Taking Stock: Vietnam, Month 1

I found this lovely little linkup over at Denyse Whelan's blog: here. (I slightly modified some of the prompts to suit me.) Since we moved from Beijing, China to Da Nang, Vietnam just over a month ago, I think this might be a good way to measure our acclimation/settling in status if I do this regularly.  We shall see. 
Thanks, Denyse! 

Cooking : Nothing. We have little room to cook anything real, so we keep snack foods, drinks, eggs, fruit in the house, but typically eat out very cheaply near home.

Drinking : Water. Lots and lots of water! We finally tried the local treat: sugar cane juice. I'm not a big fan. It tastes kind of like bamboo smells. Woody.

Reading: Slowly moving forward in Atlas Shrugged, and just started a re-read of The Tempest.

Wanting: To start looking for our "permanent" Da Nang home. We took a tiny apartment on a short-term lease until we figure out our income, and in what part of the city we prefer to live. We'll move again in August.

Looking: NOT looking yet for the new apartment, but that needs to start soon.

Playing: Have you found Wordscapes yet? I'm addicted. There are no "lives" to run out, so you can play as long as you want. I'm on level 1782. Since downloading it in February.

Enjoying: Walks on the beach most mornings.

Waiting: to buy housewares. We brought a few items - very few, but I'd like to have my own kitchen supplies. No point though until I have a kitchen to use them in.

Liking: The climate here more than I expected!

Wondering: What God has planned for me here.

Loving: The friendliness of everyone I see here.

Considering: Every careful step of starting a new business in a new country.

Buying: Very little. Pinching pennies until after we find our long-term place.
 
Watching: Very little. I was pretty hooked on binge-watching Cougar Town before the move, but now Brett teaches in the evening when I would ordinarily watch TV.

Hoping: That we'll be happy here for several years.

Smelling: I love the smell of Asia: incense and exhaust, sweat and the sea. It's not for everyone, but I'm at home.

Wearing: Shorts and skirts. More skirts than ever before in my life - they are best in this climate.

Following: More and more blogs all the time, ever since the AtoZ Challenge. Love you guys!

Noticing: The colors in Da Nang are so vibrant. The buildings, the ocean, the trees. It's like living in HD.

No filter.

Knowing: I'm in the honeymoon period after a big positive change.

Thinking: about studying my Mandarin. I'm still taking classes even though we moved.

Sorting: My pictures. I wish. They upload to the cloud automatically, and I really need to take time to sort them!

Getting: used to not working. I still have goals, and I don't like not bringing in any income, but it sure is easy!

Disliking: Social media trolls. Don't they have anything better to do?

Opening: Just the other day the suitcases we shipped from Beijing arrived. When we opened them, there was broken glass from a picture frame all over the inside of one suitcase. OOPS!

Giggling: At most things Brett puts on his social media. As usual.


Snacking: Potato chips, so help me. In Beijing, I got in the habit of eating nuts for a snack, but there were dedicated nut and seed shops all over the place. I was never a huge potato chip person, but have you tried these? (so many good flavors)

Hearing: Some movie from the other room, very light traffic outside (it's midday nap-time), and Melanie Martinez on iHeart radio.