Bonjhola

Ep 27 - Flashback Episode: What Aimee Packed to Move to Spain

• Rebecca West

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Where to find Aimee:

Where to find Rebecca:

Welcome to Bonjola, a podcast about two women, Aimee and Rebecca, who each moved from the United States to Europe to become expats, Aimee to Spain and Rebecca to France. We're here to share the highs, the lows, and the logistics of this adventure, encourage you to follow your own move abroad dreams, and remind you that you're not alone when the going gets tough. Enjoy!

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Vla, Rebecca?

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

bon jola.

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Aimee,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

uh, here we are again talking about our expat adventures.

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Yes. Yes. And you are in that place that I was in last May and June, where you're deciding. What to keep, what to get rid of,? You're going through that gut wre, literally gut wrenching, wrenching, wrenching experience of

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Yeah, it's wrenching and wrenching both.

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of, of saying goodbye to sentimental items and, and deciding like, you know, I mean, to use a tangentially french phrase, what cuts the mustard and what doesn't?

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

So Aimee, I am curious,'cause you have about six months in Spain now. I'd love to know if you can think back what did you think about as you were deciding what to take with you? How much did you take with you? now that you're six months later, how do you feel about what you took with you?

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Yeah, so we, when we left, we only took what fit in suitcases. We have not shipped anything over. Um, part of that was because, you know, when we left we didn't have our visa yet, and so we didn't wanna like. Pay gobs of money to have everything shipped across the Atlantic, only to have to turn around and ship it back or, you know, fire sail it to, uh,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Yeah,

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know.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

you, when you got to Spain, you did not have permission to stay yet.

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Correct. We had, you know, we had what was called the, the Sherin visa, right. Or the, the 90 days within the sherin zone that Americans are, were allowed. It's changing. Um, and we also didn't have a lease for long-term living. Right. We, that still had not yet been finalized.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

And was that because you hadn't found the place you wanted or because you weren't, you couldn't commit to that because again, you didn't know that you were getting to stay.

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Initially it was because we couldn't commit without knowing that we were going to stay. However, there was a delay in our vi visa submission, a significant delay that we didn't anticipate when we made our flights and, and everything else. So, I mean, it all ended up working out, but, but we didn't, we didn't have a place and we weren't certain yet when we initially made plans that, that, uh, I have forgotten your question. Can we try that

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Yeah. Well,

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second time?

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

with just your suitcases because you didn't know you were staying, you didn't want to ship things there or back. You didn't even have a long-term place to be.

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Correct.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

there you are, 50 days-ish from moving, and you're deciding what to take.

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Exactly. And when, yes. And, and when I was, I, God, that process felt like it took forever. And for me, uh, more than anybody else in the family, it was extremely difficult because one, I have the most belongings, and two, I have the most emotional attachments to the most absurd things. Right. Like,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

I see you there.

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you know, you were talking about whether or not. This mirror, this generic mirror comes with you or not? I brought a soap dish that I bought in my twenties from Anthropology for$24 because the sticker is on it, and every time I look at that, I'm like, you can't get anything for$24 at anthropology anymore.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

That's true. It's a collector's item just on that basis.

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I know. I know. At this point it's practically vintage, so of course it had to come with me. priorities.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

I love it. Yeah, there's a, there's a stuffed owl that my mom got me from Pier one, maybe 15 years ago when I was going through my divorce, I love that thing and I'm like, am I really gonna bring a stuffed animal with me to Paris?

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I did.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

don't know, guys. Did you,

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Oh,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

mean, you

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absolutely.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

stuffed animals.

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Yes. Yes. That was the majority of things that my child brought His carry on was full of stuffies. It was super adorable. Um. Uh, yes. I have a, I, I refer to him as my first son. He is a stuffed monkey with really freaking crazy eyes that I found in Portland when I was having a really, really bad day. And my inner child was like, if this crazy ass monkey doesn't come home with me, I am throwing the biggest temper tantrum. And I was like, Hey. I don't. All right. Monkey's, yours, that's it. And And I did photo shoots with this monkey. I have taken this monkey everywhere when I travel and I post photos of him, you know, wherever I'm at. And he's like, he's my spirit animal. And you bet your ass he was in not my suitcase, he was in my carry on luggage because nothing can happen to Sonny, the monkey

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

All right, so we know Sonny the monkey made it into the luggage. What else?

