I can't believe that James and I are moving to India today. We have been talking about it for the last 3 months and here it is.
The last month have gone by rapidly since we have been doing our goodbye tour. At this point Both James and I are ready to go and start our new adventure, but before we do that here is a recap of our last month.
June 23-25- I finished working, sold my car, and my parents came to visit.
June 26-27- pack out happened and moved into The Mayflower hotel in Downtown DC.
June 27-July 2- vacation with my parents, seeing friends and doing last minute shopping.
July 2- July 6- James and I did our own version of a staycation in DC, where we visited places we have been before and got to spend time with some friends.
July 6-11- James went to crash and bang school and I stated at my friend Rebecca's house so I could hang out with some friends before I left. Rebecca and the girls threw me a farewell dinner, I went to dinner with Virginie one last time and I just relaxed.
July 12-15- we visited our family and some friends in Orlando. Also, we visited Islands of Adventure to encounter Hogwart's for the first timeline spent a day a the pool to watch the World Cup finals and visited my old stomping ground, Hollywood Studios, one last time.
July 15-21- now we made our way to Puerto Rico in which I had to say good bye to my family. During our stay we visited my brother and sister in law in Manati, Old San Juan, La Playuela in my hometown, spent some time with old friends in town and above all spent time at my childhood home with my parents relaxing and meditating about our journey ahead.
July 21-23- we made it to the Big Apple with big plans and conquered none because of our mental exhaustion. One thing we did accomplish was hanging out with our friends Chris and Joanna, who always show us the best places in NYC.
As I think back on this last month a lot of things have happened, all good of course, but some sad:
I quit my job, got a job at the Consulate, sold my car, sold our house, said goodbye to our awesome friends and family, got to go and enjoy Disney one last time and became a Harry Potter fan.Also, I got to enjoy spending precious time with our families.
I am ready to embark on this journey with my honey and see what this life bring us. Are you ready to embark it with us? I hope you are.
Next time I post James and I will be in India already , so stay tuned because the traveling feet are about to embark on a journey of a lifetime.
Nats
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Friday, July 4, 2014
Our first Packout Experience
I can't believe that packout happened a week ago. I had no idea on what to expect, so my expectations were pretty low.
Day 1:
Our day started at 9 am when the movers came and knock on our door. It turned out to be 3 really nice Hispanic men, 2 Mexican brothers and 1 Peruvian guy. Immediatly they told me that the 1st day they were going to pack our UAB (Unaccompanied Baggage) and our HHE (Household Effects). I led them to the basement to show them where most of our HHE and UAB items were. While my dad supervised the movers packing the basement, my mom packed and empytied our kitchen and my sister and I packed the suitecases that James and I will be traveling with us for the next month or so. By noon the Germany vs USA game started so I took a little break from packing to watch the game.
The movers continued packing until about 1pm when I asked them if they were hungry. They nod a big yes and my mom made all of us hotdogs. After lunch, everyone continued packing. The guys started bringing most of the boxes from the basement and we really thought they were done.
Boy, were we wrong!
The movers continued packing our stuff, seriously, where did all these things come from? I guess you really don't know how much stuff you really have until you pack your house!
By 5pm I was over it and we still had a long night ahead and the next day too. Needless to say the packers didn't leave until 9pm and they still had another job to go to!
Day 2:
On day2 things were a little different. The movers did not show up until 11am, and intead of 3 6 people showed up. Since they were moving our storage stuff, we knew that it would take less time. As soon as they got to our house, they all took a different floor and started packing. It took a while to packe James's office dur to the fact that we both had about 1,000 books to put into storage. Also, the basement took longer because that is where we had most of our storage things were located. It took a long time to pack due to the fact that the movers have to wrapped everything, if you have articled in a box they take it out of your box an put it into their own boxes.
By 7pm, the movers were almost done and we were pretty happy about it nd so were the movers! Why, you ask? Well, we were excited that they were done and they were happy because they left our house with things that we did not need or want. They got towels, pillows, cleaning supplies and food! They were grateful to us for giving them so many things and I was humbled to be able to help them.
Overall it was a great experience and now we know how to deal with packout in the future.
Here are a couple of hints:
Dont put anything into boxes, because they have to take it out of the box and put it in their own boxes.
Try to have a designated areas in your house for HHE, UAB and storage so it is easier for the movers and you.
