The Packing List

I've been kind of ridiculous lately with my trip planning. But as today is the 8 month marker until graduation, I gave myself a little break from studying and really delved into planning. What did I do you ask? I made a packing list. Yes, I know it's early. But I am nothing if not prepared. This list I've made has more items than I really want to attempt to stuff into Don Quixote (my backpacking backpack), which is what I'll be using while traveling. But on the other hand I have to live for 9 months, beginning in the summer, and ending in March, in a town that will be hovering around 0 degrees Celsius for three of the eight months I will be there. My hope is to send things home with my parents when they visit in September and after Christmas, and to ship the things I've accumulated back home in the days before I leave my host family and venture out with only a visa and rail pass to direct me.

Being a woman, it seems like I've put far too much thought into my clothing in terms of fashion. While 2 (maybe 3) bottoms and 3 tops, and one dress seems excessive in terms of weight, I'm actually a little worried about only having 7 outfit options for three months.

If you care to judge my list, suggest items I've forgotten, or listed that are unnecessary then please leave me a note in the comments! (items with a "*" before hand are only coming to Germany, not all around Europe)

Clothes:

long skirt
running tights
cow neck sweater
blue blouse
2 under shirts
layerable dress (black polka dot) 
warm/waterproof jacket
extra warmth layer
3 pairs underthings
4 pairs socks
hiking boots
paddock boots/walking shoes/dress shoes
hat
gloves
scarf

Additional Clothes:

*pencil skirt
*chacos
*cardigan (grey, adaptive)
*light rain coat
*extra socks
*extra underthings
*sleeping clothes
sundress
*burgundy pants
jeans
*running shorts
*3 tshirts/extra shirts

Personal Items:

camera
computer
iPod
passport
visa
wallet (credit cards, spending money, driver's license, etc.)
phone (European and American)
chargers for electronic items
adapter for chargers
bathroom items (toothbrush, -toothpaste, -sunscreen, mascara, coverup, -soap, hair ties, head bands, hair brush, -wash cloth)
day pack

Survival Items:

2 water bottles (-1 water bottle, 1 travel mug)
-sleeping bag
compass
map
-emergency blanket
-snack foods (energy bars, dried fruit, chocolate)
-flashlight

Additional Items:

*-reading materials
postcards with contact information (for giving out)
-mace


*=coming to Germany but not Ireland
-=buying it in Europe as needed
"Additional" clothes and items may not make it onto the final packing list

The Sillyness!

Shortly after writing that last post I realized how silly I was to be looking a wool coats and sweaters and scarfs and socks when I'm going to IRELAND. Perhaps this should pacify me in my shopping fervor. Perhaps not.

Boots!

I'm getting that boot envy, or really clothes envy that comes at the beginning of every school year when I let my parents believe that I really don't need any more clothes and then get to school and realize oh shit, yeah I do.

Need of course is a relative term, used here to say that I get too many fashion magazines from my delta sky miles which convince me an over flowing closet is a healthy one. Being someone with three drawers and maybe 50 hangers worth of clothes I have more than I strictly speaking need. But I want them you know.

The pattern always starts with the practical things. When moving to a village in Germany with an average temperature of freezing for three months of the year one must acquire suitable warm clothing that is easy to pack and wash and still makes you presentable. Enter Under Armor.

But skin tight athletic ColdGear is not really the most fashionable thing to wear. I've got a few dresses to class up the leggings, but really I need some accessories to me from turning into that-crazy-girl-who-has-two-layers-of-skin-that-are-different-colors in my village. Enter Modcloth.

And then, predictably, things get out of hand. First there's nordstrom scanning, and then looking at anthropologie and in a manner of minutes I'm drooling over $300 boots. I suppose if I don't want to actually move to Europe I could just spend the money I've saved on clothing I'd be scared to wear for fear of ruining it.

 

$2500 later I'd have an awesome new wardrobe, but zero prospects for directly after college...