Finland-The Devil is in the Details
If you’ve ever gone abroad for a long period of time, you will understand how many details there are to take care of before you can actually relax on the plane with a mai-tai. And if you’ve ever had to move out of your house and rent it out while you arrange new housing, visas, and permits you will know exactly how intricate of a dance this can be. As we started to prepare for Finland, our To-Do list started to grow at a quite alarming rate. The moment we decided to rent out our home, the house rebelled and started to begin to fall apart. The garden that had been holding its own against the long standing Southern California drought and invasive weeds, decided to give up the fight, and within one night (or so it seemed) a jungle stood in its place. Our small dog refused to go outside to lift his leg fearing for his life from unseen predators lurking in the bush. Indeed, the very town was threatened by one of the worst wildfires in California history.
Fortunately, we held to our lists. I worked on the house and the yard while Robyn took care of the longer administrative chores. As more information came in from Fulbright, more was checked off and more was added:
-Visiting the Finnish consulate in Los Angeles for Robyn’s resident permit. Check.
-Airline Tickets for the Fulbright Orientation Conference in Washington DC. Check.
-Updating each family member’s passport. Check.
-Researching medical insurance for the duration of the trip. Check.
-Establishing contact with Fulbright “buddy” and host in Finland. Check.
-Finding viable housing in Jyvaskala. Check.
-Sauna desensitization (naked saunaring is the norm, and is apparently a great way for people to spend time together in Finland). Not check.
Then, of course there are the details here in Cali we have to take care of:
-Organize leave of absence (me) sabatical (Robyn). Check and denied…
-Finding accredited online school for daughter’s high school classes. Check.
-Landscaping backyard. Check.
-Posting house for rent. Check.
-Sell car. Check.
-Yard sale for extra items. Almost check.
-Pack-up house and store possessions. Soon to be checked.
-Buy warm clothing (In southern California?!) Hopeful check.
-Living on one income to save enough for trip and return until wages kick-in. In progress check.
-Find caretaker for pet dog. Maybe check.
And so it goes! This all sounds like a lot, and it is. Yet it’s kind of like riding a roller coaster: the drop bars are in place, the car has started to climb, and everyone has that silly “why did we do this?” smile on their face with perhaps a slight nervous tick in the corner of the eye. However, when the ride is done you just want to jump back on and do it again. What a great opportunity, and how fun to break out of the usual working rut to remodel your life. Thanks, Fulbright!