We've been in our new city just over a month now and I've been reminded over and over how much there is to learn and figure out when you are new some where. There is such a process of reorientation: finding the closest grocery shop, post office, playgrounds, park.
Becoming a member of the local library is one of the first things I do when I move somewhere new. It is always a bit of a waiting game at first - waiting for those first pieces of mail to arrive so that you have proof that you are a local resident. This time I almost resorted to mailing myself a letter and then hooray, a piece of post arrived with my name on it. For me, joining the library feels like the best place to start participating in the local community. Libraries are often the hub for community activities with posters advertising all sorts of community events and talks.
Thankfully one of the perks to living downtown in our new city is the fantastic central library (finding a good grocery store is a bit trickier but that is a topic for a different day!). We have been going to the library about once a week already and I can only imagine that once the chilly winter months arrive we will be there much more often. Thankfully this library is very child friendly with an excellent children's section with interactive toys, computers, and even a green screen for kids to dance in front of! I have loved finding books from my childhood to share with Sammy (I'll plan to share some favorites on the blog, too). I love that you can walk in there and with the swipe of a card you can walk out with novels, cookbooks, children's books and anything else that takes your fancy. Amazingly you can check out up to 50 books at a time at this library and we are taking full advantage of that with 31 books out at the moment! It's a small step in getting to know our new city, but at least on a small plastic card it says we are members here.
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