My least favorite thing to do. And with all the moving I’ve done you’d think I’d be good at it, or at least gained some kind of skill, but nope, no magical packing powers here.
So, where to start when you’re moving to a new country for at least a year for the first time and can’t bring everything?
Research! (Yep, I’m a former librarian. Everything starts with research.)
Well, other blogs and TEFL sites really aren’t that helpful. There’s no magical list of what I need to pack, just a lot of “don’t pack too much” and “you really don’t need that, you can just buy it there”.
And while that’s all good advice. It doesn’t tell me what I need to put in MY luggage.
So, for the luggage: I’m only going to bring:
- 1 checked bag (50lbs/23kgs)
- 1 large backpack (overhead bin)
- 1 laptop bag.
That’s it. 3 bags of stuff. That’s all of my wonderful possessions that I’ll see for at least a year.
And to complicate matters, I really, really don’t like the idea of buying things I already have, if I don’t have to. (I’d much rather save the money for travel or something fun.)
Since the internet’s advice didn’t really give me any magical insight into my packing problem, I’ll just see how well grabbing what I want/need and throwing it in a suitcase will go…
(Packing interlude. Cue some music…)
And…
That went about as poorly as you’d expect it to. I have too many things in the luggage and lots of things I still need outside.
Hmm….
Time for a new plan…
My TEFL Adventure 