Rob moved back to the states from Buenos Aires only days after his 30th birthday. A few months before, we had made the decision together that we would be moving to Austin. Rob went to UT, loved Austin, and we had a few mutual friends who would, coincidentally, also be moving to ATX from Argentina. Plus, for me, Texas seemed a more logical transition from the slow-paced Latin American world I'd grown accustomed to than heading straight back to the hustle and bustle of Washington, DC.
Lincoln, the International School of Buenos Aires, where I taught, required several months notice so that they had time to recruit new teachers from the states. It may have been as early as November or December when I let them know that I would not be returning for a fourth year.
As soon as we decided we'd be heading back stateside, Rob began to let friends and ex-colleagues know that he'd be looking for work in Austin. Sooner than we'd anticipated, a friend of Rob's was able to set him up with an interview. Rob would need to be back in Texas by mid-February if he hoped to be considered for the position. With a three year hiatus explained as 'world-travel' on his resume, Rob decided he should go ahead and be there.
Rob would be turning 30 on the 11th of February, so I organized a large birthday/going away party for him. It was a great party with so many friends we'd grown close to in those 2 or so years we spent together in Buenos Aires. However, this send-off did come with a bit of pressure.
Rob's and my decision to make this international move together was a serious one. I'd be leaving a pretty cush job. To live in Texas. Rob's days of reading books, walking the city, and hopping from one Latino country to the next had come to an end. He was not only turning 30, he was also now in a serious relationship, heading back to find a job and to rent a house so that we could set up a life together. No pressure.
I wouldn't be moving to Austin until June and had plans to visit just once in May to go to a job fair. I would be, essentially, committing to Austin sight-unseen. I'd never been.
Once back in town, Rob was blessed with many friends and family members ready to put him up, help out with interviews, and offer hand-me-down furniture. For awhile, Rob lived with his parents in Houston. Finding that it was tough to get interviews satellite (the first interview didn't pan out until after he'd accepted another one months later). His friends, Ross and Scott Perkins, put him up for several months in Austin while he continued to interview.
When Rob found the rental house in South Central Austin where we lived for two years, he accepted each of the couches, recliners, tables, and bookshelves that were offered as help to get us started. By the time I joined Rob in Austin about four months later, we actually had more couches than we could fit in our living space. When a donation would come to us that was newer or more comfy than the last, we would trade them out.
One recliner that we inherited will never be forgotten. It was a cozy recliner but during the months we had it, we didn't use it much. Once, when my mom came to visit, she suggested that we pare down our collection of second-hand pieces. The space was too cramped. We agreed that we could do without the recliner.
We love the fact that both on Ethel Street, where we lived those first two years, and now on Johanna, we can put pretty much anything out on the street and it will be taken within hours, literally. We've gotten rid of washers, dryers (yes, plural), furniture, wood, lamps... you name it... without ever having to make a trip to Good Will. Rob actually spotted Austin's famous Leslie Cochran checking out our dryer when we put it outside our West Johanna house.
So, my mom, Rob, and I put the black recliner out on the curb and by morning it was gone. It was one of those decisions that was hard to make but that felt like the right thing once it was final (or so we thought).
About a month later, Rob and I arrived home after a night out with friends. Our headlights shone on the sidewalk as we pulled up to park. What was that on our curb? Could it be?
It was our black recliner. Someone had taken it, used it for a month, and then returned it to our front stoop!!! We laughed in disbelief, walked passed it and once inside, called my mom to share the funny and slightly bizarre story. None of us could quite understand how returning the chair to our yard was more convenient than just putting it back out on the street. While the chair was gone again by morning and we haven't seen it since, who knows when it might come back to us again? Once the house is built we might just be glad to have it back!
Our transition from a care and responsibility-free life in Buenos Aires has been full of its challenges. However, in a few short months, filling our brand new dream house with furniture is surely a challenge we can look forward to.
Lincoln, the International School of Buenos Aires, where I taught, required several months notice so that they had time to recruit new teachers from the states. It may have been as early as November or December when I let them know that I would not be returning for a fourth year.
As soon as we decided we'd be heading back stateside, Rob began to let friends and ex-colleagues know that he'd be looking for work in Austin. Sooner than we'd anticipated, a friend of Rob's was able to set him up with an interview. Rob would need to be back in Texas by mid-February if he hoped to be considered for the position. With a three year hiatus explained as 'world-travel' on his resume, Rob decided he should go ahead and be there.
Rob would be turning 30 on the 11th of February, so I organized a large birthday/going away party for him. It was a great party with so many friends we'd grown close to in those 2 or so years we spent together in Buenos Aires. However, this send-off did come with a bit of pressure.
Rob's and my decision to make this international move together was a serious one. I'd be leaving a pretty cush job. To live in Texas. Rob's days of reading books, walking the city, and hopping from one Latino country to the next had come to an end. He was not only turning 30, he was also now in a serious relationship, heading back to find a job and to rent a house so that we could set up a life together. No pressure.
I wouldn't be moving to Austin until June and had plans to visit just once in May to go to a job fair. I would be, essentially, committing to Austin sight-unseen. I'd never been.
Once back in town, Rob was blessed with many friends and family members ready to put him up, help out with interviews, and offer hand-me-down furniture. For awhile, Rob lived with his parents in Houston. Finding that it was tough to get interviews satellite (the first interview didn't pan out until after he'd accepted another one months later). His friends, Ross and Scott Perkins, put him up for several months in Austin while he continued to interview.
When Rob found the rental house in South Central Austin where we lived for two years, he accepted each of the couches, recliners, tables, and bookshelves that were offered as help to get us started. By the time I joined Rob in Austin about four months later, we actually had more couches than we could fit in our living space. When a donation would come to us that was newer or more comfy than the last, we would trade them out.
One recliner that we inherited will never be forgotten. It was a cozy recliner but during the months we had it, we didn't use it much. Once, when my mom came to visit, she suggested that we pare down our collection of second-hand pieces. The space was too cramped. We agreed that we could do without the recliner.
We love the fact that both on Ethel Street, where we lived those first two years, and now on Johanna, we can put pretty much anything out on the street and it will be taken within hours, literally. We've gotten rid of washers, dryers (yes, plural), furniture, wood, lamps... you name it... without ever having to make a trip to Good Will. Rob actually spotted Austin's famous Leslie Cochran checking out our dryer when we put it outside our West Johanna house.
So, my mom, Rob, and I put the black recliner out on the curb and by morning it was gone. It was one of those decisions that was hard to make but that felt like the right thing once it was final (or so we thought).
About a month later, Rob and I arrived home after a night out with friends. Our headlights shone on the sidewalk as we pulled up to park. What was that on our curb? Could it be?
It was our black recliner. Someone had taken it, used it for a month, and then returned it to our front stoop!!! We laughed in disbelief, walked passed it and once inside, called my mom to share the funny and slightly bizarre story. None of us could quite understand how returning the chair to our yard was more convenient than just putting it back out on the street. While the chair was gone again by morning and we haven't seen it since, who knows when it might come back to us again? Once the house is built we might just be glad to have it back!
Our transition from a care and responsibility-free life in Buenos Aires has been full of its challenges. However, in a few short months, filling our brand new dream house with furniture is surely a challenge we can look forward to.
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