packages of books

at the moment, i am preparing to move overseas. for the second time. and it takes a lot of work and preparation! it means paring down what i own .. trying to look realistically at what i have, what i actually use, what i need, and what i can give away to people who will actually use it. and, as always .. i have 'rediscovered' that books are heavy! especially if you have a lot of them. with two colleagues who left the country before me, i had quite the little library. well over half of those books have now been given away. probably more like two thirds. and mostly, i have been glad to share!

but the books that i wanted to keep .. how to get them across the ocean? last week i went to send a small package of books in a shoebox, and was told that it would be rather expensive. when i asked if there was another way to send books, the worker at the post office said that there was another option. if the package is under 2 kilograms, they can do the slower, more inexpensive version. so i bought a couple of large padded envelopes, filled them with books, and began. in the last 10 days, i have been to the post office 4 times, each time sending between 2 and 4 packages. in the process, i have become a familiar face to all of the workers in the office (it's not a big office .. 7 people work there, i believe), and have been able to tell them why i came to romania and that it is a beautiful country with good people. sometimes romanians need to hear this .. to be encouraged!

all told.. i sent just over 48 lbs of books for just under $95. basically .. two dollars a pound. which is a fantastic price! and it certainly makes packing easier .. hopefully it is now possible for my suitcases to be underweight and not overweight! now, comes the waiting .. hoping that all the packages do actually arrive. this makes me smile .. hopefully it makes you smile too!