Pack. Backpack through Queensland for 10 days. Unpack. School. Pack. Spend a weekend on Great Ocean Road. Unpack. School. Pack….this time for three days in Sydney.
As any study abroad student knows a semester’s worth of traveling and amazing adventures comes with one major downside….packing. When you’re traveling so much it seems like you’re constantly packing or unpacking. I haven’t been at home in Melbourne for longer than five consecutive days since I left for One Fish Two Fish on March 28th and with all the traveling my life has been a whirlwind of packing. Oh how I loathe packing. Traveling has always been one of my favourite things (there’s so much to do and see) and I wouldn’t trade the trips I’ve been on for the world but as much as I love traveling, I’ve never been a fan of packing. Let me tell you why...
1. Procrastination.
As someone who hates packing I frequently leave it till the last minute in the false hope that everything I need will just magically pack itself when I’m not looking. Sophomore year of college I didn’t start packing for move out until 10pm the night before I was leaving and here in Australia the same pattern is emerging. Every time a trip rolls around, I wait until the day before (thankfully usually earlier than 10pm) to pack then the next morning I’m rushing around hoping I haven’t forgotten something important like a toothbrush (this has happened), my camera, or worse my wallet. Even as I sit here writing this blog entry, I’m procrastinating another round of packing.
2. I’m a chronic over-packer.
Just ask my roommates or anyone who’s ever had to deal with me on Loyola’s move in day (thanks for putting up with it girls) and any of them will tell you that “Kaitlyn brings way more stuff than she’ll ever realistically need.” Whenever we go on family trips my dad’s the first one to ask why I need so much when I’ll only be away for week (he even refers to my purse as my overnight bag). That being said, packing only one suitcase, one duffel bag, and one backpack for five months of living in a foreign country was not something I was looking forward to back in February and there are definitely a few things I wish I had that got left behind (thankfully my mom sent most of these to me). Almost two months after this first bout of packing panic, One Fish Two Fish made my chronic over-packing come out in full force. With only one duffle bag and a backpack for nine days it took me four tries to fit everything I needed, which brings me to packing peril number three.
3. Weight Limits.
The worst part about traveling by plane is the weight limits especially when you’re trying to save money by only bringing carry-on baggage (which many airlines actually weigh here). For an over-packer this has all sorts of problems, the most important of these being that you can’t cheat the scale by stuffing your carry-ons. Weight limits are real and enforced. When we leave for Sydney tomorrow night I will be allowed a grand total of 10 kilograms combined weight between my two carry-ons. Thats only 20 pounds which is almost guaranteed to be difficult for someone who packs the way I do, but seeing as I don’t intend on checking a bag (they make you if it’s over the weight limit) I’ll have to make it work.
4. Deciding what to bring.
In Melbourne you can experience three seasons in a single day: summer, fall, and spring. On any given day its extremely likely that there will be a temperature change of at least 10 degrees (Fahrenheit of course), thus leaving you dressed in jeans and a jacket when its hot enough for shorts and a tank or vice versa. This has made me somewhat skeptical of the report I get from weather.com each morning. Sure it’s sunny now, but it might be pouring rain in an hour, and stop raining five minutes after that. Dressing in layers is the name of the game and when it comes to packing that means more clothes so the weather doesn’t catch you off guard (not really compatible with 20 pound weight limits).
5. Unpacking
You know how they say everything that goes up must come down? Well the same is true of packing. Everything thats packed must be unpacked. Even if I live out of suitcase for a week, eventually its back home to Melbourne to take everything back out and (after another round of laundry) put it back in its place.
6. It’s just not fun
Who wants to be locked in their room meticulously folding and unfolding stacks of clothes when you can be out exploring the city with friends. We’re in a foreign country (granted we’re here for school) and there’s always new places to discover around the city or even around campus.
So we go out, we explore, we procrastinate and we let packing fall by the wayside until we can’t put it off any more. After all, if we’re not packed and ready to go, we can’t leave for the next adventure and adventures down under are not to be missed.
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