Packing...where to start...?!

PACKING, this is a word that strikes 'fear' into the hearts of even the most steadfast of wanderers. 
For me packing is about taking ALL the things in your life and somehow categorizing them and then stuffing them into boxes; which if you are smart you will label before you tape it shut, and shipping them to wherever it is you are moving.. 

Sounds easy enough when you write it down, but I can tell you that it is one of the most exhausting, harrowing, and emotionally charged events in life; at least it is in our house.

I know people who love to pack, just not unpack.  These people happily categorize, box, and label their belongings with the greatest of ease; making the whole thing look effortless.  However, when they have to unpack these same lovingly prepared boxes, these same people become chaotic and emotional.  Running from here to there, unpacking in a wild state and looking like something out of a horror movie (hair in disarray, yesterday's mismatched clothes on, 5 days growth of beard, dark circles under the eyes, and a cold cup of tea in their hands which could be mistaken for a weapon).

And then there are the other people. The people who hate to pack but love to unpack.  For these people the same characteristics described in the unpackers above are the same ones displayed by the packers in this example.  They run from room to room packing wildly, all the while muttering profanities under their breath and occasionally throwing their tape gun in a fit of anger when it runs out.  Now to be fair, the people who hate packing are absolutely glorious at unpacking.  They seem to move through this task with grace and precision, knowing exactly where everything should go and how it should look.  They make settling into a new home a great experience. 

It is important to note that I have not met any people who like both packing and unpacking, but I have met plenty who hate both tasks with equal zeal.

Because my partner is the person who loves to unpack and not pack and I am a person who equally hates both tasks you can understand that we are now experiencing that pre-packing angst.  We are now only 3 months (4 on the outside) away from moving countries and we haven't started packing.  To be fair we do have a storage locker with a lot of our things already packed in there and we have many items still in boxes from our last move stored in our loft because they were meant to go to Portugal and not be used in this current space. So we could say we are half packed already.  But honestly it still feels like we have a mountain of packing to do before we can put everything in a container.

And while we are talking containers, we also have to label and catalog everything that is going in that container.  We can do this for the stuff already packed and stored, but it's the items that we are still using, that are not packed, that we will need to catalog as we go.  This shouldn't be too arduous a task but since I am a person who hates packing as much as my partner, I feel that we are fast approaching the time when our stress levels are going to hit stratospheric heights if we are not careful.  We will definitely need to work as a tea and we are going to have to plan when and how we're going to accomplish this job called 'packing'.  Because honestly if I had the money, I'd pay someone right now to do this for us. I can dream!

Today as I write this I can tell you that I can't even imagine folding a box and putting a thing inside of it.

But in a very short time that's exactly what we'll be doing and hopefully we will have the good sense to make sure that we make this fun somehow; because if not, it's going to be a long 3 months of living amongst boxes and trying not to tape each other to the walls.

I can only imagine what Christmas is going to be like this year.  Probably something right of the Dr. Seuss book: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas; complete with wires hanging on the walls and the last can of 'who hash' being loaded into a box for shipment to Mount Crumpet (a.k.a. The Algarve).

The journey begins with just one step.

In between homes...

Many people accept, as I have, that moving within a country, not to mention to another country, is a stressful event. But what do we do with that stress? Why don't we create environments that would reduce that stress? What I have witnessed is many people not considering taking care of themselves during this moving process and making choices, like living with family, that only add to their stress. We have decided that we are not going to do this but finding the right place to "lay our hat" in between homes is proving a bit of a challenge.

My home in Canada is a loft and it has been my home for about 2 years. I am used to living in buildings that have many people in them.  So I have never lived in a home that didn't have many people co-existing under one roof. 

When we move to the Algarve, it will be the same.  We are going to live in a 2 bedroom apartment that is part of the Resort Complex (pictured).  So again I will live in a home that has many people under one roof.  I am not unhappy for this prospect, because it's something I know.  What has me concerned is that I don't know where I will live from the time that I pack my house in Canada and send it in a container to the time when I step onto a plane to go to my new home.  There is going to be a one or two month period between these two dates and so we are looking at our options right now.

