We went to a special meeting of our church this weekend. Every time we go to one of those we realize how many people are out there that we would like to get to know better. The Triangle here in North Carolina is an amazing cultural melting pot. We saw at least seven or eight couples and families that we feel like we need to invite over for dinner. We are still very new here. I have been here for eleven months while Lorena and the kids have been here just ten. The people are nice. We love our new house. We are very happy to be here. Still, it takes time to get an understanding of the culture of a place. It takes years to build relationships. People have a history with each other, some good and some bad. I think it is important for us, having newly arrived, to try to understand and fit into the culture as best as possible. It is great to have the opportunity to make new friends and learn all kinds of new ways of living and thinking. It is also easy to say the wrong thing and hurt peoples feelings either through pride or ignorance. Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we get it wrong, but we keep trying. That is all we can do. It is a good thing people around here are gracious.
Special note: Marilyn asked me about a link to the air car we discussed earlier in our blog. Here is the Popular Mechanics article on the car. I think most have already seen this, but it is the latest I have. I hope they pass the information back this way if they find anything new!