T minus a few hours

We are almost (so not) ready to leave. I am writing this in our hotel room in Houston, with all of our bags taking up every available space on the room floor. The last few days have been interesting (read crazy) and we have been running around Houston like headless chickens. Most of it is because of bad planning - we never planned for extra luggage, dealing with left over furniture, forgetting things that we were supposed to give friends, returning things to stores and giving ourselves a few hours of rest (gah!). So here we are, 7:30 in the morning, two hours before we need to check out of the hotel still trying to make sure all our bags are no more than 50 pounds heavy (fun!). 

Yesterday was a fun day. We spent the morning waiting for the shippers to arrive and take our entire life filled in 29 boxes. They were supposed to come between 8 and 10 AM and finally came at 2 and left at 3PM. We sold our car (bye, bye Phantom), cleaned up the apartment (bye pink house, you shall be missed!), mailed packages, and then at 11:45 PM realized that all our bags were ridiculously over the weight limit. So, we made a trip to Walmart - only in the US can you run to a store at midnight to pick up a suitcase - came back with a bag that wasn't enough for our excess baggage! Yes, we are a family of a Phd and an almost Phd and we still can't figure out how much stuff we have :-/ Finally, we woke up at 5 this morning to go get another bag and that wasn't enough either! We now have 7, 50 pound bags, or in Mr. Sunshine's words "7 f****ing bags" (he does have a way with words ;-)). I am NOT looking forward to paying the airlines a fortune for all the excess baggage. 

Our life in 20 boxes and a few crates

When I get to Stavanger, I am going to sleep for 3 nights and 3 days. 

We won't have a phone for a while after we get there, but we will keep everyone updated through emails and the blog. 

XOXOXO 

Ms. and Mr. Sunshine

Stavanger!

This is where we are moving in about two weeks!

Why are you leaving the US?

A lot of our family, and a few of our friends have asked us this question when we broke the news to them. Not everyone understands why a young, immigrant couple that has almost everything going for them - a good job for Mr. Sunshine that he enjoys, green cards in the near future, a pretty apartment and the ability to buy a decently nice home, prospects of a good job for me, lots of wonderful friends around us - would want to up and move to a completely new continent, country and city where they know no one, and where everyone pays about 40 % of their income as taxes. We also do not speak the language. To be fair, all our family and friends have our best interest at heart - they love us, and want the best for us. And right now, the best things for us is to move.

We love Houston and we love living in the US. Both of us separately came here as students with the intention of making a better life for ourselves and living the American dream. We met, fell in love, moved to different parts of the country, Mr. Sunshine finished his doctorate and moved to Houston, we got married, and I moved to Houston last year, and over the years we realized that while the dream is still there, it has just changed in content a little bit. We have both learned so much about ourselves, about our unique Indian cultures, about the world and humanity during our time in the US. We have made wonderful, warm, smart, inspiring friends from all over the world, and have learned to appreciate and understand cultures, customs, foods, thoughts and views that are unlike ours. We have incorporated some of these in our daily lives, and thrown out some archaic ones we brought from our home country. And on the way we have realized that we want to know more about the world, that we want to meet different people and experience their food, their culture, their customs, and their way of life. This, we believe is eventually going to help us become the people, the couple, and the family we want to be.

Norway is going be a stepping stone for us for adventures in Europe and the rest of the world. We hope to make a new home in Stavanger, meet new, interesting and inspiring people and make lasting friendships like we have made in the US and in Houston.

Have a sunshiny day!

XOXOXO

Ms. Sunshine

These are some of my favorite things on the web right now. Each of them will make such lovely gifts for friends and loved ones!

                                                       

First row, left to right:

Image 1: Not all those who wander are lost luggage tag by Etsy seller OfTheFountain

Image 2: I want to have adventures with you print by Etsy seller n2design

Images 3 and 4: I would like to travel somewhere tote bag by Shinzi Katoh

Second row, left to right:

Image 1: A ship is safe in harbor print by Etsy seller littlethingsstudio

Image 2: Wherever the wind blows print by Etsy seller ilovedoodle

Image 3: Where you were print by Etsy seller spreadthelove

Image 4: The best routes print by Etsy seller TheWordShop