This mantra holds true for several aspects of your study abroad experience. If you are used to a middle-class American lifestyle, chances are you are accustomed to excess.
Excess clothing (a closet and dresser bursting at the seams, underbed storage boxes, cardboard boxes brimming with things that no longer fit or that you completely forgot you had). Sound familiar? Moving to another country for several months on end poses many packing issues for students. But I want to bring everything! I need this, got to bring that, can't live without...
Well you can live without and you will. My large suitcase was way over the weight limit and nearly impossible to lug up three flights of stairs (no elevator...another thing to get used to). How could this be? Barely any of my possessions actually fit in this suitcase. But I kept calm and carried on...rather carried my other baggage (backpack, purse, large duffel, camera bag...) up to my new apartment.
Somehow everything fit just right. As it so happens, any more possessions would've cramped my tiny dwelling space, but my "life in 2 suitcases" was just right. Or was it?
As I was packing to return to the States five months later I made two piles--things I wore and things I didn't (or wore only once). The piles were nearly equal!
That just proves I could've saved $200 in overage/extra baggage fees and stopped stressing about my lack of belongings. I learned to live with less. Upon my return I was overwhelmed by American excess. After an 8 hour flight my first stop was McDonalds to fill my empty stomach with a large iced coffee and a 49cent vanilla cone. I was starving. But I could not finish half of either item. Blame it on lack of portion control.
When I got home I opened my closet to find no room to put my 80 lbs of clothes back in their places! How was I supposed to live with all of these clothes? I took out everything I hadn't worn in a year and separated it into: donate. sell (or try to sell...on eBay...harder than it looks) and storage. I even cured my "shopaholic" tendencies somewhat. Knowing there is no room for new goods inhibits me from purchasing them in the first place!
Just a few more benefits of studying abroad. Here are some extra packing tips:
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1. Check the weather! If it won't get above 60 degrees, do not bring summer clothes, you won't wear them.
2. Use Space Bags! The vacuum seal kind, not the "pack and roll" variety as they are basically useless. You can find these cheap on Amazon or eBay.
3. Throw away dirty t-shirts, ripped jeans, old socks before packing to return home...it saves a lot of space!
4. You can buy things when you get there...shopping in other countries is fun adventure!
5. Layer, Layer, Layer! Pack thin layers for daytrips or weekend trips that can easily fit in a backpack and be taken off or added in an instant.
6. Bring a "carry-on" approved backpack...one that applies to Ryanair regulations if you plan on using them. They are strict, but a backpack is all you need even for a full week in Spain, I speak from experience. (**Plus checking a bag is very expensive so avoid it if you can**)
7. Bring a lightweight raincoat! Chances are you will use it. (Especially if you travel to Ireland. England. Scotland).
8. If you don't want to look like an American...leave the hoodies, baseball caps, non-fitted jeans and sloppy sneakers at home.
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