Tuesday 1 May 2012

Boxes, boxes and more boxes

You have a house in the UK, but you don’t live there. You have a home in Nairobi, but periodically you need to return to the UK for several months, spending time communicating with supporters. What is the common denominator here? My answer would be boxes! Boxes containing household items that were left in the UK when I moved out to Kenya : Some in the loft of my house in Horsham; others containing more valuable items (and winter clothes) in my parents’ loft in Nottingham. And now, boxes in my flat in Nairobi in every nook and cranny I could find, and with a friend, containing personal items (clothing and toiletries) , non-perishable food, and ornaments etc that I’d be concerned about getting damaged if they were left in my department, with a variety of people using it while I’m away. Plus suitcases of clothes, gifts, toiletries, work materials and miscellaneous things that I’ve brought with me to the UK for the 5 months that I’m here.

Given the amount of travel I’ll be doing around the UK these next few months, I suspect that packing and unpacking is going to be even more a part of life here than it is when I’m in Kenya. Remembering which box everything is in, even including which country(!), is going to be challenging. As will be knowing what to leave where……..
As someone who likes to be unpacked and have a sense of being settled and of ‘home’, my response to all this is - Boxes?! Argh!