Expat

The Complexities of a Foreign Service Move (*with flow chart*)

by Sarah Novak on May 10, 2011

I used to think of moving as a simple (but annoying) process where you threw everything you had into boxes, stuffed them into a Uhaul, drove across town and then unloaded those same boxes into your new place.  Oh how I LONG for a move like that…. alas, never again.  What I didn’t realize when we signed on for this Foreign Service Life was that we were agreeing to partake in the most complicated move process imaginable.  And seriously, I ENJOY planning and organizing things but THIS stretches my limits.

An Outline of the Challenges

1.  Our stuff is being sent to 4 different locations (MN, DC, Lima and MD) – and that’s not including any stuff we give away here.

2.  Our things travel by suitcase (hand carry), boat and air and must be separated accordingly. Warning: If you mess up and send something by boat that you needed in DC, you’ll be buying a new one in DC.  So go slowly…

3.  Anything we need to access in the next YEAR must fit within a 550 pound limit, which is made up of two 50-pound suitcases we hand-carry and 450 pounds that we get to ship by air to DC. To put it a different way, anything I send by boat I will not see until August of 2012 in Lima, but I must carefully pick and choose what we *need* for the next year since we are not allowed to go over the air freight weight restrictions (without a major fee).  Just for fun, try imagining that you were moving to furnished housing but that you could only take 550 pounds of your personal items with you.  What would you pick?

4.  Some other fun restrictions include:

  • No small electronics or jewelry or liquids in air freight.
  • There must be a minimum of 200 pounds of stuff to go into Permanent Storage in MD (and by permanent storage I mean we will not have access to these items for at least 3 years) if you want to use that option.  Note: We do want the option, since Nick’s sub-par box labeling from our first move meant that we ended up with some lovely, completely unnecessary things in Manila like momentos from my dead Grandma, my childhood artwork and our snow clothes!  :)  The current challenge is that these absurd things do not total 200 pounds, so unless we come up with some additional items, they’ll be going to Lima too!
  • No perishables/boxed food in any of the shipments (it attracts bugs) – Fun story: We found maggots all over an exploded 12 pack of Progresso Soup we had shipped to Manila from DC on our very first move.  It was not pretty.

To prevent my head from imploding over the next 2 weeks as we complete the packout, I created a handy-dandy little Flow Chart to ensure that everything ends up in the right place!  I’m pretty proud of it, so feel free to customize if for your FS move, if it would help!

So there you have it folks!  Try not to be jealous of the fun we have planned for the next two weeks…

Post Footer automatically generated by wp-posturl plugin for wordpress.

{ 29 comments }

Old Friends Down Under

by Sarah Novak on November 10, 2010

After our patience-trying flight experience, we needed things to take a turn for the better.  Thankfully, that’s exactly what we got.  We arrived in Sydney and took a cab to Darlington, a suburb of Sydney where my high school friend Ann lives with her husband Will and daughter Freya. 

She and her husbands have been long-time expats and the last time I saw her was in 2004 in London.  What I enjoy most about Ann is that we always seem to be able to reconnect, no matter how much time has passed.  And that’s exactly what we did!

We arrived mid-morning on Saturday and spent the morning getting caught-up on life. In the afternoon Nick and I decided to venture into Sydney before we rejoined them that evening.  It was not the best day to see Sydney, as it was drizzly and overcast, but we set out nonetheless.  The harbor is just as magnificent as everyone said, although no one had prepared me for the INSANE prices that accompanied that view.  I know Manila has made me cheap but seriously, $40 for 2 fish and chips baskets and cokes is nuts!

Our night together was really idyllic.  Will grilled up some fantastic Australian fish and savored it with sips of Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of Australia.  It was one of those fabulous nights when conversation flows and time just disappears. 

The next day we enjoyed a lazy morning sipping Will’s custom-made lattes (this man is serious about his lattes, going so far as to time the length that the milk is steamed and pre-heat the cup and stirring spoon).  He spent a half hour educating Nick and I on the methodology of creating the perfect latte and insisted that we never settle for a sub-par latte.  I already noticed myself frowning in disdain when my latte arrived on the cruise ship today and lacked the appropriate texture to the foam top.  Great, thanks to Will I’m now becoming a latte snob!

We ended our time with them by enjoying a drive around the city.  We saw the famous Bondi (Bond-eye) Beach before being dropped off at our cruise ship on the harbor.  A big thanks to Ann and Will for being such wonderful hosts.  This was the first time we’ve stayed with someone overseas and they really made us feel at home.

