Today is the first day that I'm really not sure what I want to blog about, so I'm just going to go with the most recent happenings. We've had a bit of a frustrating start to our trip to Amsterdam. It took me much longer to take the dogs to the kennel than anticipated (thanks to traffic on the bus, not to me being late), I needed to stop and get Euros, we needed o finish packing and I was met at home by a frantic BK who was certain we were going to miss our flight. Not how I like to start any trip.
BK was funny because he wanted instruction on what to do with all of the items to be packed that I had laid out on the bed. From the tram (almost home), I told him the one thing to do was to put the shoes on the bottom so that our suitcase didn't fall over every time we stepped away from it. When I arrived back at the apartment he had put his shoes at the bottom of the suitcase...AND THAT'S IT. Having already organized everything, I packed the suitcase, got an additional bag we needed and we were on our way. On that note, let me just say that it irritates me when I can't fit all of our stuff for a long weekend trip into ONE carryon. I'm not sure why, but it just does. I blame the tennis shoes needed for our bike tour tomorrow.
Of course, all turned out fine, and we made the flight, but not without a couple of additional frustrations on the way. Airport security gets me every time. Even if you are not a frequent flier, surely you watch the news and know that your computer has to come out of your bag, your shoes have to come off and your liquids need to come out of your bag. It gets me when I'm stuck behind someone whose bag is about to go into the x-ray machine and they haven't taken their liquids out. At the time I'm thinking "you can't be serious with this!!" I just don't understand. Those rules are for everyone- even you, the clueless one.
Then I made the mistake of forgetting about the fact that BK would be bringing his work backpack along with us. We're flying EasyJet. They're cheap because they get you with the little fees. So upon boarding our flight, we were informed that BK would either need to fit his backpack into our carryon suitcase or pay 50 Euros to check. No fitting the backpack, so we had to pay the 50 Euros. My bad on that one. I've now been informed that I should pay more for an airline with better service. Lesson learned for this budding travel agent.
So that brings us to now- in the air on the way to Amsterdam. We arrive a little before 9pm and are then heading straight to a tour of the Red Light District that starts at 10. Hopefully the rest of this trip goes a little smoother...scratch that- BK's Pepsi just overflowed on his tray. Maybe we'll start looking up when we land. Just heard that we'll have an early arrival. One step forward.
Two Horned Forgs Abroad: Love. Life. Travel.
Showing posts with label packing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label packing. Show all posts
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
A Few Quick Questions...
When people find out that BK and I are moving abroad lots of questions usually follow. Here are some of the most common, in case they've crossed your mind too.
Q: What are you moving for?
A: BK's job.
Q: When are you leaving?
A: Sometime this Spring, depending on when our visas are approved. A bit about the visa process: we sent copies of all of our legal documents (passports, marriage certificate, employment contract, BK's diplomas, and a couple of other things) to the company legal department; the docs then make their way to the Canton where we'll live in Switzerland, and from there they go to the Swiss federal level for approval; after that they return to the US in Atlanta so that our entry visas can be granted by the Swiss Consulate, then sent back to us and we can go. It's about a six-ish week process.
Q: What am I going to do while we are in Switzerland?
A: First priority: learn German. Yes, lots of people speak English, but to really integrate into society, I need to learn German. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone outside of the US speaks English. Second: become familiar with daily living and how to manage life in Switzerland and in the US. Third: get involved with the profession of social work through volunteering, learning about social welfare system and figuring out how to get my PhD while abroad. That's a start, and should keep me busy for a while.
Q: What are you doing with your house?
A: Renting it so that we're not out of the US real estate market while we're gone.
Q: Are the dogs going?
A: Yes, at this point, they're pretty much the only ones who are ready to go. They get transported by a pet courier company. No, they don't go on the same plane that we do, and no, we don't have to mess with them in the airport. They will most likely go on United (A very pet-friendly airline, or most economical, I guess) through Chicago, then to Switzerland. They don't get to ride above in the cabin, but will be in a pressurized/climate controlled part of the cargo hold. There is no quarantine period, and they will be dropped off at our apartment the same day we arrive.
