Some Thoughts on Packing...

My first advice: Do not pack books.
My second advice: Do pack at least 3 sweaters for a Chilean winter.
My third advice: Really ask yourself about those books. 

As you may have guessed, I am a really bad packer, because, as the running joke in my hsot family goes, I may be freezing but I have enough books to last me a lifetime. 

This is a snippet of my packing for Chile:
3 journals
3 textbooks
7 paperback books (for reference, personal use, and school use)
2 pairs of jeans
3 long sleeved shirts
1 sweater
1 pair of warm pajamas
1 parka

etc. My priorities are pretty obvious at this point. To defend myself, I was packing in the middle of a New Mexican summer wearing shorts and a t-shirt so could not possibly imagine that 40 degrees Fahrenheit was cold and, secondly... actually, I do not have a secondly. If I was Past Michelle, I would have have kept the journals and books at home, internalized the type of person that I am during winter (freezing, more so than normal people), and taken stock in every family member's advice to bring warm clothing.

But, if anything, not packing wisely (or in any substantial way, in some people's opinion), has given me unique experiences, which include but probably will not be limited to the following:

1. A major being-laughed-at moment when my Chilean sisters helped me unpack the first day and saw one luggage simply with books. It further created more being-laughed-at moments when this was told to my Chilean parents, their relatives, and around the dinner table every other day. But, a bonding experience, nonetheless, where I was both victim and culprit.

2. Going shopping! Due to my (almost) complete lack of winter clothing, I went shopping with my Chilean mom and sister in one of the best-known (and completely humongous) Parque Arauco Mall, which has every American store imaginable including Gap, Adidas, Starbucks, La Mer, Brooks Brothers, and Burberry. In what seems to be a Chilean classic, I shopped in the store Paris, which is similar to an American Nordstrom, offering many brands of different types of clothing in the same place. Most especially, I found two pairs of pajamas, so I now have one less thing to be laughed at for. If anything, it is an excuse to go do more shopping and improve my math skills at the same time (by looking at numerous price tags, I can now convert Chilean pesos to American dollars very quickly).

Until next time!

Ciao,
Michi