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Sonny made it. Um, you know, when I was going through it was really challenging to go through my clothes and my shoes as well. and I know this is something you're struggling with and

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

interject, the shoes are easy because no shoes that I will, I'm willing to wear in the United States. Am I willing to wear in Paris? Because in

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my God.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

I don't have to walk anywhere. And in Paris, I'm walking miles on cobblestones. So I am bringing. Just my hiking boots, and then I've gotta figure out Parisian shoes, so that's easy. But the clothes, I hear you. Tell me more.

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Yeah, I, I have to tell you, I, um, I just bought my first two pairs of like, hopefully European quality, European walking shoes. today because after our trip to Par. Yeah, I know, I know. God, my feet have been hurting me forever. Because the damn cobblestones man, they are hell to run on and they're not fun to walk on either. But I, you know, I book

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

in stilettos walk, I mean, these are natives.

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Yeah.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

only natives doing it.

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Yeah.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

around in stilettos. I'm like, that's crazy pants.

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Their ankles must be bionic. I don't understand it.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Right?

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Or maybe European heels have some special technology that we don't bother with in these states. I mean, who knows?

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Maybe, Everything European is tends to be more about quality over quantity. So perhaps they are simply buying literally better quality shoes. I don't know.

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More so than the states, but I do see this stuff sneak in, that is of lower quality, particularly on Amazon. But, you know, I did, I did get a pair of walking shoes fairly early on, within about probably three months of us arriving. And they're, they're okay. But, I have found that whatever pair of shoes I have, they have kind of like a 20,000 step limit. And then once I hit 20,000 steps, it's just like it's misery. You know? Your feet are throbbing. At the end of the day, they're pulsing, like they have their own heart, and that heart is angry So.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

tried like every single time we've gone to Europe, which is usually for several weeks to several months at a time, I always try to bring a pair of shoes that'll work. And I always end up in a shoe crisis.

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Okay, so any of our listeners who have the answer, if there is a brand like a European brand that you, that is tried and trusted that you know,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

need to know this

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we need to know,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

and

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it needs to.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

to report back if we find this brand.

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Absolutely. It needs to withstand 20,000 steps, which is about 10 miles, and you need to be able to walk 10 to 15 miles in it without your feet feeling like they want to decapitate themselves and leave you behind.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

But I care about them looking fashionable. I care about them

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Absolutely.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

good with slacks and jackets and stuff, so that's very important. will not wear a heel, but I don't mind like about a one inch, like a boot heel, but again, it's not

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No stilettos. No stilettos.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Yeah.

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More American women in our forties. It's just not working anymore.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Yeah. Forties, that's cute. Forties close to the fifties.

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Speak for yourself. I got years left.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Oh, good for you. Anyway. So back to your suitcases. What did you pack?

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So in deciding what to take and what to leave, right. And I actually started this process. I had the foresight, thankfully, to start this process, um, about nine months in advance. So when we came back from our scouting trip in Barcelona in September, I immediately went through all of my winter clothes that I knew I wouldn't take. With me and consigned them because at that point in time, consignment shops were looking for winter clothes, and every month I would cu. Another layer. Another layer. And I took it to consignment and, and so that I was able to make like eight or$900 on clo. Yeah, I know, I did. I did Okay. By choosing quality consignment, my better clothes, you know, that I thought had some resale value. Um, and then just monthly giving them what I got, what I got, what I got. Um, up until like I picked up my last check from them, I think the week that we left. So, and then, you know, it was really about thinking, who do I, who do I wanna be in Spain? How do I wanna show up in Spain?

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

exactly. Like this is a fun question to ask

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Yeah.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

It's one of my favorite parts.

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And also this unknown of like, I. Who do the, you know, who do the Spaniards or, or you know, it ends up being who do the LANs, who do they accept and who do they not? Because I've got, like, I've got some clothes that are a little out there, a little, a little crazy. And are these conservative people? Would I like stand out like some psycho or is, you know, is is the, is this town, which is, you know, in Barcelona? I wouldn't, it wouldn't be a question, right? Because Barcelona attracts all sorts of people. Nobody's gonna blink an eye, but I. And it's a smaller town, you know, a hundred thousand people. And so if you're here long enough, people recognize you, they know you. And you know, I, I wanna show up with some originality, but I also don't wanna be like, oh, that crazy lady that just appeared. Right? So there was this kind of. Friction over that in my mind. And what I ended up doing was taking some of my crazier clothes that I love and kind of putting them in purgatory. So I kept them.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

That one category, yes.

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Yeah, I kept them and put them in storage. I'm like, okay. If crazy Aimee doesn't get too many eye eyebrow raises in Spain. These are totally coming, right? Like these, these pieces are totally coming. But you know, my, my, um, snap pea outfit, you know, I didn't bring that, which I'm kind of regretting now.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

what? Your Snap P outfit.

