Packing!

Just a little update- I just finished the first day of Gateway Orientation in DC. So far so good! I am all settled in, and I'm getting ready to go to bed. 

I wanted to do a post about packing, because I know it is one of the things that I stressed out about the most going into my exchange. I'll probably do another post  later in the year talking about what I wish I packed and what I regret packing, but for now I'll just talk about what I brought. 

I was allowed to have one checked bag (max 50 lbs.), one carry on, and one personal item. I had a small suitcase as my carry on, and a backpack as my personal item. 

In terms of clothes, here is a list of what I brought:

• 3 pairs of jeans
• 5 short sleeved t shirts in varying colors and styles
• 4 long sleeved t shirts in varying colors and styles
• a canvas bomber jacket
• a Letterman- type jacket
• a corduroy skirt
• a fancy dress
• 5 sweaters
• My winter jacket
• 3 pajama t shirts (ones with writing on them) 
• 2 long sleeved pajama t shirts
• 3 pajama shorts
• a pair of pajama pants
• a pair of sweatpants
• an under armour long sleeve
• a running jacket
• 3 pairs of athletic shorts
• 3 pairs of spandex
• an athletic tank top
• 2 pairs of leggings (one more athletic, the other for wearing)
• a fancy dress
• a ,more formal business outfit (for orientation)
• 2 weeks worth of underwear and socks

I am pretty happy with the amount I brought. I think I was able to cut it down to the more essential things, although looking back on it now,  don't think I needed the amount of athletic/leisure wear stuff that I brought, but I don't know, we will see what I find useful when I get there. 

I spent a lot of time figuring out what kind of non-clothing items that I needed, and I think I came up with a pretty good list of stuff to pack. I'll include all of that here because a lot of the stuff you might not think about.

First thing, host family gifts. I brought local honey, a coffee mug from my favorite breakfast place, a collar for their dog, some black eyed Susan seeds (Maryland's state flower), a book of photographs from around Baltimore, and a book of my family's favorite recipes. I know it seems like a lot, but it's all pretty small stuff that I picked up throughout the summer. My advice on host family gifts would be to not panic and then go out and buy them, but rather to keep an eye out and just gradually buy things you think they would like or that represent home. I also brought a few packs of Reese's (apparently they are a favorite of the Germans) and some small souvenir things like key chains to give to people I meet while on exchange. This is a suggestion that I got from a few youtubers, and I thought it sounded like a good idea, so we'll see how it goes. 

Another important category is cosmetic stuff. Of course I brought travel sizes of all of my shampoos and conditioners and face wash for orientation, but I also picked up 4 sticks of deodorant to use throughout the year, as well as what I think is a year supply of tampons. I brought the deodorant because German deodorant doesn't usually come in the stick form the same way ours does, and it doesn't always work as well in other forms, so I decided to bring it. I brought the tampons because apparently they don't have the same brands we have, and they are very expensive there. I also just don't want to deal with that. 

I also packed a few items for me, just because I thought I'd miss them while I was away. I brought a few boxes of Mike and Ikes and Sour Patch kids (my favorite american candies) and a jar of peanut butter. I also brought a few posters and decorations for my room, including an American flag to hang on my wall. My friend (hey Sicily) made me a super cute poster, so I brought that, as well as a few other things. I think it will be nice to have something to start out with so my walls don't look so bare the first few weeks I'm there. I also bought storage bins, another suggestion from youtube, which I hope will just make it easier to store my stuff out of sight in my room because I don't know how much storage there is. I also bought a shower caddy, because there is only one bathroom in our house, and I don't want to clutter up their whole bathroom with my stuff.

I also bought a few books that I think will be helpful to me. First off, I bought a Lonely Planet guide to Europe, as well as a European phrase book. I know most of this info is online now, but I thought it would be nice to have it all in one place or if my phone dies or something. And I also bought a German-English dictionary, for obvious reasons. The other thing I brought is a Kindle. I plan on reading a lot in English on my exchange, and I thought it would be a good way to easily access books in English because they aren't always available in Germany. 

So that's pretty much all I brought. I know it sounds like a lot, and I kind of is, but it all fit into my suitcases, so I'm happy :) I'm going to end this post now because it's super long, but I hope it's helpful!!