Welcome back! Also, packing for a month WITHOUT checking a bag!

Date: April 25, 2012 

Location: Nashville 

Listening: Billy Talent 

Mood: Getting over Spring Sickness (tm) 

     Today, I had Orientation for my Study Abroad trip in the Fall. It seemed like an appropriate time to start this blog up again; new and improved, welcome to Dorian JetSet!

     Since my trip to Prague is quite a ways off (125 days according to my countdown) I don't have anyhting related to the CR to post, so I want to cover a topic I've wanted to write about for a long time: packing. In the meeting today, semester-long students and short trip students got the same lecture: only check one bag. One bag? For the short-trip students, their adventures would be less than four weeks. This brought me back to my trip to Japan (also available on this blog) where I was the only one (of a group of 25 or so) who didn't check a bag. Everything I needed fit in my carry-on luggage. To be honest, a couple souvenirs I got traveled back to the US in a friend's bag, but if I didn't have that available I would have shipped them or not bought them.

     My traveling to a foreign country for three weeks without checking a bag has become the stuff of legends for my friends and family.... which I frankly don't understand! You don't need to bring everything and the kitchen sink when traveling, and having less/ smaller bags makes airplane connections, subway rides, transfers between hotels, and walking down the street easier! You can wash clothes in laundromats or in the sink in your hotel, a lot of clothes can be worn more than once, and you can find shoes that work for multiple outfits (that seems to be the main thing that women don't get, no offense ladies. Speaking of ladies, my packing list is mostly gender-neutral, but some comments are for women, because that's the packing experience I've had.)

     So, without further ado, packing for a three-week trip in one standard sized roll-aboard suitcase and one backpack. Let's divide necessities into three categories: clothes, entertainment, and personal care.

CLOTHES: 
-Two pairs of jeans. For everyday wear. Jeans can be worn for 3-4 days without washing. If you're really not a jeans person, substitute accordingly, just make sure it can be worn with EVERY top you bring.
-One pair of sweatpants/athletic shorts. Sleep in them, wear them when you do laundry, whatever.
-One pair of 'nice' slacks or skirt, if you need them. For church, nice dinners, etc.
-Tops: three or four t-shirts, cotton takes longer to dry than synthetics. Remember that if you're visiting temples/cathedrals you want to be modest, so watch necklines, and probably bring a long-sleeved shirt too. If you're going out, remember a fancy top with dark jeans or slacks can look just as nice as a dress. Boys might need a button-up shirt and (maybe?) tie. I don't know these things.
-Socks and underwear: enough to last a week, and then another day. Plan on doing laundry once a week, or even every 6 days, but the extra is because laundry day always comes a little later than you think. Socks and underwear are especially easy to wash in a sink and dry on the shower curtain or towel rack.
-Warmth: this does NOT depend on the season, you WILL need a hoodie/sweatshirt/cardigan. Maybe bring two if you're picky. I think I layered mine in Japan. Airplanes, for some reason, are always freezing, and sometimes you can't control the temperature in your hotel. I highly highly recommend a large cotton scarf too. This is actually a tip I got from my mom (thanks, mom!) and it's super useful. You can use it to cover your shoulders for modesty, use it as a blanket when you're cold, cover your head when it's raining or cold and you didn't bring a hat. I brought 2 to Japan and bought 2 more there, which may have been an overload, but they don't take up much space. You might need a jacket/coat depending on the weather, but you'll wear that on the plane and use it as a blanket there, so it won't take much space in your bag. (If it's really that cold you probably want long socks and various other layers but I don't need to spell it out for you.)
-Shoes: Wear your most comfortable walking shoes for the plane, but you'll probably still take them off. Make sure to keep them on for takeoff and landing, in case there's an emergency you'll want them on. Pack one other pair of shoes in your bag. You do not need hiking boots or heels. I promise. The idea is lightweight and comfortable. You always walk more abroad than you do at home. If you need to be formal, flats will do, if you need to work out, sneakers are good. Even if you're going hiking, those heavy hiking boots will just hold you down (literally, especially if it rains.) Most people who hike the Appalachian Trail wear sneakers.
Basically, the idea is to pack layers, things that all go with each other, and can be used for multiple occasions.

ENTERTAINMENT:
-Laptop/netbook/tablet. Load it with books, tv shows, movies, games that can be played offline.
-Adapter, depending on the power and socket type where you're going.
-One form of non-electronic entertainment... this means a book or knitting. You have to turn off your gadgets for part of a plane ride, and unfortunately batteries die sometimes.
-Journal/pen, you'll want to remember stuff, write down the train schedule, your room number, etc.
-Pocket phrase book. If you finish your book or knitting, brush up on the language of the country you're visiting.