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I have a costume where I dressed up. I dressed up. So one year I dressed up as a snap pea and I sang to my boss.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

listeners who may not remember, Aimee is a nutritionist, so that isn't quite as weird as it sounds.

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Super on point. And I, I worked in a, I worked in a medical clinic, um, as a nutritionist and so I showed up wearing a snap pee outfit and sang snap pea birthday to you, to my boss, which was amazing. It was amazing. Um, but I didn't bring that outfit with me and, uh.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

probably smart. I just don't see that being an everyday wear kind of an.

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It, it didn't seem relevant. It certainly wasn't gonna make the first cut. I didn't see it showing up in the future. I, I'm still a little sad about it, but you know, I was like, Aimee, you can always buy another one. there, they will exist,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Okay. But that's a, that's a point though because, so my life involves costume parties. It is

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right?

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

my joy and, and my approach to costuming is you go to Goodwill, you find a base that inspires you, and then you craft the heck outta that thing and you make a thing. Now I, having been in Paris, I know there are thrift shops, but I don't know my resources. I don't, but I also don't know if I'm going to go to costume stores. But yeah, it's like who we were and do we wanna stay that person. And then what, trappings do we need to bring with us to be that person? Or will those resources be there when we get there? And there's no way to know. so far you have not needed your Snap P costume.

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I have not yet needed my snappy costume. No. No. Um, so I, I think that was probably a smart choice I brought, I brought. A pair of my favorite shoes, a pair of flue vs. That I knew could withstand walking. Uh,'cause they weren't heels, you know, they were not big heels and they're well cushioned. I was able to, you know, walk around, uh, do some You know, cover some miles on them in, in the city. So I trusted those shoes here and, and so far that's, that's been smart. but because they're flu vs and they're special, I don't wear them as an everyday shoe. Right. They don't, I don't cover 25,000 mile or 25,000 step days in those shoes. Um. Did not. Yeah, I didn't bring any heels. I didn't bring any, you know, I didn't bring my New Year's outfit. I didn't bring any kind of celebratory gowns or stuff like that. We were coming in July, it was 90 degrees. I brought a, I brought stuff for early autumn, nothing for winter. Because again, it was like, well, my winter jacket was not anything special and I knew I'd be able to find seasonally appropriate things, here,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

They

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whatever winter, whatever winter would look like in Spain. Right? and then it was, and then it was, well, what? what do I absolutely love? What do I own? That feels like the essence of me that I want to hold onto Cultivate

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

And are

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show.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

in terms of clothes or are you

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Yes.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

household things too?

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No. Well, I mean with the, with household items it's a little bit different, but similar, but I'm still referring to clothes. Right. And, and then also you know, one, one shirt, one pair of pants, one pair of shorts that I can just schlep in. You know, not, not everything being the, the best of the best, but most, most things were the best of the best. Um, Spain doesn't have a large secondhand resale culture. It's not a big thing here. There is nothing like goodwill here. Um,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Oh, I

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and. It's painful. It's painful because clothes also are not as cheap as they are in the us

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Yeah,

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but ultimately that brings consumerism down and that's not a bad thing.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Um, it's funny you were talking about the schlepping around clothes. One, it's a silly little category of clothes, I have had the same painting clothes again for

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right, right.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

my paint, my one pair of jeans, one shirt, one vest, they're covered in paint it's what I use them for. Do you transport that to a place where you're like, well, I don't even own my house. I'm probably not gonna be painting walls, but I am a crafty person. And what if you know. But then you're like, but you can just go buy some stupid pants, and they could get dirty new it. It's like the, it's like what I was talking about in our last episode of how you have things for so long that they become meaningful simply because you've had them for so long. Like it's

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Right.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

of is my,

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The familiar,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

my costume or my, my uniform for this thing.

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well, here's, here's the other thing to consider. When you get to France, everything will be unfamiliar.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

I know

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So if there is something like that, and perhaps not a painting outfit because you won't be painting, right? But if there's something, you know, a pair of pajamas, a sweater, it isn't particularly important, but it's just that thing you want to, you want to take that with you because there is so few There's so little of that comfort of familiarity available to you for so long. For so long, and this is where this is where household goods came in for me. Like my question in, in terms of housewares that I wanted to bring, which again had to be limited to what I could fit into two suitcases. Along with my clothing and my shoes, right? So super, super, super freaking limited

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Mm-Hmm.

