Yesterday, we tested packing my things to see how I'm doing with space and compactness. My mom (the most efficient travel packer the world will ever know) helped me lay out my stuff on the living room floor, and then see if it could all fit into two duffel bags.
It was a big moment. I looked at the two bags of clothes, equipment, and supplies, and I realized that that will be it. The only physical links I'll have to my life at home will be what fits, compacted and stripped down, into luggage. I try to uphold an ideal of not being defined by places and possessions, and this trip will be my first real test of that notion. For a moment today, my packed bags represented frightening isolation. But then turned it around, and rather than letting it feel like an uprooting, I'll try to allow that detachment to better define who I am, when it's just me, a place, and the people I meet. And two huge honkin' duffels.
The other paradigm shift I've undergone happened about three weeks ago, when I really stopped to think about the time frame of the journey. Throughout the whole process of applying to study abroad and researching the countries I'll be visiting, I've been excited with the idea of adapting to wildly different cultures and climates, and experiencing things that will be totally foreign. Until recently, though, I hadn't considered how long of a time I'm going to be doing that. As my roommates will agree, a semester can be a long time, and a lot can change. 108 days might actually be enough time to get used to nomadic life.
One final thought: given the length of time I'll be away, and my need to pack light, what do you recommend I bring along for fun? Right now it's just a pack of cards and this book. What's the most entertaining thing you've ever brought on a long trip?
Paradigm. Phlegm. Those words should rhyme but they don't.
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2 comments:
Hey there! This is Grace, your travel abroad buddy. Traveling by boat seems way different than studying in one place and taking trips from there. My must haves that make the trip more fun are my journal and travel guides from Lonely Planet. I really love Lonely Planet.
(Posting this from Linda L)
Hello, Isaiah - I will send your site to Rozzie and maybe also to some young friends - Naples, Italy and Chongqing, China who will find your travels interesting and inspiring. About items to take - well, Isaiah, 1) it has been a long time since I did something like you will soon be doing - but I took a book I found somewhere called 'Tangrams' which is a spatial puzzle, a collection of various size pieces that you can put into different designs - and a book that has the designs but not the method for creating them. It is small. I played it with people I met along the way - some folks took right to it and others didn't get it. I enjoyed doing it by myself, too. Such a thing is probably now an on line game. 2) on three month retreat, living in a tent on San Juan Island in '06, I had a plush (beanie babies) chameleon that I hung inside my tent (the tail curled around, right?) and also a few other small things that beautified and personalized my surroundings. It may not be very cool for you, but fans are often very helpful and they don't take up much space. 3) - hats - I like hats alot and, in China, I took a very warm hat that is in the shape of a pissed off looking cat's face! The joy of this cat hat (walking along the Great Wall wearing my hat [Great Wall is said to be quite chilly up there] ) - it was a fun way to relate to kids and their parents - we talked cat back and forth! 4) Notebook that has inside pockets - those pockets double as wallet. I think you can find them in Longs, Payless. Bring drawing pens so you can make sketches - I once travelled around Montana and Wyoming with just the sketchbook and now, seeing those sketches has the recall capacity like remembering dreams - vivid and vibrant. This much for now, Isaiah. Love and Farewell, Linda
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