really understand that having to look for a job for so long was absolutely worth it, as I'll be doing not only something I'm good at, but something I really love that will also (hopefully) benefit a lot of people. I can't think of anything more rewarding for me to be doing with my time right now, and so that in itself will make all the torment of the last couple of years worth the pain and the waiting.
I'll leave it there for now before I send you all completely insane with boredom!
Keep in touch y'all!
