Admission

This may be a little embarrassing for me, but I'm going to share with you some of the things I've learned about packing for a long trip like this one. I hope you find amusement at my discomposure.

I must first state that before arriving here, I had no idea whether I'd be staying in the back corner of a barn or put up in a European hotel (which one guy from my group is). I had no idea if certain things would be accessible or if the brands would be weird or what I'd be eating. Here I go.


I'll start with things I brought but totally don't need:

40 million hair ties. I left about half of them at home stuffed in a drawer and brought seriously a good year's worth of them. I don't think I've used more than two since I've been here.

An entire thing full of bobby pins. Really? I only use four at a time, at most. Why did I need to bring all the bobby pins I own?

About 50 band-aids, scattered in different places throughout my various luggage. Granted I have this one pair of shoes that can give me blisters, but I made sure to wear them in before I left. I knew I'd be doing a lot of walking in the airport so I made sure to pack some band-aids in my carry on, and in my toiletries, and another bundle in my regular luggage. Luckily they don't take up much space.

Enough fiber supplements for most of the five weeks here. Some of you who know me better know that my digestion is really not in good shape, and I was worried that the strange food would exacerbate the problem. I was wrong and things seem to be working properly now. I guess a little extra fiber never hurt anyone, right?

Not one but two curling irons. I had to leave my flat iron at home because it wasn't rated for the electricity here. I was reading up about the electrical differences between Europe and the States online, and heard horror stories of heating implements just giving out halfway through, or not supplying full power. So I thought it would be a good idea to bring two, apparently? I ended up buying a flat iron last week anyway but am a little shy to admit how much I spent on it - something that I'll only be able to use for a few more weeks. My host sister really wants it though, so it will make her happy to have when I leave. I can chalk it up to generosity, right?

Like seven black skirts. Granted they are varying lengths and some have embellishments, pockets, etc. But really? Is anyone going to notice if I wear the same black skirt every day or if I switch to a different one? I think not, especially a bunch of kids. Do they really care?

Enough razor blade replacements for twice as long as I'll be here. They're so expensive, so I try to stretch their life as is. I'm not sure if I thought I would be extra concerned about having smooth legs while in Poland, but it doesn't matter because they're generally half-covered by one of the black skirts anyway.

Sunscreen. Come on, who really uses sunscreen? I'm going to leave it here when I go. I only use sunscreen on my face, and my make-up has SPF already so I was good from the start.

Enough jewelry to fill a curio cabinet. I like colorful things, and packing for this was fun because I got to pick all my favorites and stuff them into a bag. It wasn't fun to open my special jewelry thing to see all my necklaces knotted up and everything jumbled together in one heap. I spent a good amount of time last week undoing that mess. I always end up wearing the same four things anyway, so what's the point? AND I'm buying even more at the markets here. Gifts, right? ...

A million too many post-its and highlighters. Sometimes they do come in handy for certain activities, but I have a feeling the school will be getting a big donation of yellow highlighters and sticky notes when I leave.

About 352893 granola bars. They came in handy on the plane when I realized I had forgotten to request vegetarian meals, but now they're sitting in my suitcase getting all melty. I also kept some spearmint gum in the same bag so now everything tastes and smells like mint.

My two dictionaries and phrase books. I only used one of them once. My host family has a pretty hefty English-Polish dictionary, plus the majority of people I've encountered speak English anyway, and there were a handful of people in the group who speak Polish as well. So it's pretty unnecessary, but it's nice to know I have them just in case. I suppose they could come in handy when one of you comes to meet me here at the end of July...


Things I really wish I brought:

Different clothing. Tank tops and dresses and at least one fancy outfit for special events. I guess I'll just have to buy some here.

Bronzer powder. I used it every day! Why didn't I think I'd use it here? Silly.

Stuff to make my hair shiny. Also used daily. Universal miracle product. Now absent from my life.

Better markers, pens, and pencils. The school has one sad little pencil box with broken crayons and markers that barely write. Luckily I was able to pick up a fresh box of markers and colored pencils and it has made life so much easier.

Organizational boxes. You know how I am about organizing things. I have these canvas containers that you can collapse to be flat and they'd take up barely any space in my luggage. A bunch of stuff is scattered on the floor of my bedroom and I would really like to have it contained in some way, but I can get by without it for now.

Some little portable iPod speakers. This would be so great for my class. I can always bring my computer to class with me, but it's kinda risky and the speakers really aren't that great.

Perhaps a DVD or more books or magazines. Sometimes at night I just want to relax and watch a movie or do something other than have labored conversations and surf the internet. I only have one book and I'm trying to stretch it out so I can read it when I'm desperate or without electricity or internet. Magazines would be useful for mindless reading, but I don't really care for them too much. They'd be really great for salvaging for classroom projects, though. I actually had a bunch to bring with me but decided to leave them out last minute because they're pretty heavy and took up too much suitcase room.

More body lotion or oil. I prefer the oil but was worried about it being too messy. Now I have to ration my lotion and I think I'll only be able to use it in desperate times.

A better loofah. I need to exfoliate! I can get by with what I have, but am really looking forward to getting home and purchasing a nice one that will make my skin glow. I don't know why I didn't just do that in the first place - it's not like it would take up so much more room in the suitcase that it's not feasible.


Things I'm really glad I brought:

My laptop!

My camera and all the cords for it.

Extra paper and pens for myself - really handy for lesson planning.

Sandals, Chucks, and wedges.

A case for toiletries. Really handy in the hostel.

A prize box full of mega-cool prizes to use as incentive in the classroom. I put some of my old jewelry in there, and it was the first to go!

Bathing suits - although I haven't had a chance to wear them yet. I hope they still fit...


Well, there you have it. Did you learn anything? I sure did. Hopefully you can laugh at this but also take some tips away for when you come to gallivant the rest of Europe with me!

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