All Packed and Off to Kashmir!

No, we have not fallen off the blogging bandwagon just yet. And yes, we intend to continue writing about our transition back into "real" life in America. We have just had a CRAZY week packing up. Who knew that having eight people do the actual packing could be so exhausting? But I think it's all the categories and the weight and size limits that kill us. And having all those people in your house making things disappear all day for 5 days is rather unnerving. Add to that the 3 adorable kids running around moving things out of their designated spots, and let's just say I had a few moments of meltdown (though no sobbing yet, just a little yelling). I think we had four categories of stuff to separate:

1. The sea shipment, which has to fit into a 40-foot container (shouldn't be hard, but once you add all the packing materials, the bicycle rickshaw, furniture, and swing we've acquired, it will be tight). This shipment supposedly takes 8-10 weeks to arrive, but I'm counting on 12 or more based on late shipments for us and others we know. So you've gotta make sure everything you pack in this part you can live without for three months (or more).

The craziest part about this shipment is that some of the furniture we had ordered came only a few days before the packers arrived. One beautiful antique cabinet we bought had termites in it, so the day the packers arrived we had them come take away the offending piece and treat everything else. Then the outdoor cane furniture we had custom-made was 6 inches too tall and made you feel like you were a munchkin when you sat in it and they'd sewed the cushion covers wrong-side out, so during the first two days of packing the cane-furniture-wallahs were working furiously in the yard and in the house to fix their mistakes! Add to that Mr. Shyam Lal, the cheerful old gentleman who was re-upholstering our couch and chair and only finished the second day of packing, and we had a lot of stuff going on those first few days! I'm glad I'm a few days away from that and can laugh now . . .

2. The air shipment, which is supposed to arrive in a few weeks and can weigh up to 300 kg. At first we were going to put our bikes in this shipment so we could get away with having one car and ride our bikes to school. Then we found out we likely won't be moving into our house until August . . . or September . . . or October . . . or November. Whenever our tenants decide to move out (they don't legally have to move out until September 30) and we get the house ready to move in--that's when we will be moving into our house. So where will we be living when we get to Austin? We don't know! And I definitely don't want to unpack our stuff twice, so that sea shipment might be sitting in storage for a few months once it arrives in August or September while we figure out what we're going to do! This shipment was especially frustrating because it turned out to be 250 kg, but since the sea shipment had already been packed, I had nothing else to add to it! I wanted to run out shopping to fill it with textiles and spicy snacks, but I was just too exhausted at that point.

3. Stuff to sell or give away. We sold or gave away all of our appliances and air conditioners (220-volt stuff doesn't work very well on American 110-volts) and some various other junk. We did a garage sale/auction India-style with this guy named Mr. Pawha. He did all the advertising and set it all out two hours before. He had 5-6 guards there with him and I stood by him while the people (mostly Sikh men) crowded around making bids on stuff, then I approved the final bid and people shoved bills into my hand. In just over an hour we had sold EVERYTHING and I had a giant wad of bills that added up to about two thousand dollars (should help pay for our frivolous travels on the way home)! I'll post a picture later to give you a sense of the craziness of it all. Things are often slow and inefficient here in India, but this was a pretty slick operation I'd say!

4. Stuff to pack in suitcases and carry with us. Three sub-categories here: stuff to take camping in Kashmir, stuff to take to Scotland, stuff we'll need in the USA until our air shipment arrives. Throughout the week we threw this stuff into a designated room and I've still not entirely sorted through all of this. We think this will all fit into 11 suitcases, but I'm hoping to pare it down a little bit when we get back from Kashmir.

Last night the branch had an activity to bid us farewell. It was beautiful. The young women and young men did dance numbers, the Primary kids and missionaries sang songs, our driver Anil sang a beautiful Hindi ballad about submitting to God's will, and (worst of all) Boddu showed the DVD Rich made for the Pulsiphers and our family with Graham's 1st Year, a slideshow of India, and Walk a Weekend With Us. It was fun to walk down memory lane, but it was strange to see these videos that were never intended for that audience! We will surely miss all these faithful, loving souls we have come to know in the New Delhi 1st Branch. The future looks bright for them and we're excited to see their growth from afar.

For the last two nights we've stayed at the lovely oasis of Bnineteen where we have everything we need (except a clothes dryer--still not sure how I'm going to get the clothes dry in the next hour before we need to leave!), and including a few things we don't need like a neighbor who doesn't like kids and their noises early in the morning, and tea served at breakfast.

This morning after we go to sacrament meeting we are off to the mountains of Kashmir where we will stay on a houseboat for three days and go trekking (hiking) and camping for three days. We're doing it sahib-style with pack-horses to carry gear and kids, and a guide and cook to help us along the way! We figure we deserve it after a week of madness.

I don't think I've ever been more exhausted in my life. On Tuesday we went to a farewell dinner with Rich's co-workers and the whole time I was nodding off after our first big exhausting day (and this is really out of character for me). And every night I've had plans to stay up and pack or do paperwork or even blog, but I have been falling fast asleep even before the kids some nights! I have no idea how anyone moves without packers and movers. I imagine it's easier when you're moving shorter distances and don't have so many categories and wait times, but moving is definitely a herculean effort no matter how you slice it.

On Monday we will be leaving on a jet plane back to our homeland. We'll stop on the way for a quick trip in Scotland with Brandon, and then we'll be safe at Grandma and Grandpa's house ready to start the scary process of rebuilding our American Dream.