Packing. An exciting process because you are one step closer to leaving for your trip. It is also a frustration: getting everything to fit, struggling to zip the bag close, trying to remember if you packed your deodorant, ripping apart the entire bag to find that pesky necessity, finding the deodorant, sighing in relief, and attempting to zip the bag closed again.
Each trip requires a different style of packing. Of course packing is dependent on your destination (do you bring the winter jacket or the bikini?), but also what the specific plans are. I like to think of myself as a packer expert (not the Green Bay type). For me, packing has become second nature. I analyze the trip plans, make a quick list of the necessities, and situate it into my roller duffel and carry-on bag. But, this trip in particular had a unique packing experience: bringing a second checked bag filled with humanitarian goods. This was a new struggle for me because I only had 50 lbs. to work with. Honestly, 50 lbs. is a lot of weight to work with when packing just for yourself, but when you’re bringing books, school supplies and clothes for children in Africa, you quickly realize you need at least 100. You may wonder my reasoning for 100 lbs.? Well, I obtained TOO many resources from my most recent cooperating teacher, Jodi Tuskowski.
Jodi announced to her colleagues at Washington Elementary that I was looking for donations of books or school supplies to take to the students of Windhoek, Namibia. A week before I was to depart, I stopped by to collect the donations. I was impressed with the materials that the educators of Washington (including Jodi) decided to donate for the trip. For this, I cannot thank the Washington staff enough for their generous donations.
Besides these supplies, I also received clothing donations from family and the local community. All these materials put the luggage close to 100 lbs., and I still I had more I wanted to put in. The next step was to narrow the items down to what I thought to be around 50 lbs. It was a rude awakening when I learned the bag was overweight at 64.5 lbs. Now I had the horrible struggle of deciding what not to take. Everything was important, but at the end of the day choices had to be made. Since this was a trip designed to educate students, I felt all school-related materials needed to stay. From there, it was eliminating enough clothing items to bring the weight under 50 lbs. I did not anticipate my disappointment of leaving supplies behind – it just didn’t seem fair to the students. But don’t worry too much Pointers because I plan to send everything else to Windhoek upon my return to the States (maybe even more!).
Cheers,
Cierra
Cierra Bartol-Byers, a senior elementary education major, is blogging about her study abroad experience in Namibia, Africa.