The big box II

Everything arrived safe and sound in the big box. There is some cosmetic damage to a few of the books, but nothing a good squish job in between a couple of heavy ones can't fix. Public shout-out to my brother, who expertly handled the loading of the stuff with the moving company. It's always a little uncomfortable to turn your valuables over to the control of another person. In my case, I did this twice, once to my brother and once to the moving company. And then to the truck driver and then to the ship crew and then to the receiving company here in the Philippines, and on and on. Even when the person handling things for you is a trusted member of your family, it's a cause for more than a bit of uneasiness and more than a few sleepless (or less sleepful, or something) nights.

I've actually spent quite a bit of time and money acquiring those things, a fact which, admittedly, causes me to stop short when I think of the poverty and general condition of human misery that I see here on a daily basis. I say here that I have only the appearance of being rich (I was taught this afternoon how to say that in Tagalog but I've forgotten), but at the same time the culture in which I was raised carries a strong element of the need to acquire things as a part of acquiring status and respect. I know I didn't say that properly, because I am still trying to process the differences between the society in which I live as a ger (Hebrew; 'resident alien, foreigner') and the society to which I am accustomed. It is a difficult transition, but I am slowly, ever so slowly making the leap. More to come...