If you’ve read many other posts on this site, you know that I consider myself somewhat of a packing expert. It probably has to do with the fact that I live out of a single carry-on suitcase most weeks of the year, and one time when I went to Spain, I packed for two weeks in only a backpack. So when it was time to start packing for Southeast Asia, I was like, “I got this.” [Read more…]
Foreign Exchange Student Connection in Thailand
As you may remember, this year my family is hosting a foreign exchange student from Italy. Gaia has joined our family through a program called the American Field Service (AFS for short). These students live with host families in the U.S. for 10 months, from August until the end of June.
When I was Thailand a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet up with a former exchange student from my high school days. Boong was an AFS’er from Thailand at my school during the 2008-2009 school year – almost 10 years ago! We follow each other on Instagram, so I told her when I’d be in Bangkok and we planned to meet for dinner. [Read more…]
How To Deal With Post-Vacation Depression or Sadness
I remember the first time that post-vacation depression came for me.
It was Saturday, just a couple of days after Thanksgiving in 2017, and I had just returned home from my second-ever solo trip. I’d gone to Thailand and Cambodia for two weeks and had such a magical time. After 30 hours of travel — flying from Bangkok, to Tokyo, to Chicago, to Kansas City — “bedraggled” would have been an understatement as I returned home. The mattress on the floor at my parents’ house gave me a warm welcome and I plunged into blissful slumber.
I spent the following day, Sunday, with my family — cheerful, though perhaps a bit quieter than usual. (I was recovering from a 13-hour time difference, after all.) We put up the Christmas tree, and it was a good day.
And then Monday happened. [Read more…]
How to Pack for Two Weeks in a Backpack
It was July 2011. At the tender age of 18, I was preparing for my first international adventure — a two-and-a-half week trip to Germany to visit my then-boyfriend. Never having packed for something like this, and obviously wanting to impress my boyfriend, I packed almost everything I owned. I rolled up to the luggage counter to check my gigantic suitcase, tipping the scales at just barely under the 50-lb limit. Sigh of relief.
As the years passed, I continued to follow this same, pack-more-than-you-could-possibly-ever-need model every time I took a trip to Europe. But when I took my first solo trip in 2016, I decided to change my tactics. Knowing I would be constantly on the move, traveling around the country without staying in one place for long, it didn’t seem very appealing to lug that 50-lb rollerbag around with me.
So how did I, the former serial overpacker, manage to pack for two weeks in a backpack (and still have room for souvenirs)? Here are a few of my best tips. [Read more…]