Don't leave the packing for the last minute.
Be organized and now what you want to take with you so you don't end up with things you don't need or things you need in storage.
Tip your movers and at least offer them water and food. They are here to help you in this process.
Now that pack out is over, its time to enjoy our last month in the states. Be on the lookout for our DC, Orlando, Puerto Rico and NYC adventures.
Nats
Day 1:
Our day started at 9 am when the movers came and knock on our door. It turned out to be 3 really nice Hispanic men, 2 Mexican brothers and 1 Peruvian guy. Immediatly they told me that the 1st day they were going to pack our UAB (Unaccompanied Baggage) and our HHE (Household Effects). I led them to the basement to show them where most of our HHE and UAB items were. While my dad supervised the movers packing the basement, my mom packed and empytied our kitchen and my sister and I packed the suitecases that James and I will be traveling with us for the next month or so. By noon the Germany vs USA game started so I took a little break from packing to watch the game.
The movers continued packing until about 1pm when I asked them if they were hungry. They nod a big yes and my mom made all of us hotdogs. After lunch, everyone continued packing. The guys started bringing most of the boxes from the basement and we really thought they were done.
Boy, were we wrong!
The movers continued packing our stuff, seriously, where did all these things come from? I guess you really don't know how much stuff you really have until you pack your house!
By 5pm I was over it and we still had a long night ahead and the next day too. Needless to say the packers didn't leave until 9pm and they still had another job to go to!
Day 2:
On day2 things were a little different. The movers did not show up until 11am, and intead of 3 6 people showed up. Since they were moving our storage stuff, we knew that it would take less time. As soon as they got to our house, they all took a different floor and started packing. It took a while to packe James's office dur to the fact that we both had about 1,000 books to put into storage. Also, the basement took longer because that is where we had most of our storage things were located. It took a long time to pack due to the fact that the movers have to wrapped everything, if you have articled in a box they take it out of your box an put it into their own boxes.
By 7pm, the movers were almost done and we were pretty happy about it nd so were the movers! Why, you ask? Well, we were excited that they were done and they were happy because they left our house with things that we did not need or want. They got towels, pillows, cleaning supplies and food! They were grateful to us for giving them so many things and I was humbled to be able to help them.
Overall it was a great experience and now we know how to deal with packout in the future.
Here are a couple of hints:
Dont put anything into boxes, because they have to take it out of the box and put it in their own boxes.
Try to have a designated areas in your house for HHE, UAB and storage so it is easier for the movers and you.
Don't leave the packing for the last minute.
Be organized and now what you want to take with you so you don't end up with things you don't need or things you need in storage.
Tip your movers and at least offer them water and food. They are here to help you in this process.
Now that pack out is over, its time to enjoy our last month in the states. Be on the lookout for our DC, Orlando, Puerto Rico and NYC adventures.
Nats
Monday, June 23, 2014
Foreign Service Life: Before Packout
James and I will be going through packout this week. What is packout you might ask? Packout is when The State Deparment comes and helps you pack your household goods 3 different ways: Storage, which is for all things that we will not need for the next 2 years. HHE or House Hold Effects, which is all of the things that we will need for the next 2 years in post but that we won't need right away. HHE comes by boat to post . The last piece of the puzzle is the UAB or Unaccompanied Baggage, which include things that you will need as soon as you arrive at post, like clothing, some comfort foods, linens, towels, kitchen stuff, etc.
James and I have been dealing with this for the last few month and little by little we have gone room by room and have separated all of it into those 3 piles. It wasn't until the last few weeks that we really started to put things together to be a little bit organized.
Last week, the moving company came to survey all the things that we have and what goes where and such. It was a relieve when the guy told me that we were WAY under the 17,000 pound limit for all three.
Today, I woke up at 5:30 and just went down to the basement to get things really ready to be packed. Then, I went to the kitchen and started to empty it out. It is crazy, how many things James and I own and how many are going to given away, or go to storage. We are giving away around 10 boxes of clothes and household items. I'm pretty sure that we will collect plenty of things along the way and at some point we will reach the 17,000 pound mark.
Among the things that we are taking with us includes: comfort foods, bug spray, favorite condiments, chritsmas stuff, school supplies, books, pictures, bikes and toilettries.
