Familiarity.

Today marks my third week in Aveiro and time is starting to move more and more quickly. As I've mentioned to a few friends, things are just beginning to feel like life here, so it's hard to muster up anything interesting enough to blog about. In the same breath I must underscore that I am not at all forgetting to soak in the experience as the days add up. It's nice, though, to start to feel like it's just business as usual.

The intimidation of the seemingly endless foreign pieces of my environment has waned and made room for more excitement and genuine curiosity for what surrounds me. I spent a day this week feeling really at home. And although it might seem trivial (especially when the notion of home for so many of us has long since been familiar) it was a small Ah-ha. More like an Aaaaah-ha. More of that butt scooching, I guess. The very next day I received three boxes from home (thank you, Chris) full of little pieces of art, books and trinkets that remind me of good friends and family. Just more evidence of my resilient network of people; I am grateful for this every day.

My apartment is beginning to take shape and look like me . And although what I have here that is previously familiar is limited, it's quite a treat to introduce those things into my new home. I think I'll start a collection of well-crafted, local porcelain while I'm here and otherwise will be on the lookout (with a discriminating eye) for art in varying forms. Documentation of fun finds to come.

This week I also made progress on getting some clarity on my PhD work. I now have deadlines ahead and objectives to achieve, it feels good to know where I'm going (well, at least partially). I registered for the Creative Problem Solving Institute conference in Boston in late June, and I cannot wait for that experience. It will be nice to see familiar faces, meet new people and dive into that community again. Just 6 weeks away. And I'll do a little east coast exploration on the tail end of that trip. Up the coast, I think. Any must-see suggestions in the Boston neighborhood (or further up) are welcome.

Aveiro is celebrating its 250th birthday this year and outdoor festivals, markets and performances are in store for the rest of the month.