Nick has never been on a cruise ship before, so as part of this trip we decided to add in a short 3-day cruise to give it a test drive and see if he liked it.  We found one that went from Sydney to Melbourne with a stop in Tasmania.  It fit perfectly in our schedule and also had the advantage of moving us from point A to B.

Nick has been preparing for this trip for close to 8 months and has literally read EVERY message forum out there that’s related to Australia and New Zealand.  Usually I roll my eyes at his excessive researching, but once in a blue moon it really pays off.  This happened to be one of those times.  He had heard about a ‘little-known’ deck off the front of the boat that he wanted to watch the sail out of the harbor from.  So off we went on a wild goose chase looking for an unmarked door that would lead us to the hidden balcony.  Low and behold, it was just as he said and we had the most incredible photo spot ever.  Thank goodness one other couple knew about the secret door too or we wouldn’t have had anyone to snap our picture together!

Sailing out of the harbor was one of those ‘WOW’ travel moments that is so splendid that it wipes away all memories of anything frustrating that happened to get to that point.  There we were sailing by the iconic Sydney Opera House with our arms around each other and the wind blowing across our faces.  Honestly, it doesn’t get much better than that.  Those are the moments when I really can step back and marvel at the amazing opportunities this lifestyle affords.  How truly blessed we are!

Post Footer automatically generated by wp-posturl plugin for wordpress.

{ 1 comment }

Expat Rebellion

by Sarah Novak on June 22, 2010

I.  Do.  Not.  Want.  To.  Be.  A.  Veteran.  Expat.

Zoom in on me kicking and screaming as I’m metaphorically pulled to the one year mark.  ”Noooooooo, we just got here!  Am I really saying good-bye to my first batch of friends and sponsoring my first incoming Embassy employee??  How is this possible?!”

I suppose you want to know WHY I am adamantly refusing to cross the one year mark?  It’s quite simple actually, because once we cross the one year mark, it’s all over with.  I’ll have to acknowledge that 1/20th of our Foreign Service experience has already passed even though I feel like we just arrived yesterday.  And the next thing you know I’ll blink and the other 19 years will be behind me too!

Never mind the fact that once we hit one year we have to start bidding on our next post (Note: We bid in September).  And with that comes the start the Expat good-bye dance of “Must get one last visit in to X” and “Must find time to get the perfect pearls” and “Must see J & N before they leave for Timbuktu.”  And what will surely get lost in all that is the quality of the experience, the “Must Enjoy Every Minute of Our Last Year In Manila”.

They say that once you know where you’re going next, it’s just a matter of ticking off the days at your current post.  I hope and pray that I’ll be different from other expats and will be able to stay present in my remaining moments, but I fear that the excitement of the new place that lies ahead of us will sweep me up in its siren song.

And that’s why I’m  rebelling right now, before I cross the line of no return.  Because I have unequivocally fallen in love with Manila and IT’S JUST TOO SOON TO BE LEAVING!!

And don’t give me your platitudes for why it will all be okay.  I know them all:

  • There’s still a whole year left!
  • But you’ve done so much already!
  • You can always come back!
  • There will be other great places!

Because in my heart I know everything’s about to change.  You see, Manila “birthed” me in a sense.

I came here wide-eyed and curious, newly married and unsure of how I would fare in my new global playground.  And in the last 12 months I’ve blossomed.  I became intertwined with my partner in a way I never thought possible.  I cursed my business and the initial frustration it caused me, finally surrendering to what I knew was my greater calling.  I marveled as my needs and desires changed as a result of experiencing poverty first-hand.  I discovered my own unique brand of spirituality.  And I came to peace with the fact that my life was never going to look like anyone else’s and that different was, in fact, good.

You see, I will never again be the same girl that came to Manila.  I now play on a bigger stage and I know I’m being called to do grander, more magnificent things.  But it’s scary to step onto that stage and stand in the light.  I already miss the comfort and safety of the world I used to know, where everything was familiar and largely risk-free.  Yet I also know that I’m finally ready, that this one year mark (which coincides closely with my 30th birthday), is the beginning of another chapter for me.  It just happens to be one of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” type novels and I’ve yet to select my ending.

So stay tuned.  If there’s one pattern I’ve seen in my life, it’s that I always have a major breakthrough after periods of intense resistance!  And I do not plan to give up this fight easily…

Post Footer automatically generated by wp-posturl plugin for wordpress.

{ 18 comments }