Packing and Europe arrival

So the day has finally come: I am officially in Europe.

The departure date had always seemed so far off in the distant future, but in these last weeks it caught me almost off guard! Of course I have been planning this year abroad frantically since I decided to study in Tübingen late my freshman year, but it never seemed real until I was packing my bags and saying goodbye. But, nonetheless, I have made it to Europe just fine and am absolutely thrilled to be here.

I am here a few weeks early to spend time with my family before I move into my room in Tübingen. Since my grandparents are from Europe we still have a lot of family living in Germany, so my parents, my brother and I will spend time visiting them, and we’ll also get a chance to meet up with my grandparents and aunt and uncle who are on vacation here!  However, those adventures will have to wait for more commentary until the next post.

Packing was quite the experience, and for a while seemed impossible. It was so overwhelming to think that I had to fit everything I’d need for 12 months in two 29″ suitcases! So after 72 stressful hours of organizing, cramming, fretting and trying to slim down two hugely overweight bags, here are my tips (learned the hard way!) for packing:

1) Have a Friend Help!

Originally, I had undertaken the daunting task by myself, but the result of that fiasco was an emotionally exhausted college student who still had nothing packed. Eventually I called up my best friend who came over and helped me sort things out. It was really nice to have someone help who could be realistic about what to bring, and could also contribute some common sense during a stressful time.

 

2) Use “Space Bags” With such limited space, big items like coats and sweaters can really take up a lot of room. Using “Space Bags” was a great way to compress those items for the trip over. Be careful, though… the bags still weigh the same! Those vacuum sealed bags might look light weight on television, but they’re heavy rocks when you’re packing!

3) Get a luggage hand scale

One of my good friends from High School just got back from a semester abroad and was nice enough to lend me a hand scale for weighing my luggage. It turned out to be invaluable when it came time to make sure my bags weren’t over the weight limit.

4) Realize you can’t bring everything

Perhaps the hardest part for me was realizing that while I’m abroad, I’m not going to have the luxury of all my belongings no farther than a short drive away. Bringing a minimal amounts of clothes was difficult enough, but it was very tough to part with the small library of books I’ve collected over the years, all my miscellaneous mementos, and particularly my (largeish) bible that simply weighs too much to bring along. While I know I’m not parting with these things forever, leaving them behind is an unsettling reminder that my year abroad will push me outside my comfort zone, challenge my complacencies and require me to adapt to new surroundings.

For now I’m back to traveling! A post is coming soon about my travels as I slowly make my way to Tübingen and meet up with the other Valpo students there!