All Packed

Alright, I am very excited to do this post. Leading up to now, I have been stalking all the travel sites that I know of to get ideas on what I should be bringing and how I should be packing my suitcases so that I would be under the airline’s weight limit and still have everything that I would need for a whole year abroad.

Most people that I am close to know that I am the notorious over-packer of my family. I am the one whole will pack more than I really need because I like knowing that I am prepared for anything that may arise during my trip. So for my tip to Korea, I really tried to stick to a specific plan when it came to packing. My rule of thumb was to stick to a simple color pallet and to minimize packing thing that I really don’t need, even if I think I do. 

First off, my goal was to fit everything into two medium sized (21”) suitcases.  I am also going to have a large Vera Bradley duffel and a backpack with me for carry on.  Anything that was big or bulky, or that I knew I was going to need for the first few days I packed into my carry on bags.

 To help save space in the suitcases, I went by the Container Store during their travel sale and picked up these two Eagle Creek packing cubes. I divided up my shirts between the two and split the cubes (one for each suitcase) in the off chance that one of my bags gets lost in transit.  

I also picked up some Ziploc space saver bags for all my sweaters, cardigans, and towels. They cut down a few inches off the piles and like before, I divided all of my clothes between the two bags so that no matter what I would be set clothes and weather wise form either of the two bags.

So for example, the Samsonite had pants and a set of shirts:

And the American Traveler had a similar set in it:

For dresses and skirts, I still stuck to my color pallet. I figured that that way, everything would go with anything. Thankfully, I had heard from people who had gone to Seoul for school before that students there tend to dress up more than the average US college student, so I figured my time at Sewanee with its dress tradition would pay off. All of my school clothes would be fine and not too dressy for Yonsei, compared to if I was visiting the average state school here in the US.

   

I also packed a few workout clothes (In fact I may need to add some more spandex as I found out that there is a chance that I could join the club crew team when I get there…), 9 pairs of shoes (2 sets of heels, running shoes, 2 pairs flats, sandals, 2 pairs of boots, and Teva water shoes), and a whole boat load of scarves.

 

After I got all my clothes sorted out, I had three cosmetic sized bags dedicated to my toiletries: 1) Hair and nails, 2) Teeth and eyes, and finally 3) make-up.

 

Everything else I put into my carry-on bags. I am keeping my backpack relatively light because it is going to be at my feet for most if not all of my flights, so I don’t want it to take up too much room away from my feet on the plane.

I still need to go through my bags and “edit” them. Even though after packing them I got both bags under the 50 lbs limit (42 for one, and 47 for the other) I feel like I can go through and take out a few things that I could live with out for the year. I also feel like I should go through my carry-ons to see if I can take out anything, like maybe one of the empty notebooks, to see if I can take away some of their bulk. 

As of now, I am a little bit more than a week out form my flight and I am already starting to feel nervous about the amount of things that I packed. I just have to find a good balance between being prepared for the year and not being the “boy scout” that I am know to be to the extreme.

 

Until next time,

SPF