Why bring anything useful when you could have sparkly hats and (possibly misplaced) gumption?

When I found out I’d be Light moving to Germany for two years, I started searching online for tips on packing. What would I need to pack? What shouldn’t I bring with me? What could I buy after I arrived? In short…

How could I pack to move across the world?

A couple hours of Internet cheap nfl jerseys searches later, I found a particular blog post about packing for travel in foreign countries. To paraphrase, it suggested that travelers not pack items that are generally universal — toothpaste, extra socks, etc. Esecially if you’re going to be in Europe (or similarly developed areas), most items you needwill probably be available. So why be weighed down unnecessarily?

Besides, there’s the adventure of learning new vocabulary as you run out of good like antitranspirant, and have to adventure out for shopping runs.

(See

language notes for further details.)

With that in mind, I decided to pack as light as possible. This decision was made easier by two facts:

1. My plane ticket didn’t include any checked bags, and if I wanted to add luggage, it would raise the ticket cost significantly.

2. My housing was available as a furnished unit, so I didn’t need to worry about bringing any furniture.

After some pondering and intense soul searching, I finally decided that the most logical choice was to pack as absolutely light as possible. As I prepared to move across the world for two years, I put together three items: a book bag, purse, and shipable box.

If anybody is looking for tips on traveling cheap MLB jerseys light, here’s a complete list of everything I’m bringing with me to Germany. I’ll post again in a few weeks with updates about what wholesale jerseys turned out to be unnecessary, what I wish I’d packed, and what was mysteriously lost in transit…

Side note: Already lost are a pair of sunglasses, sunk to the bottom of a lake in upstate cheap jerseys New York. Goodbye, fair friends! Your loss was worth the four days of sunshine, good food, and fantastic better company.

Now without further ado, here’s the complete collection of accoutrements accompanying -kerhot me around the globe.

Bookbag of Basics

The bookbag/backpack holds my daily living gear. I’m traveling in the US for a week prior to arriving in Germany, so I have everything I need for that length of time — a couple shirt, an extra pair of jeans, a sweater and scarf, pair of sandals, deck of cards, spare headphones, my journal, a DSLR camera, and my laptop. Oh, and the important paperwork — proof of university acceptance, my passport, and my college diploma.

Why the college diploma, you ask yourself curiously? Well, apparently the university may need to see my original college diploma as part of the admission process once I arrive in Cottbus. I don’t remember where exactly I read that information, but it stuck out to me. And I figured better safe than sorry!

Purse of Power

The purse has all the other important things — iPad, phone, wallet, copy of travel documents, and glasses. Also sometimes Germany a snack, but that usually doesn’t last long.

Shipped Box of Winter Etceteras (alliteration forthcoming)

I sent myself a box of winter clothing, figuring I wouldn’t need it during my travels prior to Germany — and hopefully not for at least a couple months once I arrive, anyway. That box has two warm jackets, a pair of winter shoes, a couple more shirts, leggings, roku gym clothes, a speaker (too heavy for the backpack), and an external CD drive (rarely necessary, but MacBook Pros are sometimes inconvenient).

So there it is! A complete list of what I’ll be taking with me to Germany. Maybe it’ll be enough, maybe not…but either way, I figure the basics of life can probably be procure after my arrival. It seems at least 80% likely that Germans also use towels, sheets, pens, etc…so why schlep that gear with me when traveling light is an option?

I know that this may end up horribly awry with me frustrated and regretful. But I don’t think it will. Besides, that all part of the adventure…right?

Lessons Learned

Everybody will think you’re insane if you tell them you’re moving to a new country with just a book bag. And shipping is INSANELY EXPENSIVE, so make sure to shop around for options.

Language Notes

Antitranspirant means deodorant. True to my hippie roots (I lived in Oregon for faaaaar too long), I’m now working cheap NBA jerseys on how to say “aluminum-free, locally crafted non-toxic deodorant.”

UPDATE: turns out it’s aluminiumfreie lokal hergestellten ungiftig antitranspirant.

…oh maaan, I’m dying of laughter. German kills me.