We are two weeks away from our flight to Germany. The move feels very real at this point!
Thankfully, most of our plans are settled now. We have chosen a moving company and helped our landlord find new renters for our current home. We have also planned to take a little vacation when we arrive in Germany, after which we will settle down in a university guesthouse in Aachen. Having solid plans helps me relax a bit, despite the nerves I’m feeling.
We are down to the nitty-gritty on this end: selling or otherwise getting rid of things we no longer want, packing up things to send to distant family or friends, planning what to carry with us and what to ship with the moving company … not to mention all the services we need to cancel or put on hold. I’m not looking forward to the conversation with my phone company (paying the early termination fee on my contract, ugh!). I have a monster to-do list, and it’s satisfying to check off each item as it gets done.
As the move gets close, we are also saying our goodbyes. We just held a party for our friends here, knowing that we won’t be sane enough to host anything in the next couple weeks. Each gathering for dinner, drinks, or tango turns into a conversation about Germany and a drawn-out goodbye at the end of the night. It builds my excitement while also making me wish I could bring these wonderful people with me!
Expat Linguist 