Saturday, June 20, 2009

how does one pack for a 10+ month trip???


i have never been out of the country for more than 3 months and even for that trip, my mom did all the packing...given that i was 8 years old then.

how does one pack for a 10+ month trip?

things to consider:
weather - although in this case, all seasons should be covered...
laundry - supposedly, all the flats i am applying for have areas for me to wash my clothes
mix and match-able clothes - basics that can go with almost anything
money to spend on clothes - have to budget how much of my allowance goes to shopping
weight limit - i promised myself, i won't go over my limit going there...

did i forget anything else to consider???

so, a month of outfits to move around with is going to be enough i hope. besides, after the first week of italian lessons, i'm sure i would have picked up how to say, ' how much?' and count, then it's off to flea markets.

i am planning to bring a lot of food from home as well...stock up on PINOY stuff para i don't forget where i'm from, baka magfeeling italian eh. although, i have heard Pinoys are abundant in italy...surely, there's a kababayan store there somewhere.

luggage...i bought this bag in Shanghai last may and it is big enough to fit two people wearing wintergear that are thick enough for them to be safe during the flight. who's game to try that out? all i'm planning to bring should fit there! crossing all my fingers...cross yours too, for my sake.

when i am set with what i'm bringing, i'll update on this topic again...for now, i will have to think of other things, such as visas, school stuff, etc.

goes and wanders

Thursday, June 18, 2009

wanderlust & fernweh

WANDERLUST - "a strong desire for or impulse to wander"; "to travel and to explore the world" and
FERNWEH - “farsickness”; “an ache for the distance”

loanwords from the German language... cool eh? did not know there were such words until i was making up words in my head one day and came across wanderlust...how'd i come to making that word up in my head? hmm...i was bored and wanted to wander...this WANT became a lust to wander ergo wanderlust...then i googled it! i did not, after all, invent the word. damn.

less than two months!!!

goes and wanders

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

traveller's dilemma


first post.

what do i write? mainly, this will be about me and my travels. i am not a writer. i am a goof when it comes to words and i made this blog because a lot of people have told me to do so in order to keep my memories intact. i look up to the great writers who never fail to always rouse up the spirits of their readers for when i read my past writings, there's always this disgust i feel at the magnitude of cheesiness or shallowness i was in at the time of the writing.

for me, writing about my experiences is not enough. i remember having this talk with my german friend and we both agreed that after travelling and you get back home, settle in and get back to your normal pace of living, friends and family will always ask, "how was it? tell me all about it!" personally, i always take a moment, remember a sliver of the summary of the trip i just had and say, "Bitin. Masaya pero bitin." for me, this answer works both for me and the ones who ask me. in truth, it is always not enough, at least for me it's not. and for the one who asks, they will also be bitin with my answer. my point here is that i can't summarize what i went through in words and i honestly don't want to compare what i have written down to the real experience.

no one will understand the feeling i was going through when i landed in saigon and the first cab i took had a driver who spoke no english while we passed through slums and that before i rode that cab, i was just listening to a track from the album of The Beach with the line, " i'm gonna die in a place that don't know my name..." playing over and over in my head. my impulse trip which started with a 'book me the cheapest flight out of the country!' to my travel agent just the day before suddenly seemed not such a good idea. and how despite all this, it eventually turned out to be one of the most fortunate trips i have taken to date.* this one's for another post

no one will understand how i travelled to the US with no check in luggage and before coming back home with almost an overweight check in and handcarry luggages, i had to fly from SC to Atlanta then to San Francisco where i had to take the BART to Civic center and hoping to save a few bucks, decided to walk with my luggage around the streets of SF to the place of my friend who i met in Saigon a few months back only to cramp up halfway and finally deciding to take the bus wherein i wasted the valuable minutes of the passengers by taking so long in loading my bags in the bus.

unless you were with me then, the exact moment with the right amount of humidity in the air, or exact temperature of the night or day or the smells and sounds at that exact spot in this world then i as the author of this blog has failed in sharing the genuine feeling of my experiences.

even though this is my stand, i will still attempt to write. so as to trigger such memories in the future when i am too old to wander the streets of this world. but, i will apologize to my readers that i can't fully share my experience. Bitin parati.

p.s. how do you say bitin in english??? 'not enough' seems too dramatic. short? amiss?

goes and wanders