Packing Analysis

I wrote this a few days ago but seeing as how my internet has been dodgy at home, I saved it and I'm posting it now:

Packing Analysis

Well, seeing as how I have been here about a month and a half now, I think I can make a fair assessment as to what I did right and what I did wrong in the packing process. I have received lots of questions from people asking what I need, what I didn’t need, etc, so I figured this might be useful information for anyone out there who is reading and thinking about studying abroad.

Well, just like every other study-abroad-packing-guide out there predicted, I did bring too much clothing I suppose, but it wasn’t horribly overboard. Since I happen to live with a family that does laundry once every couple of days or so, I haven’t really needed everything, but then again, with the rain we’ve had recently it is taking forever for things to dry. As a general rule of thumb for anyone thinking about staying in Spain for awhile, bring a pair of jeans if you must as they’re quite useful and can be fashionable, but take another pair of pants or maybe even two because you’ll need something to wear while your jeans are drying for the next week or so, haha.

Before this spirals out of control, I suppose I will break this up into sections with some brief summaries to make it easier to read:

CARRY ON LUGGAGE:

Good calls: Chex mix, granola bars, nalgene water bottle (to fill up after security of course!) knitting project on wooden circular needles, Pringles, mp3 player, toothbrush & toothpaste, deodorant, face wash, and a book. It was really nice to be able to “freshen up” a bit after that flight to Madrid since I was traveling for a full 24 hours by the end of it. Oh yeah, and my eyeglasses repair kit was a LIFESAVER. I had never needed it before but man, was I glad to have it when my nose-pad-thingy broke in Philly.

Bad calls: Pop tarts (they just got ruined and crumbly all over the place)

CLOTHING:

As I mentioned before, I probably did pack more than necessary, but it’s not that bad. I can easily fit it all into one back and then some, and I’m prepared for various scenarios. I

Good calls: waterproof packable raincoat, hoodie, non-denim pants, dirty laundry bag.

Bad calls: I was told that it was cold here… but cold is a relative term. Looking at the latitude, it seemed to me like it would be a bit like New Yorkish weather, but I was sadly mistaken. I packed some long sleeved and/or thermal stuff to compensate for lack of a proper coat but it was entirely unnecessary. I thought there was no such thing as too many socks too but again, with the frequency of laundry-service here it was entirely unnecessary to have more than 5 pairs or so. However, I’m not sure if I’d recommend that to other travelers… socks and underwear are not things you want to have to wear twice, you know? Also, towel was completely unnecessary since I have a very nice and well-stocked host family. Oh well. I went against the advice in other blogs and brought my baseball cap just in case I needed some shade from the sun on excursions… probably should have left that at home too, but we’ll see if I regret this decision or not when May and June roll around. I’m not sure if this is the case with Spaniards in general or not, but it seems that me not having bedroom slippers to wear around the house was a big no-no too. Thanks for hooking me up Julie and Cindy!

TOILETRIES:

Good calls: Basics like shampoo, soap, face wash, etc was nice to have on hand upon my arrival when I desperately needed a shower as opposed to hunting for it in town. By the way, Curel “continuous comfort” is some seriously hardcore lotion for anyone who needs just a non-smelly good overall moisturizer. I’m seriously impressed. Oh yeah, and that DayQuil I brought was a lifesaver when I got a nasty cold early on. Chapstick is nice to have on hand.

Bad calls: I should have brought more anti-acne stuff and some of those sweet nose strips for the blackheads… this change in climate has been really wreaking havoc on my skin. I probably brought too much lotion too, since I was expecting to be super dried out Blacksburg-winter-style.. but instead I’m sweating like a pig.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES:

Good calls: spiral notebook (they don't sell notebooks with lined paper... only grids!), post it notes, a large yet very useful dictionary (thanks Jay!), Sharpies, pens, and my backpack (was my carry-on bag). Even though my backpack makes me very unfashionable, I’m thankful to have it, and I'm popular among my Spanish Fam when we go on excursions since nobody else has space to in their little purses, haha...

Bad calls: Should have also invested in a pocket dictionary (but Merche loaned me hers from when she studied in Ireland), accidentally brought along just one college ruled notebook and the other notebook was wide ruled, hi-lighters weren’t really necessary because the classes don’t really follow any sort of textbook, they are mostly just for reference and research.

HOMESICKNESS COMBATANTS:

Good calls: My jar of peanut butter is god. The DO sell peanut butter here, but only a couple of weirdo brands and I’m not sure if it tastes the same as my Jif. In any case, it certainly isn’t popular here. My photos of Jay and Blacksburg and little removable stickies to hold them up on the wall rock, just wish I had more of them. Webcam helps a lot too.

Bad calls: should have brought peppermint patties or other mint-chocolatey goodness… they just don’t seem to sell much of it here, and it’s my favorite. Luckily my care-packages have been supplementing this quite a bit!

MISC:

Good calls: Little VT gifts for the family, a Skype Pro account, my laptop, a thumb drive, list of phone numbers and addresses, photocopies of my passport, sewing supplies, and my Baggalini wallet-purse to carry around everywhere. Oh yeah, and my digital camera is the envy of everyone here, and I love it to death. The 10x zoom is AMAZING!!! Definitely glad I brought the dual time zone alarm clock and the dual time zone watch that Jay gave me for Christmas too.

Bad calls: Should have loaded some music onto my laptop, should have tested the files I put on my thumbdrive because it turns out they were corrupted.

That's all I can think of for now... perhaps an amendment to this later on.

Hasta luego!