Overall, we are doing well. The fears of the unknown have lessened. We have many positive experiences here of people being kind to us. My husband was feeling a bit homesick around Christmas. He was also quite ill and our apartment very cold, which tends to make things seem worse. For myself I haven’t felt much homesickness so far. I would say it has been harder to adjust to the cultural changes. My husband feels quite comfortable traveling around in the city and we take taxis for most of our transiting needs. However, I’m just not as free here as I was in Canada. Something I need to learn is how to interact with men who are strangers. What I’m observing from local women is that it is not normal to interact with men at all! One thing that has encouraged me is thinking about a pot on the potter’s wheel being stretched to its final shape. I often feel stretched, but I’m trying to remind myself that I will grow and that this stretching process will turn me into the vessel I am supposed to be.
from a worker in Central Asia