Been thinking a lot about things I miss. Both philosophically and consumptionally. Consumptionally isn't a word, but I'm going to use it here to indicate that I am a crass American who overpurchases and overuses consumables. So, where to start? Simple stuff. An easy trip to the grocery store that has everything I need. A chip clip. An ice maker. A Nordstrom Rack. A 24 hour gas station. Bacon. Real Cheetos that aren't boiled chicken or corn flavor. (Heaven help us, the "Corn Flavor" labelled on the front of the gorgeous orange Cheeto bag sounds sort of misleading. I mean, you know, toasty corn, roasted corn. I could handle that. Nope. This tastes like an expired can of cream of corn from 1976.) My toaster oven, Kitchen Aid mixer, parchment paper, and real vanilla. I also miss the EPA, but I think we've covered that.
Honestly, the things I miss are small and often rather silly. In general, we've been able to find almost anything and everything we need. The commissary is on camp for general stocking of pantry - and it might be a bit more expensive, but it is easy and accessible. To get to town, one must take a taxi or hire a driver. (For those who don't know, driving off of camp is a bad idea in general. Traffic is heavy and confusing and motorbikes are like dandelion fluff - here there everywhere - and they generally have small adorable children without helmets hanging off the seat. I personally, don't want to hit one. So we leave the driving to the folks who know what they are doing.) But town is still fairly easy to get to and contains everything a crass American could want. Cheap shoes, pokemon toys, mochi balls, ice cube trays, lollipops. Plus, batik clothing for the whole family!!!
We came over from America with 14 duffel bags filled with the most important things we would need for the first three months. In looking at what I packed in retrospect, the duffels I packed in June for our pre-assignment trip appear to be packed by a person who was rational and really thinking hard about what things really counted as necessities. The next ten duffels, which were being packed the week before we flew out, are bizarre and contained a lot of playdough and cheez-its. ("Cheez" flavored snacks appear to be my downfall.) I brought a lot of books and blankets too - which I assume are subconsciously representative of comfort.
So for three months, we live with the stuff brought over in the duffels and furniture and such provided by Facility Management. Then comes the magical day that our house goods shipment arrives from America. It is currently on a boat sailing over the Pacific.....and we hope to see it in early December. For the first week in Indonesia, I was gleeful about living such a clean, stripped down life. Someone laughed at me and said, "That's nice. But soon, you will be dropping I can't wait to get X from my shipment in to every conversation." And I'll be damned if she wasn't right. I need my bike to get around. I need all of the air purifiers, right now! I need my special pillow. I need silly little trifles. I really need my stinking chip clips. And Tupperware. (That's right Vincents, I said Tupperware.)
It does seem that when our overloaded shipment arrives we'll really be able to pinpoint what we need, what we want, and what is fluff. I hope to continue a weeding out process that began 6 months ago with a much clearer vision of how to "make room for what matters." (Thanks Janna P.) And in the end, even with small daily annoyances, I think I'm surprised that there isn't more I'm longing for. This settling in and discovery of new foods, new routines, new friends, new experiences isn't leaving us much time for missing stuff. We go up and down in our transition, because the building of this new reality is a challenge, but our family is intact and happy to be together and I'm pretty sure that really is the heart of what matters.
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