PERSONAL CARE:
-I think this is how I get away without checking a bag... my #1 personal care item is cash. Don't bring full-size shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, etc. Bring the little 3-oz bottles you're allowed to take in a carry-on, they'll hold you through the first couple of days, and stop at a pharmacy or grocery store for the large size ones. Throw them away when you're ready to go home. Bam. Problem solved. If you're staying at a hotel you could use the ones they provide, too. Bring your own toothbrush and face cloth, hairbrush, etc.
-First-aid kit: you need band-aids. Even if you followed my comfortable walking shoes rule, you could still get a blister. You could fall and scrape something, you could cut something, etc. You want band-aids. You probably also want ibuprofin or asprin, headaches, etc. Pretty much anything else you can get at a pharmacy ("chemist").
-Do a little research about personal care products that you may need that might not be available in your destination country. I'm sorry if it's Too Much Information, but some countries don't believe in tampons. I've also heard disposable razors might be hard to find some places, so do your homework and pack accordingly.
-A little food. Trail mix, granola bars, those little boxes of cereal, goldfish crackers, whatever. The one useful/memorable thing I remember from the Study Abroad orientation today was "You don't want to be paying $30 for five peanuts at the airport." You might wake up at weird hours from jetlag and find that no restaurants or room service are open. If you don't drink plain water, you can get those little packets of kool-aid, gatoraid, lemonaid, whatever, that you empty into your...
-Empty water bottle. You can't carry liquids through security, but you can fill it up at a water fountain on the other side. A lot cheaper than buying bottled water everywhere. Do research about the water quality in your destination, though.

That's about it. Obviously everyone has different necessities, little things like jewelry to go with your outfits, etc, but this is my packing list for a few weeks abroad, and it should all fit in a regular rolly suitcase and backpack.

New entry coming soon- probably about packing for weekend trips, considering I'm going to be taking a LOT of those this summer, and then I'll cover packing for three months in Prague and then it's OFF TO PRAGUE! 

Re-entry essay

My visit to Japan was simultaneously one of the easiest, hardest, most frustrating, most educational, and strangest experiences of my life. It was easy because I'd traveled before, so I didn't have as much trouble with packing, jet lag, etc as some of my peers; hard because I was completely out of my cultural comfort zone; frustrating because I didn't speak any Japanese; educational because of the dozens of cultural details I picked up; and strange because a lot of the experiences were completely unexpected. It's very easy, living in America, to forget that the rest of the world exists. We eat our McDonalds and play with our iPhones and assume everyone lives the same way. Well, in Japan they have McDonalds and iPhones too, thanks to us, but they also have Torii gates and three alphabets and respect for their elders. They have a different attitude and different traditional values, yet welcome us rude, fat Americans with smiles and polite bows.

I'm not completely sure why I'm fascinated by cultural 'quirks,' the little habits that one has to pick up to assimilate, but they were very enjoyable to observe in Japan. Placing the money on the counter when making a purchase instead of handing it straight to the cashier was one of the most predominant things, as I observed my peers ignoring the tray on the counter and holding the money out while all the natives looked confused. I'm not sure why money is exchanged this way, but now I know it is, and this became second nature to me. For the few days I've been back in America, I've been placing cash on the counter, getting irritated looks from cashiers as they have to make the extra effort of picking it up. There was also a set of etiquette surrounding chopsticks that I wasn't expecting, everything from not stabbing meat, to not inserting the chopsticks vertically in rice, to not passing food from your chopsticks to someone else's. These were a little more easy to explain than the money-on-the-counter thing, because chopsticks are placed vertically in bowls of rice for traditional Japanese funeral rites, so doing this in a restaurant is implying that the food is fit for dead people. Still, the eating etiquette we have in America is only used at formal dinners and cotillions, so remembering details while eating in Japan was something we weren't used to.

One of the things that has changed about myself from this adventure is the desire to be aware of what's going on in the world: yes, I have always known that an awareness of foreign affairs is important to the modern adult, but I had avoided it like the plague. Politics have always seemed sticky and irritating to me, and I'd pretty much lumped all international news under the 'politics' category. But after having experienced Japan (I did go abroad when I was younger, but this was my first time abroad where I felt like an adult) I am truly, sincerely aware that there are other countries out there with different cultures and different values. Re-reading this paragraph it sounds insanely stupid, but basically this trip has made me want to read the news and know what's going on in the world.

