Wasn't there something else to talk about in the hectic first few months in your new host country?
Oh, the material possessions that define a household, right. The last time we saw those was almost five months ago on board of a truck that we had just jump started because its battery had gone dead.
The smiles of the loading crew, their gratitude for the jump start, it seemed like just yesterday.
We are camping in. The daily routines feel like camping, but with a roof over your head.
Dishes and pots came from several sources, some we bought, some we found in the basement.
Two changes of clothes make it easy for the neighbors to recognize you, but you begin to feel as if some aspects of life have slowed down while others have sped up.
First, there is an email. Your household goods have arrived in Europe, Thamesport. A short week later, the moving company arrives. The guys are sleepy after eight hours on the road, but a coffee can fix that.
You get busy, they get busy. Not long afterwards, your stuff is piled up high in the living room.
Thank god for the extra high ceilings.
Virtually all cardboard boxes are now taped up with green tape proudly displaying the seal of Homeland Security.
You have no reason to be paranoid. Nothing you packed was illegal, and you declared the five bottles of de-alcoholized wine. You shrug off the parting gift of your government and the 300 dollars they charged you for rifling through your stuff.
Shipment number 2 arrives only four weeks later, and there has been very little damage. A dent or two in a pewter goblet, a plastic washing basket that can be repaired with the duct tape you also shipped.
As you unpack and get comfortable with your old stuff in the new surroundings, there will be some occasions on which you wonder why this or that item made it into the boxes but that other one stayed behind.
You learn about progress with modern electronics. Isn't it great that your computer does not care whether you hook it up to a 240V power supply instead of 110V?
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