Contents
Clothes enough to last 5 days and then repeat. All dirty, loved and in need of a serious washing machine.
My computer inside of its waterproof case (2 ziplock bags cut and duct taped together to make it long enough)
Charging devices for one phone, 2 ipods, the computer and an outlet adaptor to actually use any of it
At least one book I haven’t started and probably won’t
A notebook full of ideas, letters, plans, memories, and garbage
My planner, sporting a picture of my grandma and me on the front and baby Benja on the back
A medicine kit with hardly any drugs, just some tampons, aspirin, Neosporin, band aids, razor and soap
No less then 5 headbands
The little bit of make-up I’ve been using since 2008
Assorted Tanzanian jewelry
One red camera that is not used enough in travel
A bottle of shampoo, borrowed face wash, toothbrush and paste
The deodorant that Chris and Michelle sent to me last year
Sunscreen I found in the Peace Corps office, and never actually use
Glasses or sunglasses, depending on what is on my face
The yellow and blue shawl from my Aunt Marg, which triples as clothes, towel, and in-bus dust shield
Assorted random papers, newspapers, work papers, receipts, you know- paper
Always, at least, one bit of mail I plan to send tomorrow…or the next day…
My backpack is heavy. It’s always stuffed to the May Not Zip point. I won’t put in under the bus because it will be ganked and I will be shattered. It never fits in the racks above the seats in the bus, so it’s usually under my feet serving as an obnoxious and unnecessary 12 hour footstool. It’s dirty no matter how much I wash it, and I do wash it, I mean, at least 2 times a year. After a long bus journey I dread more then anything putting it on and lugging it to wherever we’re going. By the time I arrive I’m inevitably rocking matching Left and Right red stripes on my shoulders. It’s full of a lot of stuff. It’s full of a lot of memories. It’s the best and worst thing ever and I’m glad that my days of filling it up with all that stuff and all of that anticipation of a new journey are not over.
It’s my bag.
3 comments:
Amazing..two years worth of life filled up in your backpack. Like magic.Crammed full of memories. The important things in your life..in one backpack. How many of us could stuff a back full of our things from our last two years. Mine would be full of worry beads..thinking of all of you in the villages..staying safe, making fires to cook with,bugs, no real baths with fluffy white towels...I'm thinking I will have more free time as you girls come back home..of course, you and my Kate will force me to keep up the beads. I hope all your friends will be writing the grand finale of blogs .Let us all know how your two years,3 months were..What you did and learned and where life and your backpack will be going.Hugs to all
That was great. It's way more than just stuff that gets stuffed in ones bag. It's memories, old adventures and new and exciting more stuff that will continue to fill that bag.
Hope your bag is only filled with good stuff and love. Take-Care my friend and enjoy your new adventure. Can't wait to actually see you again someday!
How strange, I often think back on my PC days and remember my bag and what I had in it. Each one of us had one, and we carried it everywhere. Flipflops, water bottles, kangas, underwear. In some ways I almost remember the bags as well as my friends that carried them. I still look at that old bag, and the memories are powerful and nostalgic. At once rolling over me and capturing me. I still have that old piece of purple yarn tied on it, and the african dust still clings to it. "Sigh"
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