Japan also taught me courtesy. I had thought that I was a relatively polite person, but when compared to your average Japanese ten year old, I am still rude and uneducated. Being respectful not only of others' cultures, beliefs and traditions, but also of their personhood and opinions, is something I will be certain to focus on in the future.

If you're reading this on my blog, thanks for reading. If you're reading this because you're my teacher, thanks for taking me to Japan. I will never forget those three weeks.

Japan Journal entry 1

I'm not sure if anyone will actually WANT to read my Japan Journals, but I'm required to keep them for class, so I figured I'd post them here. (Hi Mom! You're probably the only person reading this!) The rules for my class journals go like this:

"You will also write a Journal, which is to include reactions to readings, class discussion, and site visits, as well as personal observations on life in Japan as you experience it. The first entry should be made prior to departure and should state your hopes, expectations, anxieties, etc. about the coming experience. Each entry should be 400 words or so in length, or more."

Okay.

Journal Entry 1- Prior to departure.

10:31 PM Central time/ 12:31 AM Japan time, May 10, 2011

Feeling: My stomach kind of hurts a little but I'm pretty sure it's just nerves, and I really hope I can sleep tonight- I haven't much lately.

Listening to: Billy Talent (good band from Canada)

My name is Dorian, I don't speak a word of Japanese, and in 12 hours I'll be on a plane to Atlanta, where I will get another plane that will take me to Tokyo. I'll be there in roughly 24 hours? I'm too lazy to do the math but it's a crazy-long plane ride. I've had a few international experiences- I've been around half of Europe, but never Asia. I speak semi-fluent French and a few phrases of Chinese but, as I said, little to no Japanese.

Hopes/Expectations.... I'm the kind of person who likes new experiences of every type. I like seeing new places and doing new things. So I hope to see and do things I'd NEVER do in my average, college-student life. I'm really excited to see some crazy theater with my friend Stephanie, but that's not through the group, it's a little side trip. I'm also excited to wake up early and meditate with Buddhist monks- I've loved comparative religion classes in the past and new spiritual experiences are great for me. I'm glad to be getting out of America for a little bit. I was lucky enough to go to Europe as a teen, so I've noticed the differences between us and Everyone Else. I expect and hope to see a different culture with different priorities. [Culture comment: I have no less than 7 facial piercings. I'll be taking them out and/or wearing very subtle jewelry while I'm out and about, but I have read that they are incredibly uncommon in Japan. Not to mention the whole I'm-a-5-foot-8-white-girl thing, I'm going to stick out like a SORE THUMB.]

Anxieties: my health is a constant anxiety for me. I've been relatively healthy the past 8-9 months, which is why I'm well enough to go on this trip, but prior to that I'd been in the Emergency Room about once a month from a confusing, horrible stomach pain. Like I said, it hasn't happened for 8-9 months, so I really should be fine. Another anxiety is my boyfriend, who I already miss and I haven't left the country yet. We've done the long-distance thing before but I'm going to miss him a lot. Thank God for the Internet. Last anxiety: food. I'm not exactly the most adventuresome eater. Even though I like going to new places, seeing and doing new things, I was raised on a pretty bland diet (I'm not blaming you, mom!) and have been known as a pretty picky eater. However, my roommate Kyle (who is also coming to Japan) is a vegan (though he's loosening up and being vegetarian in Japan) so we'll be able to hunt down special food together. People ask why I'm going to Japan if I don't like fish (I basically don't eat seafood) and other people tell me I'm lucky I don't, because it's going to be radiated... so yeah, food is an anxiety. I know I'll find stuff to eat, though.

Here's what's NOT an anxiety -but might end up messing with me more than I thought- JETLAG. I've been on a pretty messed-up sleep schedule the past few weeks (moving and finals) so I'm used to strange hours. And, as I keep repeating, I'm an old pro at this international-flying thing. I got this. Bring it on.

>I just re-read this and noticed how I mentioned the language thing twice in the intro but not when I got to my anxieties section. I guess I'm really not too concerned about the language barrier? Japanese students are taught English in high schools and I've heard many are eager to practice their English, plus I'm a really quick learner when it comes to 'where is the bathroom,' 'I'm sorry, I don't understand' type of phrases- the other day I said 'hello' and 'I'm sorry' in at least 5 languages to demonstrate this. So... language is not really a big fear? I guess?