Columnist Paula Dubbink has stored her belongings into boxes at her parents’ attic. Will she ever see them again?
“How the heck has that girl been cooking the last two-and-a-half years? She must have been living on fast food.” – The two boxes with kitchen stuff.
“We’re not even certain whether we’ll ever open our pages for her again. We’re so frea-king insulted.” – The BA-study books.
“Quite certain that when she finally remembers my existence, she’ll wonder why she even stored me and she’ll bring me straight to the dump.”
– The 1995-model television.
If my belongings that are stored at my parents’ attic could talk, I’m quite sure that this is what they would be whining about up there . In August 2012 I packed them in boxes in my room in Utrecht, moved them to my parents’ house and since then they have been more or less ignored.
I would be angry too, if I were them.
Whenever I do remember them, moreover, it’s usually not even in silent desire to get some of their contents here. In the last years, they have mainly been a source for pondering from my side: how much stuff do I actually need? Or maybe rather: how much can I do without?
Now don’t get me wrong: I won’t contend that 2.5 years of international life have turned me into an enlightened Buddhist devoid of any materialist thoughts. Living in a furnished student room and having a shared kitchen means I can share a lot of things with others. Moreover, I have become a frequenter of Södra Esplanaden’s second hand market, where I found out that a water boiler that cost me 10 SEK there works just as well as the 20-euro one that is collecting dust in a box at home.
For all other situations, international life, especially in the beginning, is about finding creative solutions. No drying rack for your clothes? Hanging them on hooks in your cupboard with the doors wide open will do the trick too. A recipe with detailed instructions but no kitchen scale? Just estimate, it’ll probably taste just as good. And who needs a sleigh to slide down from Sankt Hans backa? A plastic bag works fine too, I can say from experience.
Which, again, doesn’t mean there aren’t some things that one shouldn’t forget to put in a bag before heading off to Lund. If I may give you my personal tips: your musical instruments, your laptop, your favorite outfit and your hand blender. Everything else is nice, but not actually needed.
In the meantime, I look with curiosity forward to the day that me and the boxes will be reunited at my living place, wherever that will turn out to be. Mainly because I have forgotten so much about their contents – do I own wine glasses or not?
At the same time, I know that I then will be faced with a horrible choice. Should I keep the Swedish or the Dutch water boiler?
