Wednesday, June 13, 2007

What I Packed

A new laptop, photography equipment, a generic-you-don't-want-to-rob-me-this-is-just-a-raggedy-old-bag, a camcorder, and copies of all my documents! Musts for my project. I still have not decided whether to take the camcorder or not, as it was an extra part, and I am not sure whether I have space for it. However, the others are essentials! I was able to get an excellent loaner laptop from MIT (because its the summer and noone else trys to rent one apparently...) on which I installed Photoshop and made sure to transfer over essential databases and lists. To avoid leaving anything behind in my continuous travel, I made a list of all the things I'm packing (a bit ocd, but hey! it works!). I had trouble picking out bags because I needed them to be sturdy and durable, but seem cheap and undesirable to potential thiefs. Especially my camera bag. I was able to borrow a plain but compartmental and completely waterproof messenger bag from my photojournalism professor, B.D. Colen, which will serve my purpose well! So then on to my packing...

What I Packed

Three bags:

(1) A checked-in duffel-with-wheels containing clothing, toiletries, towels, a pillow case, chargers, sunscreen, insect repellant, a set of outlet converters, Malcolm X, Mountains Beyond Mountains, a First Aid Kit complements of Julie from Medlinks, an umbrella, a flashlight, a roll of toilet paper just in case, dvd-rs to back up my photographs, a tripod, 2 tubs of gatorade to replenish all the electrolytes I will lose in the 110ºF Indian humidity, and 2 big bottles of pepto-bismol because my friend, Jess, who is already in India, let me know that the pills did not work for her and requested a big bottle and suggested one for myself. This bag ended up being a troublemaker; the handle that is supposed to come out so that I can roll it was stuck and would not work! My father and I struggled with it in the airport for a good half-hour before it finally broke lose from the clutch and became free. Now I won’t have to be a hunchback. My other bags though….

(2) My camera bag, courtesy of B.D, complete with a Nikon D70 body, a Nikon D1H body, 3 lenses, 5 batteries (3 for the D70 and 2 for the D1H), 6 2Gb memory cards, a copy of my passport, a copy of my itinerary, and emergency cash. This bag is, needless to say, quite heavy, quite fragile, and worth “quite-a-lot.” This bag is what I am the most worried about and will keep a close eye on.

(3) My carry-on knapsack with my passport, flight tickets (all of them are paper copies except for my flight to India and my flight back to the US), chapstick, small lotion in a zip lock bag, medication, sketchbook, Sophie’s Choice, pens, pencils, a voice recorder for the interviews, the camcorder from the PSC, glasses, sunglasses, extra contacts, laptop and charger, and cash. I am bringing $250 in cash to be exchanged at the airport (Jess informed me that I would be spending about $5/day on food, $4/day on travel, and then shopping during breaks J plus the transaction fee when exchanging), $100 as emergency money, and $80 as emergency emergency money (in a different location J ).

I could have fit both my carry-ons into one of the bags, as both are half-empty, but decided this was not a safe idea for my camera equipment, and thus ended up with 3 bags which will hopefully not prove to be too much. I will be relieved of several items from my check-in luggage once in India due to things I’m bringing to students that are already there, so I may just put my knapsack into the check-in next time. It should come in handy in any case should have an opportunity/have time to climb Kiliminjaro.

(I thought that 1 big bag was too much, and was kicking myself later for not packing lighter, but delightfully found that even the students staying in a one-weather location had brought more! Yay! I didn't overpack!)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Certainly is not present.