I suppose I was also feeling a certain amount of excitement as well, but let's be honest. I have moved four times in 5 years. Two of those moves were cross-continental. As much as I sometimes enjoy organizing my life, and getting rid of the "junk" in my home that I no longer feel I need, I was definitely not looking forward to sorting through all our belongings and making the (sometimes difficult) decision as to whether or not each item was worth the round-the-world journey.
Luckily we had a lot of help and support. The moving company actually packed all of our items, literally everything except our clothes, and pretty much took care of everything. Our wonderful helper Mila came by a few days later and thoroughly cleaned our empty condo from top to bottom. This saved us hours upon hours of time.
So, the moving out part wasn't too bad. It was then that we had to say farewell to some incredibly close friends. You see, in Singapore you're family isn't always (or rarely) around for special events. Birthdays, Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, you name it.
I think this is the main reason why friendships generally become so strong when living overseas because these friends of yours transform into your family. They let you stay with them when you have no where to live, they host birthday parties for you, they cook holiday meals and dress up as Santa. The friends I have in Singapore are absolutely priceless.
Which of course, was the most difficult part about saying goodbye. Although between the parties and farewell dinners, we were actually able to celebrate our farewell in such a positive way. Surprisingly, I didn't feel quite as sad as I thought I would, but then I realized that it was because I knew I would see them all again. These people are stuck with me forever!
Miss you! xo
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