We’ve been extremely blessed in our three moves as expats in that we always knew someone in the city we were moving to. But that is all about to change.

The Los Angeles area overwhelms new arrivals with its 10 million people spread over an area bigger than some small countries. The emotional support provided by Aunt Ruth, Uncle Yale and Cousins Audrey and Rich was terrific. They introduced us to a whole bunch of things – to which they may or may not want to take credit – including the Trader Joe’s and the Whole Foods specialty grocery stores, the La Brea Tar Pits, Jewish delis in the Valley, the L.A. County Museum and, of course, Mrs. See’s candy.

When we settled in Guanajuato, Mexico almost two years after our initial visit, we had friends Kim, Turi, Vero and Rosy – who provided both the reason for our return and helped us to fit in. A really nice surprise turned out to be L.A. friend Enaid who had move there while we were on our ‘round the world trip. From the very start of our stay, we felt surrounded by good friends and a large enough number to hold a party to celebrate my birthday only a few months after arriving.

San Jose, Costa Rica was a little different as we had acquaintances – not friends – and didn’t know how important they would become to us. Jacob knew a few people at the school where he teaches English as a Foreign Language, but they returned to Peru just a few months after our arrival. One acquaintance and his family, however, have turned out to be good friends.

The Vargas Family: 1. Owns the house we are renting, 2. Has three family members living across the street from us, and 3. One is an employee of the school where Jacob teaches. We joke that we live in the Vargas compound – even though a major street divides us from our friends – as we live in Anita’s house, her brother Alfonso and family live across the street to the right, her mother directly across the street, and another brother and his family across the street to the left.

Thanks to Alfonso and his wife, Xiamara, we found out how and where to pay our utility bills, when and where to put out the trash, where the weekly farmers’ market is, how to deal with the many street vendors and homeless people, and many things about living the Tico life that would have taken a lot longer to figure out if it wasn’t for them. They will surely be missed when we move on to our next adventure.

We know no one in Wenzhou, China before we move there, but who knows? Anything can happen in the three months before we arrive.

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