signing the lease

i've definitely had the experience of reading over and signing legal documents. i suppose what kind of lawyer would i be if i hadn't? i've also definitely had the experience of explaining and asking a person to sign a legal document that is not written in the language s/he speaks or reads. as of tonight i've had the experience of being that person, who does not speak or read the language, but must sign my name to the document and sort of hope that i really am signing what i think i'm signing. some people warned us not to sign anything until we got there, but i feel pretty good about it (plus, the thought of living out of a hotel or hostel with two kids and all our luggage while we searched for a place to rent just didn't seem like it'd be the laid back house hunters international experience that i'd want it to be, so i'd rather just do the leg-work from here).

so why do i feel pretty good about signing it? because our soon-to-be landlord has been amazing so far-- like a host taking care to see that there's an extra blanket on the bed, she's searched out high chairs and bike trailers for us (after convincing us that we do not want a fancy christiania bike like all the parents ride in copenhagen), gathered a list of people to use as resources. she's also been sure to toss in useful bits of insider information-- like the bike shop next to the grocery store is sort of a rip off (as is the grocery store) but the employees will help you out, and the church down the road will not proselytize, so no need to be wary of its hospitality (should we seek it).

meanwhile, back on this continent, i feel a little bit like the kindly landlord as we work to help get a woman into our house who so wants to buy our place that we don't want to list it for anyone else.

this is going to sound very serendipity-ish, but, well, it's serendipitous that we've stumbled upon these two people who seem to be working to help us get to where we're going. makes me happy.