The day of our big move is coming closer. A shipping allowance is one of the benefits of our jobs, although we have to pay for the shipping up front, save our receipts, and then be reimbursed after the fact. We have gone to the post office every day this week. It's amazing how many pounds of stuff we have already shipped; it is even more amazing how many pounds of stuff we have left.
I've come to a couple of personal realizations about the process:
1. I have strange stuff.
The stuff I hope to have in Kazakhstan goes far beyond the standard clothing, toiletries, and books. My stuff includes a sewing machine, many spools of wire, metal-working tools, and kilo upon kilo of beads. How do I even quantify some of this stuff for the customs forms when I ship it? If someone ships a box of tiny seed beads, for instance, are they honestly expected to count each one for the purposes of writing a quantity? I love that crafts are a part of my life, but I suspect that international moves are simpler for the non-crafters among us.
2. Tools made of solid steel are extremely heavy. They are heavy whether you put them in a box to ship or attempt to pack them in a suitcase. Who knew?
One of this afternoon's projects was to figure out how to get my metal-working tools to Kazakhstan. I don't really notice how heavy these things are when they are sitting on my work table or when I'm using them. Every gram of weight becomes apparent when I try to move them.
Anyone else ever try to move strange stuff internationally?
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