Migration

We are living in a migratory population. The migration is not a wholesale yearly migration, as one sees with certain animal species, but is a fragmentary process that involves some AUCians every year. Some leave after 1 or 2 or 15 years, and every year new people arrive. The turnover is patchy, and in many cases not involving the people that I would have chosen. 🙂

In more direct terms, this is the time of year that AUC faculty and staff who have completed their contracts, and have not renewed, begin flying away to the (LITERAL) four corners of the planet. On my floor there are 4 apartments. We are the only people who will be staying. Three new sets of newbies as of August!

With friends packing up and heading out, there are LOADS of things that aren’t worth bringing back to the US (or wherever) nor are they trashed enough to toss. Jack and I ran into this problem when we left the States. So what do you do with all that stuff?

!!GIVE IT TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE STAYING!!

We have “inherited” everything from mismatched wine glasses, to beautiful ceramic serving dishes, to a dozen cans of water chestnuts. No kidding!

We are unlikely to need/want all this stuff, so we are planning to assist the newbies in settling in by distributing some of the silly, household things that you “need” when you move into a new place. We figure a welcome party with a “give away” table will suit.

Having never lived in a community that experienced this type of annual flux, this seems a little odd, but…we’re learning.