I have traveled a lot and like to think that I am pretty good at it by now. I do my research, plan out my trips, and can get around using public transport all over the world fairly easily, despite my terrible sense of direction.
That said, I am still the world's worst packer. The actual worst. I am pretty good at packing light, but I always find myself running around frantic at the last minute, trying to make final decisions about what to bring. This is especially true about shoes. I want to take the minimum number of shoes that I will need, that are comfortable and functional. But does this mean flip flops, hiking boots, water shoes, running shoes? It's always a mystery and depends where I am going.
I spent a couple of evenings trying to get my packing done a few days before leaving, thinking that this would make my last night at home more relaxing. I was wrong. I am still me, and I am still a terrible packer. Despite having been to Alaska in February, I found myself struggling with what to bring for both clothes and shoes. Most of the clothes I take will be for fieldwork, and since the weather will be cold but variable, the clothes should mostly be made of synthetics or wool to keep me warm and dry while we work. But how many, and which of my clothes would be best was eluding me. In the three weeks I will be at the field station, I may or may not be able to wash my clothes once, and can only take one or two 2-minute showers a week. Most likely I will just be wearing the same outfit all the time, but it's hard to know how many layers I'll need and so on.
In the end, it meant that I spent the night before I left trying to make final decisions and driving myself crazy and not relaxing at all. Just like every time I travel. I annoyed both Jeroen with my loud packing sounds, and the cats, who wanted to sleep but were waiting for me. I stayed up until midnight on Friday night and got up at 6am to do a little more. By 8am I was saying good bye to my family and walking to the tram, reasonably happy with my decisions.
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