Packing

I suppose all I really have to share with this is that packing for a year is difficult. What do you take? What do you leave behind? It's a task that's both daunting and rewarding. It is daunting because you are trying to get everything that you might need packed into 2 suitcases, a carry-on, and a personal item (hopefully without going too much over the weight limit!) You have to go through a whole laundry list of items to sort through and see what you might need and what you can get by without.

For that same reason, it is also somewhat rewarding. As I've filtered through my possessions, I realize just how much "stuff" I have. Only a handful of it is stuff that I'm packing - stuff that I need to get by for the next year. The rest of it is nice to have, but I can live without it. I've sorted through many a box and drawer in this process and gotten rid of a few things. It's been refreshing! Also makes you realize how fortunate you are to be able to buy "stuff" and not struggle with the necessities like so many people of the world are.

Which brings me to this - TRAVEL!! If you have not been outside of the US, you are missing SO MUCH. Traveling to a 3rd world country allows you to realize how rich and fortunate even the "poor" are in America. Traveling to a developed country makes you realize how cheap everything is in the states and how fortunate we are to have the luxuries we do. Plus, travel broadens your horizons - you realize how similar we all are and yet you will experience culture and customs that are so foreign to us here. So see America, but save up and go see another part of the world. You won't regret it.


P.S. Vinsanto is often served as a digestif after espresso - and is best tasted slightly cooler than room temperature...in case you were wondering