As I mentioned before they will come to move us on Thursday and once I know how it works I will post more information and pictures, as well as, all the fun things we will get to do with my family who also comes to visit tomorrow...
I am hanguing in there. Packout it's almost here, which means that we will be in Mumbai in about 31 days! It is really happening.
Keep your feet traveling and your hearts happy,
Nats
James and I have been dealing with this for the last few month and little by little we have gone room by room and have separated all of it into those 3 piles. It wasn't until the last few weeks that we really started to put things together to be a little bit organized.
Last week, the moving company came to survey all the things that we have and what goes where and such. It was a relieve when the guy told me that we were WAY under the 17,000 pound limit for all three.
Today, I woke up at 5:30 and just went down to the basement to get things really ready to be packed. Then, I went to the kitchen and started to empty it out. It is crazy, how many things James and I own and how many are going to given away, or go to storage. We are giving away around 10 boxes of clothes and household items. I'm pretty sure that we will collect plenty of things along the way and at some point we will reach the 17,000 pound mark.
Among the things that we are taking with us includes: comfort foods, bug spray, favorite condiments, chritsmas stuff, school supplies, books, pictures, bikes and toilettries.
As I mentioned before they will come to move us on Thursday and once I know how it works I will post more information and pictures, as well as, all the fun things we will get to do with my family who also comes to visit tomorrow...
I am hanguing in there. Packout it's almost here, which means that we will be in Mumbai in about 31 days! It is really happening.
Keep your feet traveling and your hearts happy,
Nats
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Let the countdown begin... Mumbai in T-54 days and counting
Hello everyone,
As you might know my husband James and I will be moving to Mumbai, India at the end of July. We are entering the final month in DC, which comes with end of work, parties, meet-ups and traveling. Between selling our house, getting my house in Orlando ready to rent, selling our cars, finishing work packing our life and having my parents visit, this will be a normal June (said no one ever).
July will be as crazy or even crazier than June thanks to family visiting us, saying good-bye to our friends, going to Crash and Bang school, Orlando, Puerto Rico, New York City, London and finally Mumbai. I anticipate once we arrive in Mumbai we will just crash for some days before James starts to work.
James and I are super excited about our upcoming move. We got our apartment assignment and it looks great. It seems that we will be living in Bandra West, a nice neighborhood in West Mumbai close to the water. All we know about our apartment is that is located on the 9th floor and it has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. Also, it has a pool and a gym, and close by we will have several tracks, if we wanted to do some workouts!
As we find out more information and get to do more things I will continue to post more entries.
Nats
As you might know my husband James and I will be moving to Mumbai, India at the end of July. We are entering the final month in DC, which comes with end of work, parties, meet-ups and traveling. Between selling our house, getting my house in Orlando ready to rent, selling our cars, finishing work packing our life and having my parents visit, this will be a normal June (said no one ever).
July will be as crazy or even crazier than June thanks to family visiting us, saying good-bye to our friends, going to Crash and Bang school, Orlando, Puerto Rico, New York City, London and finally Mumbai. I anticipate once we arrive in Mumbai we will just crash for some days before James starts to work.
James and I are super excited about our upcoming move. We got our apartment assignment and it looks great. It seems that we will be living in Bandra West, a nice neighborhood in West Mumbai close to the water. All we know about our apartment is that is located on the 9th floor and it has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. Also, it has a pool and a gym, and close by we will have several tracks, if we wanted to do some workouts!
As we find out more information and get to do more things I will continue to post more entries.
Nats
Monday, April 21, 2014
The Traveling Feet are moving to India!
Friends, family and everyone else: it is my pleasure to let you know that soon enough The Traveling Feet will embark on a new adventure to Mumbai, India. My husbad, a Foreign Service Officer, was assign to this post for the next 2 years. As a traveler and adventurer I am stocked to be going on this journey as well.
So, I promise that while abroad I will keep you up to date on all of our Traveling Feet adventures through Mumbai (Bombai) and the rest of India. I will try to keep you posted with more information about our journey before, during and after our move.
Here is to a new life! Keep those feet traveling!!!
Nats
So, I promise that while abroad I will keep you up to date on all of our Traveling Feet adventures through Mumbai (Bombai) and the rest of India. I will try to keep you posted with more information about our journey before, during and after our move.
Here is to a new life! Keep those feet traveling!!!
Nats
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