Thursday was the day my students in my COR 220 Aesthetic Expression course, the ones heading off to Zanzibar in a couple weeks, were dreading: the day I brought in my pre-packed suitcase (well, backpack) to shame them into following the packing list I sent around.
2 convertible cargo pants
5 shirts
7 pair of underwear
1 swimsuit
1 light rainjacket
1 pair sandals (very comfortable and broken in)
1 shaving kit (containing the usual stuff plus my malaria meds and a dose of Cipro)
1 smart phone
1 small camera
1 CPAP machine (where the adapter and various chargers are stored)
1 Kindle
1 guidebook (I'll also have paper copies of documents, which I'll toss as needed)
1 well-warn passport (which sadly I need to swap for a new one as soon as I get back)
Yep, that's it. I'm a notoriously light packer, and it's more stripped down every time. I'm not bringing shoes or socks this time, even though we're leaving on 30 December and returning on 14 January (I'm assuming the bus will not break down along the way). The great realization I made on my trip in May was that I brought shoes and socks and only wore them on the flight over, and then groused about having to take them off while going through security; so, why bring them at all? Now, I may leave the backpack and actually bring a very small suitcase, but that would only be to have room for the requisite mashatani that I will doubtless buy at the wood carvers market in Dar Es Salaam on the way back, but who knows. What I'm been drilling into the students is this: you can't pack for two weeks, so free yourself of that notion; pack for four days and assume that you'll be washing your clothes in a bucket along the way.
2 convertible cargo pants
5 shirts
7 pair of underwear
1 swimsuit
1 light rainjacket
1 pair sandals (very comfortable and broken in)
1 shaving kit (containing the usual stuff plus my malaria meds and a dose of Cipro)
1 smart phone
1 small camera
1 CPAP machine (where the adapter and various chargers are stored)
1 Kindle
1 guidebook (I'll also have paper copies of documents, which I'll toss as needed)
1 well-warn passport (which sadly I need to swap for a new one as soon as I get back)
Yep, that's it. I'm a notoriously light packer, and it's more stripped down every time. I'm not bringing shoes or socks this time, even though we're leaving on 30 December and returning on 14 January (I'm assuming the bus will not break down along the way). The great realization I made on my trip in May was that I brought shoes and socks and only wore them on the flight over, and then groused about having to take them off while going through security; so, why bring them at all? Now, I may leave the backpack and actually bring a very small suitcase, but that would only be to have room for the requisite mashatani that I will doubtless buy at the wood carvers market in Dar Es Salaam on the way back, but who knows. What I'm been drilling into the students is this: you can't pack for two weeks, so free yourself of that notion; pack for four days and assume that you'll be washing your clothes in a bucket along the way.
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| This may be the only time (at least I'm hoping) that a professor's underwear are displayed in class this year. Of note also, my Rising Sun, Indiana t-shirt is prominently displayed, and will, of course, be brought on the trip for the requisite shot of me wearing it in some sublimely exotic locale. |
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