The vagaries of packing

Things I brought that I didn’t need

• My cobber – I’m sure it will be great in the hot months, but the weather during the winter months is great here!


• Black socks (See the shoe entry below. Don’t bring black work socks unless you bring actual work shoes, which I failed to do. They look a little funny with my green Tsubo sneaks)


• Lots of books and magazines and knitting (Sadly (in some ways) I haven’t been doing much of any of that. I’ve barely even used my laptop since I’ve had generally good internet access from work and the hotel. Otherwise, I get home from work, go for a late dinner, watch a bit of tv or one of the above, and go to bed.)

Things I should have brought

• More shoes! (or maybe different shoes – I brought 4 pairs of “sporty” shoes and only one pair of dressy shoes – thrown in as an afterthought. But even if the aesthetic is less formal here than at home, wearing sneakers or hiking sandals to meetings is not always appropriate. I need to buy several pairs of flats before any future visits.)


• More pants! (this is just a case of not enough. I only brought three work type pants and a suit, but I’ve had something work-related every day so far. I am here for 18 days, so I’ll wear each pair at least 4 times. This is not helped by the fact that three of them are grey or black. Those colours are warm even when its not 30+ degrees outside!)


• Deodorant (this one should be self explanatory)


• A belt (this should also be self explanatory. It’s really hard to feel professional when you’re worried about your pants falling down. I feel like one of those people I complain about in Canada who are always tugging at their clothes because they don’t fit quite right, and its making me crazy. So maybe the best option would be to just get them tailored. Voila! No more belts)


• Longer shirts (this could also be listed as higher-waisted pants. This is also related to the point above. Abdominal skin is sort of worst possible thing to show here (I mean if bare upper arms are a no-no, you know your stomach shouldn’t be on display), so I’m constantly pulling down shirts and up pants.)
  
• Shawls (who knew they would come in handy in such a hot country? You can get away with wearing a lot of things if you have a shawl to throw over your arms and shoulders when you’re outside. I have a bunch at home (although I think the wool ones will be a bit warm) but I’ll probably buy a bunch more before I leave)

None of these things are crises, just things that might have made life a little easier. Except maybe the deodorant… All I can say is that I'm glad the second list is longer than the first, since it means I didn't lug too much unnecessary stuff.

PS. I have no idea what's happened to the text on my blog. Especially on the side bar, since I haven't touched my template in ages. Unfortunately, I probably won't work through the problem until I get home.