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It was what makes a house feel like home. And what ended up happening is I had so many things that make my house feel like a home.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Hmm.

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That the last two weeks before we moved, it was multiple iterations of packing and unpacking and repacking and shuffling and shifting and consolidating and minimizing and over. It was so bloody frustrating and exhausting and painful, and I hope you don't have to go through it. Um, and a lot of stuff just ended up being in storage. Like, okay, I, this, I not, I'm not ready to say goodbye yet, so I'm saying goodbye for now.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Right.

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And, and we do have, we probably have, I would say maybe 30% of our storage unit might be those things, which I was like, I'm not, I'm not ready yet. I'm not ready yet. I, and you know,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

you have a storage unit, there's a certain amount of room that you can fill. We've

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oh.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

and so it's like, well, now that we have a garage for anything, maybe we don't have to be brutal about what we get rid of.

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Yeah.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

So thinking back, what do you feel like there were any, or like thinking about what actually finally made it. what, when you look around your space are two or three things where you're like, I'm so glad I brought that. And are there any things where you're like, turned out that wasn't as important as I thought.

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I, I am so glad I brought some of my rocks, that he did.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

just showed me. That is

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Yeah. Yeah. The geod that I, that I showed you and.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

I love it.

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Yeah. Um, I brought, so, so one of the other things I do is I bullet journal and I, one of the only way I'm consistent with, with bullet journaling and, and habit tracking and, and staying top of mind of all the tasks that I need to do, is I, I utilize my bullet journal as a place for me to be creative because I'm not. I have a perception that I'm not an inherently creative person. And as I say that out loud, I can think of several instances where that is a lie, but let's just go with that. Um, and my bullet journal is a place where, you know, I use washy tape and different colored pens, and I, it's not Instagram worthy in any way, shape, or form, but having a dedicated place to be creative and. Have some kind of artsy stuff. One, it helps calm me down, balance me, ground me because I get so in my head and so Alpha Hustle bss, right? That this is one way that I can counter that and it also gives me something to look forward to. That motivates me to continue to plan, to continue to open up my planner and see what's going on. And because every time I open it, I got something nice to look at, right? Or I get to create something for the following week that I get to look at and enjoy. And this is a method that I've found to actually be consistent with, with tracking my life, which is complicated enough. It needs to be tracked. Um. And so I brought, this was something else that was difficult to cu through is I had this big drawer of washy tape and pen, like a whole craft table of shit, right? And I. God, I donated so much to to a wonderful nonprofit that recycles, uh, art supplies and offers classes, you know, low for low income and just wonderful place up in Greenwood.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

will need to get

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I,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

from you. Do you happen to remember off the top of your head the name

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you know what, let me look it up real quick., But I did bring some washy tape with me. Yeah. I could buy new stuff, but, oh, Seattle Creative is the name of, oh, they have a store in Georgetown and a store in Greenwood, Seattle Creative, fantastic place. And it's also a great place to get really cheap art supplies that, you know, have been donated to them. Right. So.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

that. Yeah.'cause one of the things I just called were all the acrylic paints because there's just no reason to put that in storage. They're just gonna dry out. So I'd much

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Exactly.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

and you can't really drop half used things off like that when they're liquid at Goodwill. They don't take that kind of thing.

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Yep.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

that's a great resource. know, it's, I like that you mentioned the creativity part.'cause my version of that Uh, isn't the same, but I have these two coloring books that when I'm really feeling like I need to calm my brain down, or if I need to do something mindless while something else is happening, they're just, they're my, they're my happy place

Track 1:

Mm-Hmm.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

really about coloring books, so I couldn't, I know that I couldn't just go and be like, oh, coloring book for a 3-year-old is exactly what I want. It's this one by. is it Brian Kessinger or something? It's traveling with your octopus. It is the coolest. Oh, it is a beautiful coloring book. And I'm sure I butchered whatever his name is, but it's traveling with your octopus and I love it. It's very steampunk. It's, it's that, you know that adventure curiosity person, so you're telling me that tells me, yeah. Bring the coloring books and bring my colored pencils. I'm gonna give away my markers. I'm gonna give away my crayons. I'm gonna give away my paints. I'm gonna give away all my scrapbooking stuff after I make this year's scrapbook. Um, but I'm gonna, you have made me decide I am bringing my coloring stuff.

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Yeah, definitely. And again, that's a piece of familiarity of place of comfort

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Mm-Hmm.

