You CAN Take It With You

How does one prepare for Ghana? In 2005, Mr. O's preparation for Ghana was the following: passport, vaccinations, anti-malarials, plane ticket, visa, health insurance, travel guide, incidentals (i.e. guitar, iPod, shampoo). All of this needed to fit in a suitcase and backpack.

That was for one student on a budget who was happy to have the adventure. This time around, the family needs all of the above x3. However, they also have a house that needs renting, a car that needs selling, financial and taxation planning (meeting with the bank, notifying the tax authorities). In addition, we have packed 2+ years of clothing, cleaning products, toilet paper, diapers, a laptop, toys, birthday presents, bicycles, cookware, DVDs, wine glasses - the list goes on. There is an entire shipping industry that subsists on this moving of things around the world (and Costco is highly complicit). And when they get there, they need to complete a partially-furnished house and find a personal vehicle (and go through the delightful Ghanaian bureaucracy to get licenses and registration). This does not even include the hiring of househelp.

How did it come to this? Since when did one need wine glasses to live in West Africa?

In truth, these things are not needed. The Buddha didn't have movers pack the bodhi tree on the way to Parinirvana. Jesus didn't say "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than to decide what goes in your sea shipment and what goes in your luggage."

In fact, the materialism of the entire endeavour is quite eye-opening. Perhaps everyone should at regular intervals inventory their earthly possessions. Only then does one realize how much stuff one collects over time and how useless much of it can be.

That being said, they are still bringing their Playstation - for the Netflix, of course. For man cannot live by satellite alone.