Q: Where will you live there?
A: We will live in corporate housing first, then during that time find an apartment. We have ideas about what part of the city we want to live in, but yes, it will most likely be an apartment. And yes, we will downsize.
Q: Will your place be furnished?
A: No, we're taking a couple of rooms of furniture, bedding, dishes, art and other pictures. Yes, we will have to buy some stuff over there to finish furnishing the Swiss apartment. The things we want to take are shipped, either by air or by sea. The air shipment is for "immediate" items that are needed and the sea shipment is for everything else. The air shipment takes around three weeks and the sea shipment takes five to eight weeks. The shipment company will come to our house and pack everything for us prior to leaving (for liability reasons). And yes, I think that is kind of awesome.
Q: What language do they speak in Switzerland?
A: They actually speak four languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. We'll be in the northern part of the country where they speak German. Note: English is not on this list.
Q: What are you all most excited about?
A: Outside of the obvious answer of being able to easily travel around Europe, we're most excited about a completely different lifestyle. Specifically, I'm excited about living a lifestyle that less wasteful and more intentional. No driving every day, more thought about how time is spent and what needs to be accomplished, eating food in season, doing lots of outdoor activity, and lots of other things!
Q: What are you moving for?
A: BK's job.
Q: When are you leaving?
A: Sometime this Spring, depending on when our visas are approved. A bit about the visa process: we sent copies of all of our legal documents (passports, marriage certificate, employment contract, BK's diplomas, and a couple of other things) to the company legal department; the docs then make their way to the Canton where we'll live in Switzerland, and from there they go to the Swiss federal level for approval; after that they return to the US in Atlanta so that our entry visas can be granted by the Swiss Consulate, then sent back to us and we can go. It's about a six-ish week process.
Q: What am I going to do while we are in Switzerland?
A: First priority: learn German. Yes, lots of people speak English, but to really integrate into society, I need to learn German. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone outside of the US speaks English. Second: become familiar with daily living and how to manage life in Switzerland and in the US. Third: get involved with the profession of social work through volunteering, learning about social welfare system and figuring out how to get my PhD while abroad. That's a start, and should keep me busy for a while.
Q: What are you doing with your house?
A: Renting it so that we're not out of the US real estate market while we're gone.
Q: Are the dogs going?
A: Yes, at this point, they're pretty much the only ones who are ready to go. They get transported by a pet courier company. No, they don't go on the same plane that we do, and no, we don't have to mess with them in the airport. They will most likely go on United (A very pet-friendly airline, or most economical, I guess) through Chicago, then to Switzerland. They don't get to ride above in the cabin, but will be in a pressurized/climate controlled part of the cargo hold. There is no quarantine period, and they will be dropped off at our apartment the same day we arrive.
Q: Where will you live there?
A: We will live in corporate housing first, then during that time find an apartment. We have ideas about what part of the city we want to live in, but yes, it will most likely be an apartment. And yes, we will downsize.
Q: Will your place be furnished?
A: No, we're taking a couple of rooms of furniture, bedding, dishes, art and other pictures. Yes, we will have to buy some stuff over there to finish furnishing the Swiss apartment. The things we want to take are shipped, either by air or by sea. The air shipment is for "immediate" items that are needed and the sea shipment is for everything else. The air shipment takes around three weeks and the sea shipment takes five to eight weeks. The shipment company will come to our house and pack everything for us prior to leaving (for liability reasons). And yes, I think that is kind of awesome.
Q: What language do they speak in Switzerland?
A: They actually speak four languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. We'll be in the northern part of the country where they speak German. Note: English is not on this list.
Q: What are you all most excited about?
A: Outside of the obvious answer of being able to easily travel around Europe, we're most excited about a completely different lifestyle. Specifically, I'm excited about living a lifestyle that less wasteful and more intentional. No driving every day, more thought about how time is spent and what needs to be accomplished, eating food in season, doing lots of outdoor activity, and lots of other things!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Packing and Purging...Let the Fun Begin!
