In 49 hours, Rory and I will flying out of the country. We have already started living out of suitcases, as we had to be out of our house two days ago, and our lovely friends have given us a place to stay until we leave. All of our earthly belongings now fit into two fifty pound suitcases, two carry-on bags, and two backpacks. And of course there's my cello. Oh, and the 5x5 storage unit we rented in Columbus. But that's it, I promise. There's nothing like an overseas move to cure you of your attachment to material possessions!
Apart from the disbelieving, mouth-agape facial expressions we see on people when we tell them we're moving to Paris, we also get a few of the same questions frequently. Here are our answers to some of them.
Q: "Has it hit you yet that you're moving to France?"
A: Not quite. We will have a two week holiday in Scotland before taking a train to Paris, so we'll be easing into European living with something that's a little more familiar. When we no longer understand the language around us, I'm sure we'll realize just how foreign we are. Of course, we'll be just a 7 hour train ride away from Rory's family, so anytime we get too homesick, we can always go back to Scotland. Paris is 9 hours ahead of my family in Oregon though, so I'm counting on family members vacationing in Paris for the next two years.
Q: "Do you have a place to stay in Paris?"
A: Fortunately we do! After weeks of online searching and not having anyone respond to our inquiries, we found someone through Rory's work supervisor who is renting her place for 9 months. The apartment is in the 11th Arrondissement, close to the Place de la Nation. It's a 5th floor, 1 bedroom apartment (without an elevator--good exercise!). The kitchen is really more of a corner than an actual room, but the place is fully furnished and even has a washing machine! So that's a big relief to have a place to stay, even if it's only for 9 months.
Q: "Do you speak French?"
A: Well...Rory studied French in high school but had forgotten a lot, whereas I studied Spanish in high school and college. As soon as we found out we were moving to France, we got French grammar books, comic books, children's books, CDs, and DVDs out of the libraries, religiously did Duolingo practice every day online, and tried a plethora of other methods to learn the language. We've been working on it for four months and we can both read pretty well now. We can converse slowly and poorly, but I have the feeling we'll be saying to people frequently, "Répétez plus lentement, s'il vous plaît !"
To all our wonderful friends and family in America: au revoir et merci !
To our friends and family in the UK: à bientôt !
To everyone in France: désolé pour notre mauvais français !
Friday, July 31, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Yard Sale, Round 2
We're down to 10 days until we leave the country!
And that means it's time for our final yard sale. Stop by and say hello! Better yet, you can leave with some lovely new-to-you treasures. Here's the posting: http://columbus.craigslist.org/gms/5136607941.html
Turnbull's Final Yard Sale
Saturday, 7/25
9 am-3 pm
162 Olentangy St
And that means it's time for our final yard sale. Stop by and say hello! Better yet, you can leave with some lovely new-to-you treasures. Here's the posting: http://columbus.craigslist.org/gms/5136607941.html
Turnbull's Final Yard Sale
Saturday, 7/25
9 am-3 pm
162 Olentangy St
Sunday, July 19, 2015
"When are you leaving?"
You wouldn't think that "when do you leave for Paris" would be a tricky question, but in our case, it is. We have a somewhat unusual travel itinerary for the next few weeks, and when someone asks us when we leave, they're actually asking us one of three questions. So I thought I'd write this blog post to explain (and to make it more clear in my head!).
Our lease ends on July 28th. So that's the date that we need to have sold all of our furniture and be packed up and ready to go.
On August 2nd, we leave the USA on an overnight flight to Glasgow. So that's when we leave the country.
We'll spend about 2 weeks in Scotland, before taking a train to Paris on August 17th. So that's when we actually arrive in Paris and can begin setting up our life.
Overall, that makes about 20 days of "moving", and we'll pass through Canada, Iceland, England, and various places in Scotland as part of our marathon trip to Paris. I'm not sure if this protracted moving period will make things more or less stressful than a sudden relocation, but we'll be treating it as a fun adventure in homelessness.
Our lease ends on July 28th. So that's the date that we need to have sold all of our furniture and be packed up and ready to go.
On August 2nd, we leave the USA on an overnight flight to Glasgow. So that's when we leave the country.
We'll spend about 2 weeks in Scotland, before taking a train to Paris on August 17th. So that's when we actually arrive in Paris and can begin setting up our life.
Overall, that makes about 20 days of "moving", and we'll pass through Canada, Iceland, England, and various places in Scotland as part of our marathon trip to Paris. I'm not sure if this protracted moving period will make things more or less stressful than a sudden relocation, but we'll be treating it as a fun adventure in homelessness.
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