panic. packing. peace.

the past few mornings i have woken up with mild panic attacks about my impending departure for india. most of my stress has been rooted in the packing issue. with no less than six (count them, six!) transfers on our way, my team all agreed the less was more in the packing department, and that carry-on luggage only was the way to go. the chances of luggage getting lost on the way to india is about 100 percent, and the chances of it catching up with us once we're there is even slimmer, as we'll be moving cities every three days or so.

this all made logical sense, of course, but was also a massive hurdle for a chronic over packer. i am the girl who takes a hair dryer to lake powell and a bulky sweatshirt to hawaii and packs shorts in the dead of winter, just in case. so i think you can see how a carry-on only for ONE MONTH was something of a daunting task. especially when i had to take with me tissues for toilet paper, malaria, hand wipes for general hygiene and gatorade mix in case i get might sick. not to mention the ridiculous three ounce liquid rule. but, i set myself to the task, and, as you can see below, i was remarkably (and miraculously) successful.







this one, magical suitcase contains everything i could possibly think of that i could possibly need, including but not limited to: a uniform for our presentations (black pants, blazer, two white collared shirts), casual pants and four casual shirts, flip flops to avoid something nasty in the shower called the fluke, tissues to substitute as toilet paper, and lots of them, hand wipes to keep me clean, a costco size box of granola bars, a hat, stain removal wipes, 10 post card books for gifts for my host families and 10 bags of "be a friend" rotary pins. my shoulder bag carry-on also includes a travel alarm clock, all kinds of cords, memory cards, jump drives and power adaptors, nanette (my ipod) and a head lamp, to name a few, and everything is carefully organized in plastic bags, another first. i even bought a cheapie watch with an alarm and put together a little photo album of my life to show my new indian friends. to quote my dad: "you're more prepared for a month in india than you were for a year and a half in japan." to quote me: "i am more prepared for a month in india than i am for my every day life."

so, there's not much time left to sleep tonight (happy new year!), but i think i will sleep soundly. and then, i'm off. check back here for updates of my adventures!