So now we're officially on the journey to go abroad in a couple of months. Even though I feel like April is a long time away, I feel certain it will be here in no time. Not to mention that BK's travel schedule is CRAZY- Switzerland (of course) Bangkok, Miami, a couple of leadership conferences- all before the middle of March. I like to give him a hard time about how I'm pretty much going to get us ready for this move by myself while he's globe trotting around the world.
Even though it seems really early, packing and purging has begun in our house. Right now I'm more in about getting rid of excess things that we have and won't need overseas. Some things are staying with our house since our good friend KR will be living here while we're gone and has agreed that things like my china, our bedroom furniture and BK's wine fridge can stay with her.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that I "pride" myself on not keeping a lot of random stuff, but it's pretty close. My theory is typically that if I'm going to throw it away in five years, I might as well throw it away now. I don't need a lot of stuff cluttering up my life. I deal well with chaos in life much better if my house and life are in order. Hence, no clutter.
As I say all of this, for two people who don't keep a lot of stuff, there is a lot of stuff to get rid of! It started with the coat closet. BK and I bought new ski clothes this weekend and before I stuffed them in the closet with the other coats I decided I had to see what else was in there. I would say we got rid of about 10 coats and jackets- just ones that we never wear and don't want to take. I also found that if it is stored in another room (outside of seasonal clothing being rotated out) we don't need it and never, ever wear it.
I've discovered my next quandary is what to do with the various piles of clothing and items that are now in my life. There is the donate pile, which will obviously go away, but will have to be done through numerous trips, as I can't deal with piles around the house. The one that tripped me up is that the clothing we want to keep- some of it will be shipped to Switzerland, but the other stuff we will need to pack and take with us on the airplane. I really don't want to put it back in the closets or furniture that I just cleaned out, but I also can't deal with the mess. If you visit us over the next couple of months, don't judge- it's only because we're in a transition period!
To all you pack rats out there- I sincerely hope you never have to move. If you do plan on moving, I would give yourself at least six months to go through all that stuff!
Normally I post at least one picture with each blog, but as I don't like when our house is a mess, no picture on this one.
Even though it seems really early, packing and purging has begun in our house. Right now I'm more in about getting rid of excess things that we have and won't need overseas. Some things are staying with our house since our good friend KR will be living here while we're gone and has agreed that things like my china, our bedroom furniture and BK's wine fridge can stay with her.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that I "pride" myself on not keeping a lot of random stuff, but it's pretty close. My theory is typically that if I'm going to throw it away in five years, I might as well throw it away now. I don't need a lot of stuff cluttering up my life. I deal well with chaos in life much better if my house and life are in order. Hence, no clutter.
As I say all of this, for two people who don't keep a lot of stuff, there is a lot of stuff to get rid of! It started with the coat closet. BK and I bought new ski clothes this weekend and before I stuffed them in the closet with the other coats I decided I had to see what else was in there. I would say we got rid of about 10 coats and jackets- just ones that we never wear and don't want to take. I also found that if it is stored in another room (outside of seasonal clothing being rotated out) we don't need it and never, ever wear it.
I've discovered my next quandary is what to do with the various piles of clothing and items that are now in my life. There is the donate pile, which will obviously go away, but will have to be done through numerous trips, as I can't deal with piles around the house. The one that tripped me up is that the clothing we want to keep- some of it will be shipped to Switzerland, but the other stuff we will need to pack and take with us on the airplane. I really don't want to put it back in the closets or furniture that I just cleaned out, but I also can't deal with the mess. If you visit us over the next couple of months, don't judge- it's only because we're in a transition period!
To all you pack rats out there- I sincerely hope you never have to move. If you do plan on moving, I would give yourself at least six months to go through all that stuff!
Normally I post at least one picture with each blog, but as I don't like when our house is a mess, no picture on this one.
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