Expats come and go.

Expats come and go. That's a way of life here. You have to make friends fast because they might be gone in a couple of months.

But when expatriates leave, they have "sayonara sales" to sell off the furniture, appliances and other items they don't want to ship back. So we get good prices on slightly used items.

Several friends have left this year and we've acquired books, a Dreamcast, plants and kitchen goods including a lifetime supply of Jell-o pudding.

Pat, who worked at the bank, is returning to America next week. We are the proud second owners of her dressers and bookcases, a heater and a lamp. She threw in some bonus goods, too. Now we have more hangers than we have closet space.