Rock 'n Roll: How to Pack for 9 months Abroad

In As Good as it Gets, there is a scene where Helen Hunt’s character (Carol the Waitress) is in her bedroom with her entire wardrobe sprawled on her bed. “There’s no way to pack for this trip!” That’s pretty much how I felt the week before the trip. I used one backpack for the entire Central America trip, and that was no problem. The difference is that in Argentina, I needed to pack for three seasons. I was facing the typical dilemma that plagues all travelers. On one hand, I didn’t want to overpack since it’s a hassle. Nevertheless, irrational fear of being caught unawares in some far-fetched unexpected situation always creeps in. Maybe I’ll be invited to an exclusive black-tie gala at the Casa Rosada, or perhaps encounter the freak snowstorm of the century. Or worse, maybe I’ll get caught in the middle of a labor strike and every sock manufacturer in the country will halt productions. Refusing to give into this temptation, I set a limit myself, namely the weight limits set by the airline: One carry-on and one-checked bag of 15 kgs. (Normally international flights would have much higher limits, but we were taking a domestic airline from Buenos Aires to Tucumán, so we were subject to very strict baggage limits.)

I accepted this challenge whole-heartedly, since it also gave me a convenient excuse to rid myself of years of accumulated shit. In addition to making traveling easier, there is the romantic appeal of living simply, being above worldly possessions, appreciating the ones I have, etc. Seeing as how I hadn’t gone through some of the items in my room since I left for college, this was no easy task. My strategy was to take a multi-pronged attack. I started with a trial run in which I packed everything I wanted to, fully aware that I would surpass the limits I set for myself. That didn’t matter, once I weighed it, I would know exactly how much work I had to do. From there, I would systematically and brutally cut. If for some reason I needed to add something to the “must pack” pile, I forced myself to toss out two objects as a self-inflicted punishment for not remembering it in the first place.

The process was very slow-going. There was a constant shuffle between the various piles I had created for myself: pack, maybe pack, don’t pack but keep in storage, and toss. There were also several trips to Goodwill and a couple local charities that I wanted to patronize (again… strategy. It is no coincidence that I selected organizations which were tax-deductible). As to be expected, most of my luggage was bogged down by unnecessary amounts of clothing and toiletries. I thought about just sucking it up and steeling myself for heavy fees, but when I did the math, I realized that nothing I owned was worth what they were asking. Here are some steps I took to cut the load:

1. Get rid of all white items (except for maybe socks) – They show dirt too easily, which isn’t conducive to wearing clothes multiple times before washing.
2. Get rid of all packaging (boxes, plastic covers, etc) – I know it feels poetic to have something brand-new for a trip since it’s a new chapter in your life and you want it to be perfect and everything, but all it does is take up unnecessary space. You’re going to open it up once you arrive anyway, so you might as well see if you can’t save some space by jigsawing it into a crevice or pocket.
3. No “outfits” – I think girls are especially guilty of having a favorite “outfit,” but it serves little purpose beyond feeling cute. My rule is that if an article of clothing doesn’t match at least two other items in your wardrobe, get rid of it. If it isn’t versatile, it’s a waste of space. Function trumps fashion. No exceptions.
4. Avoid clothing with text – This may be less crucial if you’re going to a country that speaks the language, but it occurred to me that nobody here was going to find my snarky pop-culture graphic tees funny. I know solid colors are boring, but at least they’re universally understood. Plus, it may give people less of an excuse to stare blatantly at my chest.
5. Drop all brand-loyalty - A full bottle of shampoo is about 15 oz. Lotion can go up to 32 oz. These revelations made me realize how much space I was wasting on personal items that are readily available worldwide, and usually cheap.  As painful as it was to part ways with some of my favorite brands, I was able to shed about an extra 10 lbs. in luggage. In case you are wondering, no, Argentina doesn’t sell Herbal Essence, and yes, I do still smell like flowers.

Obviously, these rules will vary widely depending on your location. If you are traveling to some rougher spots where items like shampoo, batteries, and sport bras really are luxuries, you will have to adjust accordingly. In particular, #1 and #4 are kind of arbitrary, but they were effective in helping me reduce my load. Pretty much, I assessed everything I had and tried to find some common quality that would give me an excuse to get rid of stuff. Apparently I really like graphic t-shirts.Here is the “unedited” version:

After following the rules I made for myself, here are the items I was able to get rid of:

The dejected ones

Now for the packing process itself. As silly as it sounds, there are several different schools of thought when it comes to packing. Naturally, I researched (ie. Googled and YouTubed) each of them thoroughly, experimented with them, and ultimately settled for a hybrid of the Rolling Method and the Rational Packing Method (the latter is worth reading just because the writer is kind of a jerk about it). Pretty much, I laid a few pieces of similar-sized clothing on top of eachother, rolled them up tightly, and secured them with a rubber band. Here are some other suggestions:

6. Resist the urge to “stuff” – I know how it feels. You see a crack in the corner, and you think you think you can wedge one last bottle of facial cleanser or one last book in there. Fight the temptation. A little bit of air is a good thing.
7. Ziplock bags are your friend – A little air is good, too much is just a waste of space, as mentioned above in Tip #2. Plastic bags are a great way to stay organized and prevent messes, but they just become a squishy, amorphous pain in the ass if you don’t squeeze out the excess. I go so far as sucking the air out of the corner of the bag myself. Think about those Saturday morning infomercials for the vacuum-seal that allegedly keeps meat fresh in the freezer for over a year. You want it that tight.
8. Know your luggage – Before you start stuffing the main compartments silly, take a moment to explore the anatomy of your suitcase/backpack. Usually, there are a few hidden places on the inside that could be utilized for extra storage. For me, it was a zipper that separated the frame from the bottom lining of the suitcase. I filled those cracks with some scarves, and it actually made packing easier since it made the bottom of the suitcase level.

Underneath the scarves is a passageway to Narnia
9. Know where you’re going – In preparation for this trip I contacted the Fulbrighters from last year to ask exactly what they needed, and what they wished they left behind. What they wore to work, what classroom resources they had available, how cheap groceries were, etc. That helped me ditch a bunch of heavy textbooks and teaching aides I would probably never use.
10. Use ALL your resources – At some point you just have to get creative. If need be, cheat. No matter how I cut it, I could not fit an entire year’s worth of possessions into one piece of luggage. So I tried something different. We were meeting our referentes for orientation in Buenos Aires before heading to our respective provinces. They were only going to be there for 2 days. That’s carry-on territory, easy. So, I e-mailed my referente ahead of time, and asked if she were willing to check in one of my suitcases as her own. She agreed.
    
    If I'm being completely honest, my second suitcase was about 3 kg overweight. Maybe the agent took pity on me because I was foreign and alone. Maybe he thought I was cute. Maybe he didn't think I spoke any Spanish and didn't want to bother trying to explain the fees to me. At any rate, he let it slide. Whatever, Pyrrhic victories are still victories. 
 

Obviously, not everybody is going to be as lucky as I was with #10. But I like to think that luck has something to do with it, too. My end result: 3 charities satiated, 2 medium-sized suitcases, 1 carry-on stuffed to the brim with books, $0 baggage fees. Airport owned.

**Update** Just a couple days after I published this post, I read an article in the New York Times that demonstrated how a flight attendant can pack for 10 days in one carry-on. She's a professional, but I'll have you notice that she uses the Rolling Method as well.

 Suitcase #1 - 15 kg en punto

 Suitcase #2 - 18 kg (Thank God for small favors)