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that you can really lean into when you know when you're new in Paris and you are so damn sick of trying to say something and not being able to say it and being out in the world, et cetera, et cetera,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Yeah. That's the thing I'm most nervous about, is everything is unfamiliar. We've talked about it before, how you suddenly are a toddler in your own life and it's just exhausting.

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Yeah,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

got to find ways to refuel or you will collapse. And I know this is coming

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it.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

in 50 days.

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Yeah. So anything that's, you know, can't be replaced that provides that comfort to you is definitely worth considering to be a priority, or at least keeping in storage for the first trip back. And there were things when I came back to, um, you know, when I came back to the states to, to visit family, you know, for that, that brief trip that I took in November, I did stop at the storage unit. And, and I, and there were, because there were things that I was like, I miss this coat. I miss, you know, my, all my flu bugs. Um, but I didn't bring them all back. You know, I miss, my God, this sounds so unbelievably ridiculous. My vegetable peeler.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

why? Why do you love your love your vegetable

Track 1:

My, my potato peeler that I've had for 20 years, I have been missing. it's got a nice ergonomical handle. It's um, you know, I looked for alternatives here. I didn't really find any. I'm so glad I didn't get rid of it. I'm so glad I did not get rid of my potato peel. As absurd as that sounds,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

No, it doesn't though because.

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my garlic press, I brought my garlic press. You know, 20% of one of my suitcases was spices and herbs, because I have blends that I Yeah, I know, right? I have blends that I like to use. I, you know, I'm in a small enough town. There's nothing, there's nothing like worlds like, like world spice at,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

What?

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you know, street market here. So,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

right. Yeah. That, that's, yes.

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yeah.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

And the thing is, as global as the world is, you can't actually get everything easily everywhere. One of the challenges we had during our three months in Paris was we just wanted to find, um, red pepper flakes. But the but French food is not spicy. It's not what it does. Right.

Track 1:

Yes,

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Um,

Track 1:

and I did bring back chili.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

yeah.

Track 1:

chilies from the states. Mm-Hmm.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

If you want heat, you better bring it with you. Better pack the heat because yeah, you can find, we did finally find it. There's a fantastic spice store. I think it's um, called Israel in Paris, and oh, they've got a great collection, but we had to hunt far and wide for that. It is not readily available.

Track 1:

Yeah. Yeah. And there, you know, there are, there's likely going to be lots of instances where that is true for multiple things. And if, you know, like, I don't wanna take three months or six months to find my resource for x. Here, let me bring enough to, you know, tide me over. I did that with my oatmeal that I used before my runs.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Mm-Hmm.

Track 1:

I brought enough and I was like, okay, whenever I get back to the states, I'm going to, you know, stock up. And, you know, before I left, I placed an order that would arrive where I was staying by the time I got there, so that it had dedicated suitcase, space when I arrived, so I didn't forget.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Well, yeah, and one of the things I'll be stocking up on are some of the supplements and naturopathic. Things that I use.

Track 1:

Definitely

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

for three months and one of them I needed and I could not get my hands on it. Uh, shipping is a challenge. mail is a challenge. So even if you can get the thing, can you get the thing? Like those are

Track 1:

right.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

get the thing

Track 1:

definitely. Yeah. If you have access is not a guaranteed guarantee. It'll show up at your door.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Exactly.

Track 1:

that note, I have found that I, herb, I Herb, right, I-H-E-R-B does deliver to the European Union. Many of the,, brands that we're familiar with in the states as well as things like coconut aminos, which is like, oh my gosh. Not having coconut aminos is extremely painful for me. Um, very literally. Uh,'cause soy sauce gives me problems, but so, so we're, I'm able to access some of the oh and sardines, or not sardines, uh, oysters, canned oysters. I was able to find my canned oysters on ib, which was

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Congratulations.

Track 1:

I know, but I still brought six cans of oysters back with me from the states when I was there because they're.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

Oh

Track 1:

I never would've expected finding canned smoked oysters to be such a hassle here, but that's the reality.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

summary today then is leave the snap pea costume at home, but pack the canned oysters.

Track 1:

Correct? Correct.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

is an excellent packing list. I mean, that's really all we need, right? Check, check.

Track 1:

Oysters and good shoes. That's all we need.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

And, and no snappy costumes, Well, on that note, let us leave our listeners for today. How would you like to leave them?

Track 1:

I will go for, I'll go for the cuddle on goodbye and say a.

rebecca-west--she-her-_2_01-11-2024_093140:

And I will go with a nice formal French vo.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Bonjola. If you did, the best thing you can do is share it with another person brave enough to move abroad. See you next time!