Expatriation #8 | Only the essentials

In my last post, I explained to you how, with love, patience and some sleeping pills, I sold almost every item of my life in Switzerland.

I had to do a selection: to sell, to throw away, to keep in Switzerland or to take with us in the US. That last category was also split in two parts: the things we wanted to ship by cargo (delivered in 4 to 6 weeks) and the things we wanted to keep with us in one of our 8 luggage. (Of course, I was a little bit too optimistic and I choose to ship my winter coat “when we’ll arrive in New York it will be spring”. Wrong, you silly goose, it’s 40°F and I am freezing!)

After the selection, we decided to put everything in the living room to be sure we couldn’t step anymore in there not to forget to ship anything. As you can see:The moving company came to pack all our stuff (yes, you read well, two guys packed my underwear!) after we told them how much stuff we had. So I pre packed everything to do an estimation, measured all the shoe boxes and every other item, then I unpacked everything so they can re pack with their own boxes. What a logical and economical way to proceed! (And to calculate the volume of all our crap things was not an easy thing to do!)

In the end, it was that:We had to take the remaining things in the plane with us. Together, we were authorized to take 4 pieces of 32 kg, 1 piece of 23 kg and 4 hand luggage of 8 kg each. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to fill a luggage with 32 kg, but it’s harder than we thought. We ended with way less than expected. Thank god, because I can’t imagine how we would have managed an additional luggage!

Speaking of which, I need to understand something about myself. I travel with a purse, in which I store the essentials (passport, boarding pass, medicines to avoid throwing up in the plane …) (Did I already tell you that I hate being in a plane?) AND a huge and luggage in which I carry the indispensable (17 magazines, 3 books, a tablet with all the 15 seasons of E.R, a manicure set, a pillow, 3 bottles of water, and some dried fruits) even if I always read 3 pages during the take-off then spend the rest of the flight slouched on the seat, stuffed with all the food the airline is giving you on long-distance flights. So I am dragging a 16 pounds luggage for hours, without even opening it. I know it for a fact but still, I can’t travel without it. What the f**k is wrong with me?

The last days in Switzerland were quite busy: finishing everything, saying goodbye to everyone, giving the keys back… I am not 100% sure of what I am living but closing the door of an apartment you occupied for almost 8 years was kind of strange, I must admit!

No problems traveling, I was just selected randomly (again!) for an full body security check. (I am beginning to think that the airline has something against me! 🙂 )

Our ‘essential’ and us arrived in the US on the 4th of April. We are currently living in a corporate apartment until we find a nice place to stay. And even if it wasn’t really a choc, we had to get used to the new timezone and to the life in the US. I am working on some posts about it!

So, I think I am done with the ‘expatriation’  part but don’t worry I will come back with my adventures in the US!

Enjoy your day!