Nothing. I am serious. I have packed nothing. I think maybe my lack of preparation is a reaction to my ambivalence towards leaving. The adventure and potential for learning and growth excites me, but I am not eager to give up the wonderful things I have here in the United States, namely: a wonderful and sweet girl, a mother who takes care of everything in my life, a family that’s best described as exciting, deluxe air conditioning, my VW Jetta GLS (it’s a 2000, but in my opinion is still better than most of the cars my friends drive). Everything else (fancy gyms, supermarkets, large shopping malls, a large social circle) I can do without. Most of my friends have already learned that, with me, friendship doesn’t require constant watering. I know that years could pass and I’ll still pick up where I left off with a number of friends.
Now, for what I plan to pack:
-Vital documents and certified (and non-certified copies)
-Tons of socks, boxers, undershirts (though I doubt I’ll wear undershirts much)
-Sandals, boat shoes, running shoes, soccer cleats (hoping to find a regular pick-up game in San Jose), tan leather dress shoes (for work), one extra pair of casual shoes TBD
-Bed sheets (jersey cloth, so soft, very important, from what I remember the bedding is miserably scratchy in Costa Rica). I plan on bringing a full size mattress cover and top sheet, as well as 2 pillow cases. If I need a blanket (which I doubt I will), it will not be in direct contact with my skin. Some things people bring abroad seem a little silly but make new places seem like home. This is not one of them; comfortable sheets are a must and, from what I’ve read, quite hard to come by in Costa Rica.
-Nice watch, silver necklace, absolutely no other jewelry (I’m not a jewelry person, and anything of the sort is a liability).
($300, 2GH processor, 160GB Hard drive, 9.5 hour battery, ~11in. screen, built in webcam). One of the best purchases I’ve ever made. This is a tiny, light-weight, dirt-cheap, high-performance travel laptop. The longer I’ve been out of college the more I realize that the only thing “adults” use lap tops for are photos, word processing, music management, and (almost entirely) the internet. If I had a job in electronics I might bring my Macbook, otherwise it’s just cruel to subject it to the trip.
-Cannon Powershot SD 600 Digital Elph. It’s one solid pocket-sized digital camera. I take a ton of photos, and I consider a digital still and video all-purpose camera a must for international travel. Furthermore, I am sure that the camera will help with work, teaching, language apprehension, keeping in touch with family/friends, making new friends, and a million other things while abroad.
-Running shorts, mesh shorts, soccer shorts (some with built-in underwear to cut down on laundry)
-(2) pairs of dress shorts (seersucker and vineyard vines linen shorts), (5) pairs of lightweight dress pants, (1) pair of jeans. My reasoning: even though it’s hot as hell and wet as well… a rainforest, the people of Costa Rica expect very formal dress etiquette. While my professors at Virginia Tech would teach in jeans or cargo shorts, in Costa Rica teachers are expected to wear dress pants. Shorts are not considered appropriate for any business exchange (it’s like they don’t realize that San Jose is a tropical city in a rainforest of a country).
-Stationary. Any person over 15 should have a good set of stationary. I don’t care if you get it for your bar mitzvah, your quinceñera, your confirmation, or you buy it yourself. I don’t like writing things by hand, but when I do I like it to look nice. I am also bringing a pack of my favorite ball-point pens, as I am a slave to my consistencies, and I have had trouble finding “my pen” here in the US.
-L.L. Bean adventure pack (The Closest Thing I Could Find Currently For Sale By L. L. Bean). I bought one of these for my semester in Ecuador, and after my laptop and other possessions survived months of abuse across Ecuador and Alaska, I had my sister get herself one as well. The pack has a waterproof rain cover that works better one could dream. I took my things poling upriver in a dugout canoe on the Napo River in the Amazon, I baled 10 tons of water off a runway at a glacier-bound, arctic research station when leaving Alaska. The most amazing part about this pack is its function as a backpack. It sits comfortably, holds an incredible amount of stuff (I’ve used it trips longer than a week before), it breathes better than my school backpack, it has two water bottle caddies, bungee bands for wet things and oddly shaped possessions (e.g. soccer balls, hockey sticks, umbrellas, lunch bags, hammocks), and a detachable and entirely separate top compartment for packing toiletries and/or messy things.
(Above: me and a classmate in our dugout canoe... before the rain... before losing our outboard motor... during the first day of our two-day journey. Left: Another classmate and friend Tymer walking our pack canoe upriver.)
-Dress clothes. A three-piece seersucker suit (an indulgence, I know, but I love to look good), dark blue pinstripe (subtle) suit, one additional sport coat, (4) button-down dress shirts (again, only because of the Costa Ricans and their demand for formal attire)
-(5) collared shirts, and (10) t-shirts. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to wear collared shirts to work, and I live in T-shirts.
-(2) Long-sleeved t-shirts and (1) rain slick and (1) hoodie.
Other people swear by bringing certain other amenities: electronics to exchange, dehumidifiers, laundry detergent, shampoos/conditioners. I will likely have a long list of things one shouldn’t leave home without (hindsight is, after all, much better informed than foresight). You’ll benefit from my tremulous transition.
And now it really is 3 days, as I leave at 9:30AM 15th July, 2010.
Luego,
Z
No comments:
Post a Comment