We spoke to our family and our friends about this dilemma and of course everyone offered to take us in but we want this to be a period that is focused on the move, and not a period of added stress.  Family should be the people you can go to for anything but I have found that this is not always the case.  The reasons for this are many, but the most important thing you need to do to figure out if family is the right choice requires you to answer the question: "If I live with my family will this reduce my stress or increase it?" If the answer is, 'It will Increase it', then family might be an option you should rethink.  And that is exactly what we're doing. 

For us there are a number of things about living with family that will only serve to increase our stress.  One of these is location. They are 1 hour from the city and so getting our jobs would require a long commute.  The other issues are the inability to live under a family members roof without some kind of tension.  It's inevitable that our way of life would be incompatible to their way of life.  And even though it is for a short time, it is an added stress that I would rather not inflict on any of us. 

So we are examining other accomodation options.

One of those other options inlcudes living with our friends in the City.  They have offered and this seems our best option at this point. It will allow us to live close to our work so the stress of commuting is not there.  Also it's a living arrangement my partner is familiar with.  He lived with this friend, when they were both single, for a couple of years and so they are similar in their lifestyles and habits, and at the very least tolerant of each others approach to life.  I think living for a short time with these friends is our best option.

Many things need to be attended to when you move from one Country to another, and especially if you are crossing an Ocean. Taking care of your mental, emotional, and physical health during this transition period should be top of your list of things to do, but often it is close to the bottom or not on the list at all.  For us it's now close to the top of the list and I believe we have found, by choosing our friends to live with, a way that will serve to combat our stress and make this period of time more enjoyable.

Now all we have to do is start packing....but that's another story.

The journey begins with just one step.

On the Inside Looking Out, You're Here and it's There...

Over the last year we have been working to mobilize a Health and Wellness Tourism Project in the Algarve, as this will be one of the main sources of income for us when we are there.  This has presented several problems, not the least of which is the fact that 'we are here, and the project is there.'

To compound this, we have been preparing to 'move' to the Algarve in the first quarter of 2010.  The timeline being very much influenced by the 'launch' of this project which is targeted for May 2010. 

So there are two things, no there are four things that require our attention right now.  The Project, The Move, Current Jobs, Family Obligations.  All needing a high level of attention from one or both of us.  This truly is when I have to be very careful and maintain a 'self-care' routine that involves, blogging, spending time with friends, spending time with my husband, and spending time ALONE.  Because if I neglect this self-care routine, the other 4 things that need my attention will start to feel like 'chores' and I will start finding every excuse not to give them the attention they need.  This of course would have disastrous results.

So our first task in getting this project mobilized was to establish a partnership with an existing resort in the Algarve.  This acutally proved to be less difficult than I thought, because through networking with other expats in the Algarve my husband was able to make a connection with the owner of just such a resort and a partnership was born. 

The project (Health and Wellness Tourism) was spawned from the current Medical Tourism model that much of Europe is embracing, whereby, individuals under the European Union are travelling to one another's countries for medical procedures with the added benefit of Healing in a Spa Hotel/Resort.  We also are incorporating the recently popular Experiential Tourism model, whereby individuals travel and stay in countries and learn about the culture of that country by integrating themselves into that culture during their stay.

The people travelling to our Resort won't be coming for Medical Procedures, but will be coming to experience Healing in the setting of a Resort that offers a Holistic experience. 

Travellers will be able to partake of Natural Medicine services, learn to cook Portuguese Dishes, learn to create Ceramics in the Traditional Portuguese way, go on Historical, Gastronomical, and Natural tours and generally have a holiday that is more about learning to "take back" some things that they can 'Integrate' into their lives at home.

The point is to travel, learn, and experience another approach to life, giving you the opportunity to enhance your current lifestyle and inspiring you to a holistic approach to living.

Of course this concept has taken most of a year of 'brainstorming' to get it to where we can begin to mobilize it.  That's what we are doing now.

The place we started about 3 months ago was the Website.  We are working with designers in Canada and the Resort owners in the Algarve to get a website that will communicate just the concept I described.  That has it's own challenges, including the fact that I am the 'coordinator' for the website. 

