The Cityscape Coverup

29 June 2012

Packing for the study tour wasn't all too hard. I don't have too many things to begin with, so I just took items that I tend to wear the most. I packed it all into my travel backpack since I did not want to bring a suitcase. I am a great light packer. I have always been. It's not worth being modest about.

I couldn't sleep because of my childish excitement for the trip, so I decided to take some action on the daypack that I was going to bring. It was a daypack provided by DIS on the first day of school with a rather large embroidered "DIS" on the front pocket. I really did not want to stand out as an American study abroad student, so I decided to do something about it. Earlier, I had tried to look for an embroidered patch of the Italian and/or Spanish flag to tack over it (because of the Eurocup '12 games going on) but my search yeilded nothing of the sort. Just Danish flags.

I used to make postcards with these kinds of cityscapes
and had them on my my etsy, but long since took them
down. contact me if you have questions.

So instead, I took the oversized fabric tag of some pants that I had bought earlier last week and I drew a cityscape on it to cover up the "DIS" logo on the daypack.

update: I got a lot of compliments on the DIY coverup.

Lessons Learned #4: AirBaltic... again.

courtesy of  http://www.fabbrunette.com

It was my first time flying AirBaltic when I departed Moscow for my 18 hour layover in Riga, with my destination being Oslo. I already had a small beef with AirBaltic (which was later, somewhat, forgiven). Ilya accompanied me to Sheremetyevo Airport. When I checked in, I took my checked baggage and  left my carry-on baggage with him so that I didn't need to unnecessarily lug it 10 meters to the counter when Ilya was waiting for me in the seating area. While standing in line awaiting my turn, I began to notice that the AirBaltic personnel were weighing carry-on baggage (which I have never seen before on other budget airlines), in addition to weighing checked baggage as usual. And they were very strict about their one carry on per passenger rule. I had small panic attacks in my head. My carry-on was 13 kilos- 5 kilos over the allowed weight- but at least I only had one carry-on. After personnel would weigh the carry-ons, passengers would basically receive a gold star in form of a neon-green strap to attach to their carry-on: "AirBalic approved" or whatever it said. There was no way that I was getting a green strap. After saying my thank yous and goodbyes to Ilya, I move on to the boarding area, where I had to torutre myself with passport/visa check, and another 40 minutes of waiting before boarding. The whole time I was still panicking about that weight allowance, especially because my bag wasn't glowing green from the strap that I didn't receive. I think I ended up chewing on about 5 or 7 fruit chews (a Russian equivalent to Starbursts) because of stress. 
What were the air stewardesses going to do? Were they going to turn me away? Charge me the unfair extra baggage fee (I think it was easily more than 60€)? Give me the usual "She's American" dirty look? The best that I could have hoped for was they they were going to just take it and put it with the rest of the checked baggage. I would have yelled at them for that (I really would have), though, because my cameras, laptop, and other very important items were inside.


Well, boarding the plane was flawless, and nothing happened. All that stress for nothing. Now all I had to do is worry about the second leg of the flight from Riga to Oslo. But nothing happened there either, because I had already checked in at Sheremetyevo, where I should have technically weighed my carry-on. 


Keep Calm and Carry On! I should have had that plastered on my hand or something. 

T - 15 Hours

For the most part I am done packing. It only took me 4 hours (which is actually a personal fail). I had to go through my luggage twice to weave through what I really needed vs. what I wanted to bring. I ended up losing a lot of clothes, but that's ok.
I think.
I'll see once I get there. I hope it doesn't dawn on me mid-flight exactly what I forgot. It's the worst feeling when you are miles up in the air feeling like the most helpless person.

Actually, at the moment, I already feel helpless. I wish it were easier.

Everything in 20" rolling luggage! Among my belongings in there are only 2 pairs of pants, 2 skirts, 2 sweaters, and whatever shirts I could fit in there. Obviously there are more things, but in terms of apparel, it is what it is.

Now my room is a mess, which I am not looking forward to cleaning and organizing. If I could just go to sleep and wake up in Moscow, that would be great.

A New Packing Challenge

I am a pretty light packer. Not the bare-essentials kinda gal like this person (he only brought 3 shirts!). It can be fun and frustrating at the same time while figuring out what you really need vs. what you really want. Last time I went abroad, it was for 10 months since I was really to study; traveling was secondary. I simply took the liberty of packing two suitcases and my backpack as a carry-on. But because this time I am studying abroad during the course of 6 weeks, and traveling for 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after, I need to seriously consider my version of bare essentials for 2.5 months. There are no round-trips for me this summer, they're all one-way tickets. At least I'm traveling during the summer, so coats and heavy sweaters are out of the question. From the beginning I already decided that all I am bringing is my carry-on sized rolling luggage and a bag (type yet to be determined, and more on that later). I am pretty confident that I will succeed in this new challenge my travel plans have given me.

As much as I actually wanted to travel with my carry-on sized luggage in the plane's cabin, I'm pretty sure that I will not keep to the ~8kg rule. Either way, I'll be carrying my laptop and DSLR with me everywhere. Many, if not all, budget airlines within Europe have very detailed rules about baggage/luggage, and they only want one piece of baggage being brought into the actual cabin. I will have to surrender currency to the airline companies, but as long as my laptop and cameras are safe, I am happy.

In order to comply with this one item on board, I have decided to embark on a search for a bag that can hold my laptop and DSLR. Naturally, I am on a budget (when am I not?), so I want to keep it under $75. I found beautiful bags that are dedicated to both laptop and DSLRs, but I need to learn that I have to do with less.

The brown MIIM backpack is on the top of my list. Actually, it is the only one on my (realistic) list right now. It has a space for a laptop, and backpacks are generally roomy enough for additional items. And it won't give me that un-even shoulder pain like messengers. Regardless, I still am in love with messengers.

This Ari Marcopoulos Camera Bag from Incase would be my dream bag. That's all I have to say.

I tend to gravitate towards men's messenger bags. I love them a lot more than women's. But I think this ONA messenger does justice to both sexes.