We are only just finishing up month two and have so far been
to New Zealand and Australia, but I already have a list of things I’m extremely
glad I brought and wanted to share them with you.
10.) A small laptop with an extended battery pack. The extended battery pack is a little bulky,
but totally worth it when there are limited plug-ins and a group of racers all
wanting to charge. I have an Acer. (The only thing I regret is that my PC
doesn’t have iMovie. Fortunately for me
some of my teammates have Macs so they let me make my movies on their
computers!)
9.) Earplugs and an eye mask! I would be lost without them. I
wear my earplugs every night and have gotten better sleep then any of my
teammates. The eye mask is extremely
beneficial when sleeping in airports and when going to bed before my teammates!
8.) My favorite books and my favorite movies. When packing I really struggled with whether
to bring books or not. I love to read so
I’m really glad I brought them, plus I won’t have to carry them all year since I’ll
pass them on after I’ve read them. The
movies are great when you have downtime, rainy days and when you are
bored.
7.) A calendar journal. I’ve never kept a journal so I knew it would be a struggle for me to
write in a journal daily. However, I
found a calendar that has enough space for me to write highlights from the day
so I don’t forget what happened. It’s
perfect for me.
6.) Dry bar shampoo. I
brought shampoo that is in a dry bar like soap. It’s been one of my best decisions. Many of my teammates are buying new shampoo in each country and throwing
it out when we leave because of the weight in the pack and the liquid, but my
bar shampoo is light and small and I’ve only used half a bar for the last two
months. I purchased it at www.lush.com.
5.) A rain jacket. We are
in the rainforest here and this past week it’s been wet!! The jacket has come in especially handy in
keeping the toilet paper dry when running to the bathroom in a tyrannical
downpour.
4.) A 2.5 inch sleeping pad. I have the self inflatable REI version. It’s big and bulky and does weigh more then most but it’s TOTALLY worth
it!! Your sleeping pad is your bed so
make sure it’s something you fit on and are comfortable sleeping on for 11
months.
3.) A fitted sheet for my sleeping pad and a silk sleeping bag
liner. Here in Australia it’s
HOT and HUMID and we don’t have air conditioning so you stick to your sleeping
pad. I like to be clean so I’m glad I
have the fitted sheet that I can take off to wash when I do laundry. The silk liner is perfect when it’s gets a
little chilly but way to hot for the sleeping bag and is easily washed too!!
2.) A full size pillow and travel pillow. In the past when ask the question, “If you
were stranded on a deserted island and only had five items, what would they
be?” pillows were always on my list! At
home I sleep with 4 big pillows so I knew I would struggle without at least
two. I also take my big pillow as a
carry on so I always have something to sleep with in the airport and on the
plane!
1.) Pillow cases. Even if
you only take a small travel pillow, I would highly recommend you get a pillow
case for it or have someone who sews make you a case. There’s nothing better then sleeping on a
freshly laundered pillow case. I
actually brought two because most of the time you hang your clothes up to dry
so if your pillow case is still wet when it’s time for bed you have a
backup! I also carry my books in my
pillow case when traveling which works out great.
I hope this helps! As
you can see many of my items relate to sleep!! Most of my teammates have the gift of sleep where they can sleep
anywhere at anytime on anything! I don’t
have that gift so I knew that in order to function this year I would need to
get a good night sleep therefore I brought the above mentioned comforts and
have not regretted it at all!!!
