There's no place like home

 Week 3

Right on schedule hubby is starting to miss home and all things familiar to him. Although I understand and try not to take it personally sometimes it's hard. Especially when I think about all we went through to get him here. I've lived in both places and there are things I like about both places but this is my home. So I get it. There are plenty of things he likes about being here but at the end of the day there's no place like home. Here's a collage of pictures of both houses.  The top two are the house in the Dominican Republic and the bottom one is the house here in PA. 

Since I lived there with him for a period of time I knew ahead of time some of the things that would be different and more difficult for him to adjust to.  For example my neighborhood is very quiet. There is absolutely nothing quiet about the neighborhood there. The houses are very close together and everyone yells across the street to each other day and night. I can go weeks without seeing my neighbors close enough to speak to them.

My husband knows basically everyone in Puerto Plata. As he sat outside on our porch there was a constant stream of Dominican greetings. When I see my neighbor I honk my car horn and or wave. Occasionally we might ask how are you doing? Everyone stays in their houses or yards here.  He's always asking me where are the people when we drive down the streets here.  He's accustomed to more people being on the streets, literally walking along the roads etc. 

So week three was a difficult week for us both. As he's been getting more comfortable in the house my comfort zones have been challenged. I'm a bit anal or obsessive compulsive about how things should be so I've had to work through some things.  I've given up on my living room not being lived in as it seems to be his favorite place to hang out.  Thank goodness we learned how to communicate during the pandemic because we are both works in progress as I like to say.  Although at times we face challenges or have differences of opinions we still find a way to talk through things eventually to resolution. 

This past weekend we went on another road trip.   We went to visit my family in Maryland and we also did a mini tour of Washington, DC with a brief visit to Virginia due to a wrong turn LOL. We visited Black Lives Matter Blvd and got as close to the White House as they allow right now.  Here's a picture of us by the White House. 

He also got a chance to visit with a friend of his from his hometown who now lives in Maryland very close to my family.  Our road trip was a success and I love how happy is always is to return home.

Let's see what week #4 will bring. Stay tuned friends for more from team Martinez.