Adventures in the Mobile Life
I have many stories about moving; going through ten different places, eleven different houses and thirteen different schools is almost a perfect recipe for interesting experiences. Even the act of transporting household goods can make a good story, although usually only in retrospect.
In my experience, those who move overseas have three shipments: a fast shipment, a slow shipment and a storage shipment. The fast shipment is small and meant to arrive about a month after it’s sent off. The slow shipment holds most of the household goods and is meant to arrive about three months after it’s sent off. The fast shipment goes by plane, and the slow one by boat. The storage shipment includes all the items that either can’t be sent overseas or aren’t necessary for the move. They are taken by truck to a storage unit somewhere in the country.
I moved to Germany, the first time, during the spring of 2008. My brother had just been born when our household goods were removed from our house; in fact, he had come home from the hospital only a couple days beforehand. We camped in our empty house for roughly five weeks, which was an interesting experience all on its own. Play-houses made from box remains abounded and sleeping bags replaced beds. Hide-and-seek among various stacks of boxes was another delicacy only available when moving, and I remember enjoying it immensely. The day my brother turned six weeks old, we flew to Germany.
Now, the issue with moving is that it is rarely ideal and never goes exactly as planned. It isn’t ideal to stay in your house, after your household goods have been sent off, for five weeks, but it’s doable. It also isn’t ideal to stay in your new apartment for two months without household goods, but it’s works well enough because you have the fast shipment with you. The fast shipment has everything that you truly need to keep your life in working order. For my family, it was bikes and baby supplies, beloved dolls and an equally beloved coffee machine, silverware and other crucial kitchen items, plus some sheets, towels and a few computers. This was the shipment of important items. Fortunately, since we had sent it off five weeks before even leaving for Germany, and the fast shipment is meant to take only three weeks to ship, it would be present and ready when we arrived.
It was not present when we arrived. It was not present a week later, or a few weeks later or even a month later. It still was not present when our slow shipment arrived. My father eventually tracked the shipment from the moving company, through different flights, to a tarmac in New Jersey. It had been waiting there, weathering the elements, for four months. After finding the items, it was another month before our “fast” shipment was able to arrive at our house. In total – five months before we received the items. But wait, there’s more! Even better than the wait time was the quality of the goods once they arrived. Waiting on a tarmac for that long doesn’t exactly give your goods a pristine shine. The movers who opened the boxes actually told my mother to film the opening with a camera because they were afraid that water would pour out. Water, pouring out of the boxes full of our most valuable items. Suffice to say, it was not ideal. It wasn’t even close to plan. And that doesn’t even account for the mold, which was everywhere.
So, moving doesn’t usually work quite as planned. This is story is a great one, but I’ve heard of far worse situations. In general, those who move often tend to subscribe to Murphy’s Law: what can go wrong, will go wrong, at the worst possible time.
In addition to damaging, yet retrospectively amusing events, moving can bring about light-hearted and fun times. It can certainly be a hassle, but it’s guaranteed to take you to places that you’ve never been to before; literally.
For example, when I lived in Heidelberg I was able to take frequent field trips to castles. Real, live (or perhaps not so alive) castles, for a fifth grader! These buildings were older than the country I was born in. It’s absurdly wonderful, and many American schools in Germany take trips just like this; to castles or other ancient European monuments. I would never have had that opportunity if I had never moved to Germany.
When I lived in D.C., my family was able to visit dozens of museums downtown (many of them offer free entry) and attend multiple festivals held in the center of the city. One summer, I remember, my mother and I were able to go to a book festival. Famous authors from all over the world came to the fair, and we were able to get books signed (in person!) by some of our favorite wordsmiths. It’s another experience I wouldn’t have had without moving.
There are more big events like that, other trips we’ve taken or monuments we’ve been able to see because of where we found ourselves living, but often the best part of moving can be found in the little things. When I lived in D.C., there was a local ice cream store that made the ice cream themselves every morning, with new flavors every month. It was easily the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted. In Pennsylvania my brother and I found welcoming communities and were both able to begin in sports that we adore to this day. When I lived in New Mexico, I was able to fall in love with the sky. In that part of the country, the blue just keeps going, as far you can see. There are few clouds, and nothing blocks your vision of the sky. During my first week there I saw more stars than I had known existed.
It’s something to remember about a mobile lifestyle –sometimes you lose all your important household goods, and sometimes you find great ice cream places. That’s just the way things go.