Moving to Thailand

 Gonna miss the sunsets.

 Dalia claiming this suitcase for her toys.

 Box it up and ship it off (all arrived safely a few months later)

 Sorry kitty, no first class, but I'm pretty sure you have more square footage than me.

 Friends showing up early to buy me breakfast at the airport... 

They spelled out Chao... didn't have enough friends to spell out "goodbye"

 36 hours later and we landed in Bangkok and found a hotel. Dalia liked the view.

 

Then, it was on to Chiang Mai. 

 

 Playing The Floor's Lava, on the closet door on move-in day.

New sunsets to enjoy.

Moving/Mudarse

Many ask me if it is hard to move knowing you can only take a few things with you. The answer: after moving around you begin to realize what you don't need and what you desire most. These are some of the things that will always receive top priority when I pack.

Muchos me preguntan si es difícil para mudarme, porque solo puedo llevar muy poco conmigo. La repuesta: después de mudarme mucho, he aprendido lo que no necesito y lo que deseo más. Estos son las cosas que pongo en las maletas primero.

My scrapbook made by my best friend and contains letters of encouragement from my home fellowship in Dallas, TX.

Album de recortes que es hecho por mi mejor amigo y tiene cartas de ánimo de miembros de mi iglesia en Dallas, Texas.

Fuzzy Socks!!! They were awesome on the marble floors!
Calcetines crespos. Eran divertido en el piso de mármol.

My Bible
Mi Biblia

Rubber ducky
Pato

The bear my mom gave me when I graduated college.
El oso que mi mamá me dio cuando me licencié.

Water painting of Tangkuban Perahu a volcano near the city of Bandung Indonesia
Pintura de Tangkuban Perahu un volcán cerca la ciudad de Bandung Indonesia

A sketch of the cathedral in Puebla Mexico
Un dibujo de la catedral de Puebla Mexico

College sweatshirt
Pulóver de la universidad

Laptop my dad bought me.
Laptop mi papá me compró.

Comfy blanket.
Manta cómoda.

The 4 suitcases making the trip to Chile.
Las cuarto maletas que van a viajar a Chile.

The things I need to give away.
Las cosas necesito dar a amigas.

This includes all my Spanish textbooks.
Estas incluyen mis libros de español.

This was the hardest thing to pack.
De todo este era lo más difícil para poner en la maleta.

Step five to moving is loading and hauling

Before the movers took what I wanted to crate, I packed everything I wanted to take into the three suitcases I plan on traveling with. So I still have those items, plus a few items that need to be left in a safe place, such as my cedar chest and family items. Yesterday my dad and I moved them to his house. Returning my keys for my town house, they said it was already rented out to someone else.

I am done with moving, in the next few years I will be doing a lot of traveling. Even though I will make myself at home at each place I visit, those moves will not take as much work.

I will stay with my family until I go to VA.

Step four to moving is crating your items.

This morning I learned that everything I own would fit into a 200 cubic foot crate. (Everything except the car.) I was required to be present and watch them crate everything. They wrapped several of the items in brown paper, even boxing and plastic wrapping my mattresses, to protect them from moisture damage as they travel by ship. If I get to Chile around March 2012, unwrapping everything will be like getting a birthday present. This will be the largest birthday present I have ever received.

I won't receive this crate until I arrive in Chile. It was difficult to decide whether or not to crate anything at all. When I arrive in Chile, I will need to furnish the apartment I will be staying in. Being new to the area it will be hard to get around and being a new country and culture I wouldn't know where to shop. With that said, I crated items that I would need immediately, dishes, a camping chair, towels and bathroom items, and bed with bedding, so that I will not be unnecessarily stressed. With the extra space, I chose to pack items that I would want with me or that I thought might be beneficial to other families in my city such as, books and games. I constantly asked for wisdom throughout this process and am confident that this was a good choice and will end up being beneficial to me and others.

Step three to moving is quit current job

Yesterday was my last day at work. I am going to miss my ex-coworkers. I don't think it has sunk in that I am not going back. Not only have I gained several life long friends from there, but I have always based a lot of my identity in what I do and my job performance. (I don't recommend the latter.) My job has completely changed from something extremely objective with closely defined tasks and deadlines, to something that is more goal and strategy oriented. I do not yet fully comprehend what it will look like, but I am getting used to the idea of not working in an office for the next 18 to 22 months.

This morning the crating company came and picked up everything I am crating to Chile. No more bed, rugs, towels, etc. An hour after they left I went to make toast. I put my bread in the toaster and pulled out the butter. When the toast popped up, I opened the drawer to grab a knife to put the butter on the bread. The drawer was empty. My silverware has already begun the journey to Chile.

It is at moments like that, which make me realized that, yes, this is really going to happen. Sometimes the thought makes me really excited, other times overwhelmed, and sometimes sad that I am leaving so many awesome people. It is a lot like Donkey's freak-out moment on the first Shrek movie. They are crossing a bridge over hot lava and Shrek tells him not to look down because Donkey is scared. This works until one of the planks breaks and Donkey yells, "I am lookin' down, Shrek! I am lookin' down!"

There is definitely a peace that transcends all understanding when I have an upward focus.

Step two to moving is having a garage sale

The sale was a success! The only items that I put in the sale were things that had no/limited sentimental value which weren't needed in the past year. When you go to another country there is no point in taking anything that requires an electrical outlet, so those all made it to the sale as well. This would include the pre-lit Xmas tree, which no one bought. It is May and the holidays are right around the corner. I don't understand why someone would not want a perfectly good tree. Everything else did sell, so all-in-all it was a good day.

Step one to moving is packing!

How did I acquire so much stuff? I am normally an organized person, but right now my place is a mess as I separate my items into four categories; 1. What will I put in storage here in the U.S., 2. What will I crate to my assigned country, 3. What will go into the three suitcases I will live out of for the next year and a half, & 4. What must be sold or given away.

It is not as hard as I thought it would be to give up my material possessions. Instead, I find it more difficult to give up other things, such as a promising career, independence, control of my schedule, comfortable lifestyle, and nearness to friends. Many will say to hold on to what is good, but I tend to believe the person who said, "Any one can move away from something that is already dead and not effective, but it takes a leader to leave something that works for something that will work better." Right now I love my life and the position I live in at the moment, but I know that there is something bigger than all I now have, waiting on the other side of this journey. So I move away from all that is dear to acquire the field where the treasure is buried.