People who know me well know that I know how to pack light. For the last three years I’ve traveled with one 22” carry on and I’ve used that for most of my trips even if they are two weeks long. If I’m going away on a really short trip I go with a smaller duffle. I make all my clothing choices up front and plan my outfits and I wear any heavy stuff on the plane. I’ve gotten good enough that I don’t find myself wishing I’d brought more or something else, unless I forgot something entirely like socks and then I just go buy it.
But now I find myself packing to go to Uganda and it’s really stumping me. I’ll be there for 6-12 months. I know my carry on is not going to cut it. I want to bring things I use regularly so I don’t have to hunt for them at the start and I have to pack for business as well as exploring. And apparently sharpies and stickies (a ThoughtWorks mainstay) are not so easy to come by so I need to bring some of those along. My first attempt at packing was an abysmal failure. Three bags packed to the gills. I feel that I should at least be able to schlep them myself 20 feet. So I pulled everything out and started weeding (mostly clothes). Now I still have three bags to check, but at least I can manage them all (though it will be entertaining for people to watch). I just don’t know how much lighter I can make it without buying everything all over again once I get there. And I don’t really know why I’m so disappointed to have three bags. I think I just like the feeling of being unencumbered by my things. But I’m about to embark on a 20 hour journey, I appear to be ready and I hope I can find someone to help me schlep my bags when I get there because it just won’t be pretty.
