Many of you, our friends and family, have started to notice from what I’ve put on my Facebook profile and what I’ve said in e-mails and on our Africa blog that I’m laying plans for my/our return to the U.S. And some of you have started asking me about it. I’m sorry to do this, that it won’t mean individual replies to many of you who have asked about this, but I’m just going to write a mass reply/note/e-mail telling you what our plans are. This may be more detail than some of you care to read, but I’m trying to cover all bases with this:
I have a one-way ticket out of Nairobi leaving the night of March 1. I will head to Seattle first because that’s where we strategically arranged with LWF (Sarah’s employer) for our home base to be as part of her contract with LWF in Kenya. This gives us all the flexibility, should we need it, to go that far west when we first leave Kenya (i.e., repatriate, which is what LWF calls this). I will obviously take advantage of this opportunity, but Sarah may or may not (she can obviously choose not to go that far west but can fly anywhere east of there in the U.S. – not as far from Kenya - for less cost to her employer, which they should not object to). In Seattle I will visit family and friends and use the time to sort through and pack up some household belongings and old mementos that have been stored in my parents’ basement for, oh, the last 18 years (only half my lifetime) and get these things ready to ship later in some way to Washington, D.C. This is finally our chance to bring together in one place (a house) everything we own! We will somehow have to get everything from our Chicago condo that we didn't take to Geneva with us that is now in storage with Sarah's sister in Salt Lake City out to D.C. Everything that was in Geneva with us went straight to the D.C. area, and thanks to some of my coworkers from long ago who are retired and living in the area, they got it into storage in Rockville, Md., for us in preparation for the day we move back, which is finally this year.
Then, on March 12, I will fly from Seattle to Washington, D.C. (not stopping anywhere else en route for any layovers or visits). D.C. is our desired new home. Where we actually end up living and working will depend on where we can find jobs and an affordable house. But we are choosing D.C. or its environs (which includes the district’s suburbs in Maryland and northern Virginia). This means I will head to D.C. alone. Sarah and Lexi’s plans are to stay behind in Nairobi until Sarah’s contract is up in early May. Then she will fly to the U.S. with Lexi to officially repatriate. Where she will go first and what she will do as soon as she leaves Nairobi is not determined yet - visit some of her or my family in parts of the country before heading to D.C.? She hasn’t decided yet. We have talked about this and have made these arrangements together and believe it is best for us at this time. This head start with my repatriation, me going to D.C. alone, will allow me to concentrate on searching and hopefully finding a job and hopefully getting a start on searching for/buying a house and car. My initial plan is to stay with a friend for several days and then hopefully find a furnished studio or one-bedroom apartment in D.C. or nearby to sublet.
And no, I will not return to Kenya to help Sarah pack up our house (which we got furnished anyway, so most of the stuff isn't ours) or fly back to the U.S. with them.
You might have follow-up/new questions about my plans after reading this, but with just a few weeks before I’m set to leave Nairobi, and with some projects to finish up, as well as a visit of Sarah’s parents, I may not have the time to answer each of you individually. Please know that I appreciate your interest when you ask about my/our plans, but I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t respond to you right away or at all about my/our move and plans for it. This is what I know and have planned so far, and I’ll try to keep writing general updates for everybody to read as I make further plans.
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