Packing Monster

This journey of mine starts with an impossibility: I do not exist for a whole 24 hours.

Flying from LA to Sydney, I lose an entire day. For all of February 9th, 2011 (Happy Birthday, Mom, by the way), I do not exist. Impossible! And very strange to think about. Kinda hurts my brain to do so, so for now I simply won’t.

I’ll focus on packing instead! Oh no. Packing. I don’t mind the physical packing, the Tetris-like cramming of 6 months worth of clothes, shoes, scuba gear, and life into two 50 pound (or I guess 23 kilogram) checked bags, and one 15 pound (7 kilogram) carry-on bag. But when it comes to deciding upon the actual objects to bring along and shove into those bags, I’m terrible at it. But what if I need it? is the question I ask myself most often as I examine my pair of purple suede 5 inch heels or 13 of my favorite books or my beloved blue pea coat.

Since the weather is going to be roughly 70-85 degrees Fahrenheit while I am in Cairns, I will need hardly any of my clothes suitable for Oregon/Washington weather. My leg warmers, coats, scarves, boots, wool socks, and flannel will keep my room full while I am away. Instead, I will be packing dresses, skirts, shorts, tank tops, sweaters, and sandals.

Deciding which shoes to bring will probably be the hardest thing for me regarding packing, simply because I love shoes and have (probably far too) many pairs of them. I'm limiting myself to 6 pairs. Not including scuba fins :D

Attempting to pack up enough of my life to last me six months in a country so full of unknowns is really hard. It makes me realize just how many possessions I have, which doesn't always make me feel great. Mother Theresa, I am not. Yes, I have a lot of things, and I know that I should try and pare down my possessions in order to live more simply, but that is really hard to do. I'm working on it, but it isn't easy.

As for packing, a difficult aspect is simply not knowing what I will be needing while I'm there. Yes, the weather will be warm because I am in a temperate rainforest, but if I travel elsewhere in the country, it can get super cold at night. I just have so many questions. Will I need hiking boots? How much walking will I be doing? Will there be a place close by to purchase dishes/cooking implements? Is there a library with good books to check out? How much would I get made fun of for wearing a fanny pack? (Although I wouldn't call it that because fanny means the same thing there that it does in Europe. Go UrbanDictionary it if you don't know.)

I'm sure I will manage to get all my packing and organizing done, but right now, it seems a massively large and overwhelming task.


:D

PS: I'm also going to try and do a 'Song of the Day' every time I post a blog so that I can share some of my current favorite music with everyone!

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Song of the day: When I Go by Brett Dennen
(Click the song title to hear it via YouTube!)

The Beginning

I fly out of the country in fourteen days. This is how my journey will go:

• Drive from Kirkland to McMinnville (hopefully) on the afternoon of Feb. 7th
• Drive from McMinnville to PDX on the afternoon of Feb. 8th
• Fly from PDX to LAX at 5:50pm on Feb. 8th
• Fly from LAX to Sydney International Airport at 11:50pm on Feb. 8th
• Arrive in Sydney at 9:25am on Feb. 10th
• Fly from Sydney to Cairns at 1:25pm on Feb. 10th
• Arrive at the Cairns airport at 3:30pm on Feb. 10th
• A shuttle/greeting service from James Cook University will meet me at the airport and take me to the Cairns Student Lodge (the awesome apartments where I will be staying)

Then, holy moley, I will be in a different country, 19 times zones away. And I will be there for roughly six months. SIX MONTHS. The longest I've ever been away from either home, Kirkland or McMinnville, has been when I've been at the other place and it's incredibly, incredibly weird to think that I will be going somewhere completely different and strange and new for such a long period of time.

But on the other hand, it is a massively exhilarating feeling. I will be in a completely new place where I can develop whatever sort of routine I want, or simply live without a routine. Other than classes and orientation, there's nothing that I am required to do. However, I plan on exploring the campus and town, scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, poking around local markets, cooking new foods, and figuring out the metric system, as well as meeting lots and lots and lots of new people, both Australians and other foreign students. I hear everybody in Australia is incredibly friendly and nice and I can't wait to meet people there.

But first, I have to collect the rest of my things from my apartment and check out. And then tackle packing. AHHHH!!!!!!!

:D