Now we are Pouemboutians - our first month.

Exactly one month ago, packed to the hilt in our rental car, we pulled into the driveway of our new home just outside Pouembout, New Caledonia.

I had spent the drive telling myself that this was the beginning of a fabulous new chapter in our lives.

"We have to be positive everyday," I told my husband in the car. "Nobody is making us do this: it's our choice. It's up to us to make it great."

Jack was desperate to go to the beach in our first few days.

Getting potty.

It's been nearly three weeks and we've decided it's time to get our green on. Which is to say, time to get moving on establishing some sort of vegetable production and get some color into our barren garden.

Bienvenue à Pouembout!

I wrote this post yesterday but was unable to put it up on the blog. Here it is now:

We are here. In New Caledonia. About 3km out of the little town of Pouembout, near Koné, in the Northern Province. Our new home for the new few years, if all goes according to plan!

Five things I'm packing.

The days are flying by. So much to organise - renting the house, Jack's equipment, cleaning the cupboards of outgrown clothes and outloved books in preparation for packing the material contents of our lives.

I don't feel like we're in the homestraight yet, but we're definitely rounding the last bend. My next task is to venture into the roof and haul out the suitcases, decide which to use, and then start the vexed and tedious job of selecting the most important things to pack.

Update: delays and puppy problems.

Gus - comtemplating....well, nothing, really.

The past few months have been very busy. Since we found out that our relocation would be delayed a few months, I decided to take the month of February off from learning French to concentrate on Nellie's first birthday party and cleaning through the garage and cupboards for a stall at Camberwell Market.

What should we expect? The Expatriate Cycle.

When Rob and I visited NC late last year for our 'decision visit' we were warned by experienced expats about the prospect of going through the Expatriate Cycle.

The Expatriate Cycle is a cultural adjustment cycle with several distinct phases. There are many studies to be found on the internet which look at the patterns within the cycle, and the average duration of each of the peaks and troughs of the phases. Depending on which study or expat blog you read, there appear to be on average about 5 phases of adjustment, each with common and distinct emotional 'symptoms' or indicators.

Visas, vocabulary and vexations.

Rob checks out Voh beach on our initial visit - should we live here?


My first post about our impending move to New Caledonia was actually over here, at Miss Floss. So really, my first post is actually my second, but let's not worry about that right now! I have to bring you up to speed about our progress in getting ourselves halfway across the Pacific Ocean before sleep overcomes me.