What to Bring
On Wednesday, John got a list of all the furniture in our apartment, including everything from lamps to bookcases. The good news: the house is fully furnished. The bad news: the house is fully furnished. So while we don't HAVE to bring anything, we also CAN'T bring anything. They won't move furniture out of the apartment, so we're stuck with whatever is there. Of course, it's nice that the decision has been made for us, but I'm sad I can't bring my desk, since there's already one there. Or our velvet armchairs. Or our leather couch. At least we can bring our own artwork and linens (I'm going to have to get very creative with pillows to bring that place to life!).
Thank goodness there's an IKEA outside of Yekat, so at least we can buy things like extra lamps if we need them, or a coffee table (there are apparently two small tables in the living room; I'm not sure what that means). We're stuck with the twin beds in the second bedroom, but I plan on making that the guest room/gym/playroom, because that room is enormous and Jack doesn't need that much space (or twin beds in his room along with his toddler bed). I figure we can push the beds together if any couples come to visit us (hint, hint, Lauren and Mark). On the plus side, there's a walk-in closet in the master bedroom!
I've also decided to bring the treadmill. I've been told that even with a transformer/adaptor, appliances can get fried, but as someone else told me, you should bring everything that makes you happy, because the winters in Yekaterinburg are loooong. Knowing me, I'm not going to feel like suiting up just to walk a few blocks to the consulate gym if it's -30 outside. And with all the pirozhki and vodka I'll be consuming, I'll need to work out on a regular basis.
Also, I can't remember if I mentioned that we bought our car! We had to do it a little earlier than expected, since John's bro took our second car sooner than anticipated, but I have to admit that John was right: the 4Runner is awesome. Once we get all the kinks worked out (the DVD player is on the fritz, which is problematic because Jack now thinks he gets to watch Finding Nemo every time we go for a ten-minute car ride; the XM radio also ended three months earlier than it should have), it's going to be even more awesome.
So that's what we've decided in the past week or so. Less than two weeks until my Russian training begins. Eeek! Happy Friday everyone.
Thank goodness there's an IKEA outside of Yekat, so at least we can buy things like extra lamps if we need them, or a coffee table (there are apparently two small tables in the living room; I'm not sure what that means). We're stuck with the twin beds in the second bedroom, but I plan on making that the guest room/gym/playroom, because that room is enormous and Jack doesn't need that much space (or twin beds in his room along with his toddler bed). I figure we can push the beds together if any couples come to visit us (hint, hint, Lauren and Mark). On the plus side, there's a walk-in closet in the master bedroom!
I've also decided to bring the treadmill. I've been told that even with a transformer/adaptor, appliances can get fried, but as someone else told me, you should bring everything that makes you happy, because the winters in Yekaterinburg are loooong. Knowing me, I'm not going to feel like suiting up just to walk a few blocks to the consulate gym if it's -30 outside. And with all the pirozhki and vodka I'll be consuming, I'll need to work out on a regular basis.
Also, I can't remember if I mentioned that we bought our car! We had to do it a little earlier than expected, since John's bro took our second car sooner than anticipated, but I have to admit that John was right: the 4Runner is awesome. Once we get all the kinks worked out (the DVD player is on the fritz, which is problematic because Jack now thinks he gets to watch Finding Nemo every time we go for a ten-minute car ride; the XM radio also ended three months earlier than it should have), it's going to be even more awesome.
So that's what we've decided in the past week or so. Less than two weeks until my Russian training begins. Eeek! Happy Friday everyone.
I feel like at the very least MB and I can sleep in the walk in closet?
ReplyDeleteI promise you'll have a bed. Maybe jack's toddler bed, but a bed nevertheless :)
DeleteThe idea of using other peoples stuff would be overwhelming. But hopefully it will all look nice. Are you storing all of your things?
ReplyDeleteI like 4runners, too. Good choice.
Have a great weekend.
The foreign service packs everything and puts it in storage for us. I hate that we might not get to see any of our stuff for several years (we could go straight from this post to the next one) but that's life I guess :p we get to have our rugs and knick knacks at least. Oh, and books! There are four bookshelves!
DeleteSo I hope this isn't weird... but I'm a high school student in New York and I've already picked the Foreign Service as my dream career. I love your blog and can't wait to hear what life is like abroad!
ReplyDeleteHi Travod! It's not weird at all! I think it's great you know what you want to do already. John has met quite a few FSOs who have gone straight from college into the Foreign Service. It's really impressive! Thanks for reading and stay tuned - I'm sure things will get ridiculous once we get to Yekat! :)
DeleteUgh, so sorry to hear you can't bring your own furniture. As you'll soon learn, the Drexel Heritage stuff is just awful. We even have the newer, slightly less awful stuff here and it still makes me sad to look at it. Definitely bring lots of decorate stuff like wall hangings, rugs, etc. to give the place at least a bit of your own style!
ReplyDelete