I suppose that packing three suitcases worth of clothes, home goods and assorted collection of cables (that is a topic that deserves a complete 300 words at least) is enough to qualify my undertaking in less than two weeks as moving… but as i’m schedule to be back before spring is out and then out again and then back again and then out again and then back again.. maybe what I’m doing is a combination of commuting and working from home. No matter what its called, the time grows short, the pressure grows exponentially and new challenges surface daily that promise to make the next 12 days a fun filled, hair pulling, bang-head-against wall experience.
so what do you take when you move to a foreign country for a semi-short period of time that will continue for a longer period?
I’ve always been jealous of those who are able to just get up and go, seem to pack nothing and yet are prepared when the the tide changes. Over 13 years of travels throughout the US, i did not check bags. did not believe in it — all my travels were executed smoothly no time wasted at the airport before the flight, arrive just in time, get on the plane, snuggle in for the ride in my window seat, get off the plane get on the car, taxi or train and get to work. return was the same way, but with a time allowance to partake of a few frosty or clinky beverages at the airport bar. so with this in mind, what do i take with me?
Its not Europe, heck its not china and definitely not the US. It is a hot, strange land. Where English is not primarily language, but it will get you what you need…yet i know enough, and i’m such that must have as close to everything as possible complete when i hit the ground. Never mind i don’t have my housing situation finalized yet, but i don’t want to spend more time than necessary hunting for lodging when i could be working or exploring the beaches south of Dar.
Researching the topic does not provide a clear cut answer. Few similar situations, far too many from folks in different enough parts of the world so as to make the advise nearly useless.
So, besides the much needed suit case (yeah, i know, you get what you pay for, but prior to embarking in my last major career move in 98, i bought a set of four bags from Costco -say about $150… 13 years later, and they are in serviceable order, past of the zipper of the carry on is gone, and a two inch gash had to be repaired, but other than that… great deal)… so a suit case, and a walking pharmacy.. you never know how much you depend on 24-hour-anything here in the US, until you get someplace and realize that your options past 9p are pretty much non-existent…
Maybe it will be just two suitcases. No matter. Less than two weeks. Then the real fun starts.
a little cross-promotional break here — an old colleague, whom i was not able, when we had a team, to get him to lend his awesome swing to our coed softball team.. has chosen to display yet another of his hidden talents.. check out Jerry’s blog here — Wandering Wonderings — and let him know what you think. Simple, engaging, beautiful prose.
My 40th and beyond 