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One Week To Go…..
Do you have trouble packing for a holiday which will last 2 weeks? Try packing for 2 years…whilst bearing in mind that everything you take, you must carry around on your back. And I’m a girl….trust me…that makes it harder….
I have gone with the safe option of taking clothes that I am not attached to, and which cost about £4, because I am certain that the malls in New York City and Orlando alone will be calling out to feed my shopping addiction. Not to mention Harry Potter World, and the millions of craft stalls and cute little shops I am bound to encounter everywhere else. I’m relying heavily on being able to send things back home.
The good part is that my backpack is not even half full once I take out the stuff I won’t be needing after the cruise, and the extra layers that I won’t need after freezing NYC. So, after months of confusion, reassessing and wasting money on things I’ve decided not to take….here is my final list of clothes: -
1 x dress – black
3 x tank tops – black, red, cream strapless
1 x trousers – brown zip combats
2 x shorts
1 x grey skirt
1 x leggings
1 x green cardigan
1 x long sleeve black top
1 x bikini
1 x sarong
2 x bras – black and white
6 x pants
1 x socks
1 x heels
1 x brown sandals
1 x coat
1 x grey jumper
2 x leg warners – purple and black
1 x arm warmers
2 x hats
1 x head scarf
That was the hard part. Everything else was pretty strait forward: -
Toiletries: -
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Mooncup
Sterile fluid
Face wipes
Moisturiser
Shampoo
Foundation, powder, mascara, blusher, eye shadow,
Blistex
Paracetamol, Dioralite, Imodium, Compede, Insect stuff, Vitamins?
Teatree oil – for antiseptic, thrush, athletes foot,
Lavender oil – for sunburn, insect repellent, jetlag, sleep aid
Dental floss – for teeth, washing lines, tying up nets etc, stitching up holes.
Tiger balm – Headaches…
Nail clippers
Electrical: -
Camera
Spare memory card
USB/Charger
Underwater camera
Batteries
Spare memory card
Ipod
Usb cable
Netbook
Mains cable
Phone
Charger
Adapter
Documents: -
Passport
Visa, Oz
Visa waiver, USA
Travel Insurance summary
Addresses, phone numbers for banks, insurance
Photos of family
Passport sized photos of me
Tickets:
Accomodation
Buses
Trains
Flights
Theme Parks
Cruises, shows
Other Stuff: -
Washing Line
Playing Cards
Cooling neck scarf
Sun glasses
Hat
Head Scarf
Head Torch
Towel
Day bag
Evening bag
Jewelery + case
Money Belt
Squash Ball
. Teabags
Spare belly bar ball
Spare nose stud
Card readers
So that’s that. All packed. I have also had jabs for the following diseases: -
Japanese Encephalitis
Yellow Fever
Rabies
Tetanus/Diphtheria/Polio
Hepatitis A/Typhoid
Hepatitis B
I will need anti Malarials after Oz and have decided on Doxyclyclin.
I have sorted out all my banking. I got a Nationwide account after hearing that they do free cash withdrawals abroad, only to find that this has now changed, and now they are pretty pricey. So I got a CaxtonFX global currency card for free withdrawals, and a Post Office credit card for 0% commission. I kept the Nationwide account as a backup to my Natwest in case any card gets stolen…I can just go online and transfer all my money.
My mobile phone is unlocked to take any simcard, so I will get a US sim for 5 weeks and then get an Aussie one. I’ll probably get a global one when I leave Oz.
I have passed my PADI open water
I can’t think of anything now that I haven’t done. I’ve even started the heart wrenching process of saying goodbye to people. It’s weird, when you leave a place (and have no intention of coming back) you suddenly realise how many people you will miss. Saying goodbye to family is actually easier because you know you will see them again and keep in touch. But what do you say to the people that you have seen nearly every day for the last 4 years, and will never see again? How do you say goodbye to them? I never thought for a second that I would be anything other than ecstatic about finally going after the life I want. I am ecstatic, but it’s a complicated kind of happiness. It’s excitement, grief, fear, joy and hope all rolled into one.
The other day, I was giving someone a lift home…and I was telling her, as I have told many people, that I will be seeing Wicked in New York. And I realised that it is NEXT WEEK. I have been telling people this all year, and suddenly here it is....a week tomorrow. Next weekend I’ll be in New York. The week after…Orlando. And it still doesn’t seem like it’s really happening. It’s like I’m just saying it. I wonder if Florida will seem familiar after 15 years, or if it will feel like I’ve never been? I wonder what it will be like seeing Billy Elliot in a different theatre, having seen it no less that 7 times at the Victoria Palace? I wonder what it will feel like, sitting on a plane, flying away from a country that I’ve moaned about for as long as I can remember. The answers are looming ever closer….
There’s one week left. I have decided exactly what clothes I’m taking, packed, and then completely changed my mind at least 8 times since February. I’ve been stabbed with a needle 11 times in the space of 6 weeks. I have 5 different bank accounts and have bought 5 new pairs of shoes to take and then decided to take some that I already had, and I have packed up nearly everything in my bedroom, and realised how much crap I have been hoarding for the last few years.
So this is what freedom feels like…
It’s scary.
It’s confusing.
It’s the best feeling in the world.
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