packing, part I

Some Peace Corps volunteer blogs give their packing lists and these lists seem so sensible.  I, on the other hand, have so many things in contention for going that there is no point making a list.  I am aiming for sensible. There has been one round of culling and there will be at least one more.

It is not space that I fear running short, but weight (my LL Bean bags are wonderfully roomy - I have the ice blue and the guide gold, I like to think of them more as electric turquoise and school bus yellow). Everything must fit into two 50-pound bags, a carry on and a personal item. I must be able to manage everything on my own. Tricky, that.

The carry on is of overnight bag size (and will serve as such while I'm away); this will be packed with a week's worth of necessities in case my checked bags are delayed. The personal item will be filled with my electronics, a trashy travel magazine or two (or three - which I will further justify by saying I can use these in my classes), and food.

I have requested a vegetarian meal, but things do go wrong.  A side of rice drenched in airplane-chicken juice will not sustain me for the transatlantic flight. Protein bars, nuts, dried fruit, an apple, a banana, a chocolate bar, and crackers.  And lots of water.  It would do no one any good for me to arrive in Kiev hungry, dehydrated, and grumpy.