it feels like a blast from the past, having our stuff from our previous flat -our previous life- in germany with us again. all the mugs and china, oma’s cupboard, the books, jan’s toys and a few knickknacks we simply couldn’t part with. oh and of course, my aging, slow but much appreciated desktop. it’s not much, really, our shipment was less than 5 cubic meters in all, just the essential personal effects, vestiges of our stay in germs land. vestige. like the appendix: it’s there, a token from a past life, something you can actually do without, but would keep if you can, if for no apparent reason. however, looking at some of them now, they look awkward, like they don’t belong here. pretty much like the foreigners we were when we first arrived here, i guess. oh well, let’s see how they “integrate” with the rest of our new stuff…

instead of being in an unpacking frenzy, though, i’ve more or less instructed the movers to just put everything in our spare room. i’ve asked them to unpack only those boxes labeled fragile, just for insurance claim purposes. the rest… well, we were able to make do without them for 2 months, so, apart from jan’s stuff, there’s no hurry. nobody’s going to read those books and documents in the near future anyway. for some, perhaps not ever. besides, i am more comfortable doing the unpacking on my own, in my own pace and according to our needs. i guess i’ve lived too long in germany and has gotten too much used to doing things on my own.

if there’s one thing i learned from this relocation exercise, it’s that if you really think about it, it doesn’t really take much in terms of tangible, material stuff to have a comfortable life. the last few weeks have not been perfect for us, no, not having the financial padding to fully furnish a flat in one go. but really, there are just a few items left on our absolute-must-have list. we still lack a dining table, andin the meantime have been making do with a tiny table from ikea –nothing more than a board on four legs, really– which i plan to use as a working or extra kitchen table later on. our mattress still lays on the floor (but just til tomorrow, alleluiah!), and half of our clothes are still in suitcases. sure, it’s been inconvenient at some points and required a bit of improvisation, but heck, we’re far from struggling. it’s been fun, it’s been the adventure we have been treating this whole relocation experience all along.

how about you? what’s priority one on your current must-have list?

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