So, as it turns out, it is not easy to pack three (or more) months of stuff into a single backpack. Go figure!
Did you ever play that game in language classes, “what’s in your backpack?” used to help you learn vocabulary? I can remember in Spanish class, many of the items were strange like a harmonica or a banana and you were left asking where the hell is this person going? Well, I can officially say that I am now part of this obscure-backpack-toting-club talked about in lanuage classes, only I don’t know all my vocab yet. Since we don’t know exactly what the future holds my backpack has to hold the following:
- Camping supplies (rifornimenti campeggio) in case we want or have to camp
- Clothes for everyday in Italy (abbigliamento per tutti giorni) Italians have a very high sense of fashion that I will probably not be living up to
- Nicer clothes that can be worn for a job interview (vestiti professionale)
- Crappy clothes in case we get a job shoveling manure (my translator refuses to translate the words shit, crap, manure, or poop—it keeps trying to auto fix and I'm to lazy to consult another source)
- Enough underwear (biancheria personale) and socks to last 3 months +, luckily I bought 30-day underwear, we’ll see how this works out
- Books (libri)
- Guidebooks
- Phrase books
- Journal
- Fiction books
- Camera (macchina fotografica)
- Computer (computer, a cognate!)
- Toiletries enough to last 3 months + (accessori da toeletta)
- Greeting cards (biglietto di auguri) just in case
- Music pipe and recorder so that Erich my play hip hop music on the recorder for money if we become destitute
- Yes, even a banana (banana, another cognate!)
My bag is much more full than Erich’s, too full and much too heavy. I’m still not sure I have what I need. But all in all I am amazed that I could reduce my needs to one backpack. This trip, I can already tell, is going to be great exercise in minimalism.
4 comments:
What exactly is 30-day underwear? I look forward to following your trip.
It sounds amazing!
Hey Kristin, this is Rachal...I just found this link on the FB and decided to stalk you. Anyway, I believe that one Italian word for "shit" would be "stronzo." Hope that helps in your future translation attempts. :-]
Okay--30 day underwear is the biggest question everyone'e been having. I'm not sure exactly how it works but basically it's this thin, wicking material. It's also really easy to wash. Don't worry, I would never wear it for 30 consecutive days, actually it's become like my special underwear.
Thanks Rachal! That does help :)Now that we're in Italy we've been hearing merda a lot, but I know there must be a ton of ways to say it.
Thanks for clearing up that "30-day underwear" thing. I was also a bit perplexed. As for "stronzo" v. "merda," I think that the phrase was originally "stronzo DI merda," which meant, basically "piece of shit," but the word "stronzo" itself has just come to be associated with the word "shit," so it's kind of taken on that meaning. Just in case anyone asks you. Which they obviously won't. :-]
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