For those who do not know, I will soon be moving to Japan. I
will live in a city with roughly 225,000 people, located two hours north of
Tokyo and teach English to children through a tutoring company.
The first question everyone asks is, “Are you excited?!?”
And, of course, the answer is yes!...with a slight qualification. Over the last semester of school my thoughts about my upcoming adventure have been
either non-existent because I don't have time to think or worry about that. If I do give it some time I am excited in a surreal, this-isn’t-really-happening way or just plain terrified. But now
that I am finishing classes, I am finally realizing that this adventure is
really happening.
SO EXCITING!!!
…and
then the logistics hit me and I realized I have to pack my whole world into a
set number of suitcases. That is one way to re-evaluate your priorities. If you have never had to condense your life like this before it does put things in a new perspective. Here, try it. Do you remember the question from when you were little, “Imagine
that your house is on fire and you have enough time to save one thing. What do
you save?” Well now there is a lot more time to plan, but the quantity
limitations result in the same impression. I can’t bring a year’s supply of
American life. So now what?
Well we make lists, my specialty. The packing list includes
everything that I might need if I were moving back anywhere else for a year - I imagine the times I relocated across the country for college - with the
addition of a smattering of other items, including: seasoning packets for
familiar American foods, like mac-n-cheese and taco seasoning. Making this list made me realize
for the first time how many American things that I take for granted and how
small suitcases are. Anything that doesn’t
make the short list will then need to packed into boxes to store for a year
here in the US. Anything that I don’t value enough to pack and store becomes a
gift to friends or bequeathed to goodwill.
It is easier to think and to plan now that I have my list broken into these three categories. I am also beginning to realize just how much stuff I have. Clothing alone fills more than nine
totes. I am sure I don't need that many. What's more, I am quite certain that I don't even like that many, so why do I have them? Time for a garage sale.
I will have to make a separate post on tricks and tips for
garage sale-ing. There are so many things that I am psyched to write about. There is actually a running list of topics to post about, but time is still
so elusive.
Instead, I will make my salutation with a smile. Here is a
picture of the delightful flowers my dad bought me when I finally finished my
thesis!
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