We’re here. Across the pond, in a rented corporate apartment, abut a park where many animals play. In the morning we hear birdsong, and in the night, crickets. And you can see squirrels running around during the day.
Until November 7th, this is our home.
Alex and I have been talking about moving abroad for ages, it seems, and now we’re in the States. How surreal. The whole move has been like out of a dream. Quite a tiring and laborious dream – with a lot of planning and paperwork, but a dream nonetheless. On Thursday afternoon, September 24th, all of our worldly goods were whisked away from our apartment and loaded onto a huge, thick metal container, to make their way across the ocean.
At the moment, I am almost a persona non-grata. I do hold a card to a joint bank account. But I don’t yet have an active social security number. I don’t have a work permit. And naturally, I don’t have a job.
As Alex is toiling away in the office, I am holding the fort at home. Doing things like laundry, the dishes, cleaning up, grocery shopping, etc. It’s like being in Munich, but it’s not. All the details are different. Different machines, different ingredients, different detergents, different sizes.
And oh, the sizes. BIG is the word for it. Except for the matches. Matches everywhere, it seems, are a certain size. But everything else. The peanut butter jar can last a year. The largest pack of sugar I saw looked like something you could wash clothes with. There is space, in the States, and you use it. Big parking lots with big parking spaces for the big cars. Big supermarkets, with big bags of food, to fill the big refrigerators. If it’s an overused cliché to talk about the size, that’s because it’s just so incredibly true.
What else fills my days? Am currently captivated by the television programming – the Food Network and HGTV are my favorites so far. What’s not to love about food and houses? It’s a bit addicting, I need to watch my consumption.
However, I am doing something constructive besides watching TV. Besides writing this blog, I’m taking part in a Screenwriting Course at the NYU School of Professional Studies. 11 other people and I are trying our hands at creating screenplays. The first day of the course was enlightening. Screenplays have a very strict format that you have to stick to. It’s definitely a tight corset, but then beautiful things are born of limitations. It’s a new form of writing for me, and I’m looking forward to working with it. The best thing about the course – as homework, I get to watch movies. Thelma & Louise – from one of my favorite screnwriters. So, that’s a great start.
Well, so far for the first post. One of my goals for the three years that we are here is to develop a regular writing habit, so that when I’m back, I will have a lot to offer on my plate. As Yoda said:
And do I will.
4 Comments
What happens on November 7th?
Hi there! Sorry took so long to reply. We move to our new place in Hoboken on November 7th. So that’ll be a bit stressful, but am also looking forward to it, cause it”ll be more space, a lot lighter, and I can walk everywhere, which is a really big thing. 😀
Welcome back 😉 So fun to read your blog. Looking forward to more posts.
Hi Hayley, thanks! Really cool to hear from you. Would be great to catch up with you at one point. : )