Packing

Ah yes, the first entry of my new travel blog. If you were one of the 13 people who followed my last blog, you will see that this one has quite a different angle than "Diaries of Ocean Rescue". It took me for-fucking ever to come up with a template for this blog, it looks like shit but we're going to deal with it for now.

So where do I begin? I left Corolla 2 weeks ago for the season, and now, because I am unemployed with an oh-so-useful degree in the Liberal Art, sixty grand in debt from Penn State and student loans, I've come up with the brilliant decision to take all of my hard-earned money I made this summer and blow it all on a 5 month backpacking trip to New Zealand. Why the hell not? I have no boyfriend, no job, no sense of what a real life actually is, and the probably obsessive fascination with backpackers and long term travelers. So although it may seem crazy, in 3 days, I am off to New Zealand by myself until March, and I can assure you that some ridiculous shit is about to be encountered.

So right now I am trying to decided what articles of clothing and hair products are dear enough to me to take them along on this journey. My backpack is a mere 65 Litres, and I have to fit everything I will be needing for 5 months in a sack that can fit on my back. So far I have:

3 teeshirts
5 tank tops
1 pair of black leggings
1 pair of jean shorts
1 long sleeve shirt
1 light sweater
1 trendy flanno
2 pairs of running shorts
1 pair of cotton shorts
2 hoodies
1 pair of black yoga pants
3 sports bras
2 regular bras
7 pairs of underwear (Don't worry, I will be doing laundry)
1 rain jacket
1 underarmor shirt/pants
1 pair of running/hiking shoes
1 pair of rainbows
1 pair of plastic jandals (for the sketchy hostel showers)
3 sundresses
2 bikinis
1 baseball cap

All of this shit rolled up in my pack takes about 3/4 of the space. I know that any other backpacker site will say that this is 3 times the amount of clothes that you need, but for God's sake, I'm not trying to wear khaki cargo zip-offs and wicking underwear and a floppy hat for my entire trip.

Along with clothes, I have to remember toiletrees. I got this awesome little gadget from REI that is a hanging shower case- fits all of my bathroom shit like contact stuff, shampoo, toothbrush, glasses, razor, hair products, etc. Props to Caitlins Dad for the luxury shampoo...I put some of that shit in travel bottles so my hair will be silky and smooth even after exiting the disgusting hostel showers. Don't judge; "roughing it" doesn't have to apply to subjects as important as high quality hair products.

Well, off to finish packing and gathering the last essential items. Remind me if I forget anything important.