In addition to having a full time job as a counsellor/trainer and managing the ups and downs of a family, and managing the ups and downs of 'the move', I am also having to make sure that what is going into the website is what all the stakeholders want.  Should be easy, but to be honest with the time differential between Portugal and Canada and the many misunderstandings that can go on when you are using email, I have been having a hard time getting this website to meet its targets.  But I know that it will happen, I just need to persevere.

At least we have the place we are going to live figured out...it's right on the Resort.  Very convenient.  Now all we have to do is figure out how to put the contents of our space now (3000 sq. feet) into a two bedrooom apartment.  One more challenge!  More about that later.

The journey begins with just one step.

"The Move" (Background)

This blog will chronicle the stories about my journey from being a Canadian girl who has lived her whole life in Canada to being the wife of a Portuguese man and our move to the Algarve in Portugal.  It will be funny and it will be thought provoking, but it will never be dull, that I can promise, because if what has happened up until now is any indication, then the rest of this story will no doubt be just as funny and thought provoking.

So since I really don't want to bore you with the years that it took to get 'the move' to become a reality, I'll just give you the highlights. 

All the rest of my posts will be about 'what's happening now' with 'the move.' 

And just to clarify, I call it 'the move' because for me this 'move' is really profound. It's a move from one place to another, yes, but it is also a 'move' from one lifestyle to another.  This has far reaching implications since my life in Canada is my only reference, and my husband does not face these same issues.  He has lived in several places in Europe and Canada and for him the 'move' is not as 'daunting' or maybe it is, but not for the same reasons. 

I have lived as a Canadian in the Province of Ontario my whole life and while I have travelled through Europe and parts of Cuba and Mexico, I have essentially led a 'lifestyle' that is Canadian influenced, and I am accustomed to all the things that go with that.  For example I experience Winter for 6 months of the year.  That's -15degrees Celsius most days and snow that can reach a meter.  Just look at last years winter in Toronto if you don't believe me.  So I have clothes, and boots, and coats, and so on as a large part of my wardrobe, because 6 months is a long time to be cold.  

'The Move' will mean I can get rid of a large part of that wardrobe, since the Algarve doesn't experience snow and temperatures don't get below 13 celsius let alone -15 in the winter.  So my lifestyle will change, and don't get me wrong it isn't changing for the worse, in fact I can see it changing for the better.  More about that in other posts though.
 
So moving to another country, will definitely impact my 'lifestyle' and I think right now, aside from the tons of paperwork, I feel pretty good about this.

So the Reader's Digest Version of the story to date:

• Met my future husband 8 years ago and found a common passion for holisitc living (truth be told we started dating 8 years ago, but we've known each other for 14 years).
• Moved from a small town (50,000) to Toronto (2.5 million) and started working in the Non-profit sector as a Holistic Counsellor for marginalized populations.
• My husbands a doctor of Natural Medicine and his practice expanded in both Canada and  Europe during our time in Toronto.
• We got married and decided that developing my husband's European practice was the next 'chapter' in our story.
• Spent a couple of years back and forth in Europe (Portugal) making contacts and finally establishing a location to live and work that supported our philosophy of living in a community that would support our Holistic way of Living. 
• Decided to make 'the move' to Portugal
• Decided that not only will my husband continue to practice natural medicine when we move, but he and I will be developing and growing Health and Wellness tourism in the Algarve, starting in the Spring of 2010, at a resort close to Albufeira.
• Began the task of 'preparing to move'

So I can tell you that, that list covered all but the last year of our story. 

Right now we have gotten word that I can apply for my residency permit despite the fact that some legal documents have not officially been registered in Portugal.  This is significant because over the last year we have been 'wrangling' with the lawyers and legal system in Portugal trying to complete a process that was started more than two years ago and up until this bit of news, was starting to threaten my moving to Portugal when my husband did, this coming Spring.

So now you're all caught up...next post(s) we'll talk about the last year and the tons of paperwork we are doing, the bureaucracy of Portugal, and the task of getting a Tourism Project off the ground while still here in Canada.
  
The journey begins with just one step.