Eager to explore the new place we woke up at 5 am not sure if it was do to a Rooster's calling, chirping birds or time change but we were up and ready to explore our new neighborhood. We live in El Cajon high up in the mountains of Central Valley. I am happy to say that the cold mountain air makes for no bugs and mosquitos which we were worried about. 

We begun our day with a short walk in the neighborhood. The fresh mountain air made it difficult to walk for a long time, we might need few days to adjust. The air smelled of lemons, the noise of the birds domestic and wild was so different from home. The majestic views of Central Valley against the cloudy skies can take your breath away. The diversity of vegetation is unreal. 

After small breakfast at home our Polish landlord gave us a ride to Grecia to do some grocery shopping and purchase a phone. After quick town exploring we went to small restaurant for our first local lunch. Matt ordered rice con pollo and it was so delicious, I ordered black bean soup and it was a little weird but good, kids tried quesadilla but it was too greasy for them so I ordered some plain rice as well. We quickly realized that very few people speak English around here. Every time Matt tried to communicate people would look at me for help but I don't speak it either. 

We did small grocery shopping and decided to be adventurous and take a bus home around 4 pm in the afternoon just before the rain. After 45 minutes wait the bus finally came. Since its our first full day here we weren't sure where to get off. Bus stop is a painted yellow strip on the side of the road. Girl next to me translated on her phone that "I have to get of my drawer by church" whatever the hell that meant. There is Google translate for you and because of her ( still my fault) we got off 2 miles too early and had to walk up the mountain in the rain. When we saw two old guys sitting on the porch we asked for shelter from rain where we could make a phone call to our landlord to pick us up. These too guys spoke no English and we speak no Spanish so the conversation was quite funny. When the landlord didn't pick up the phone, the old guy offered us a ride home in his vintage Suzuki Samurai. We were driving in the clouds, barely seeing the road. So scary, I don't think we will be driving here anytime soon.  

Kids ended their day playing in the monsoon rain. 

Very long first day. So far Grecia has been fun and the people here are super nice and helpful.

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