Packing!

Now that I've finished up work and moved out of my apartment, I can start thinking about the most fun part of all- packing! Since I spend most of my time obsessing over minutiae anyways, I can now agonize over whether or not I should bring a 9 month supply of Pantene volumizer shampoo/conditioner, my yoga mat or gym/hiking shoes. But I think the advice I got from Cory is what I'm taking to heart- you never need to bring as much as you think. You can really live out of one backpack if necessary (that is, if you don't have to schlep a monster of an outdated laptop). Honestly though, the packing process really makes you rethink what you consider to be necessities. Is the shampoo more important than Augusto Boal's guide to Theater of the Oppressed techniques Games for Actors and Non-Actors? Do I need to bring 2 pairs of jeans, or should I wait and have the experience of wandering around a Managuan market to buy a 2nd pair of jeans if I need them? See what everyone there wears and shop locally (which makes me wonder if Nicaraguans wear the clothes that are manufactured in the "free trade zone" maquiladoras, or if they're all shipped directly to Target). After a few weeks, I'll give you all the hindsight of the most and least useful packed items...