My life in two suitcases

I’m going insane trying to pack. When I found out a few weeks ago that United was going to charge me $100 to check in a second bag (seriously, who does that?), I took that as a challenge. Get 22 years of my life into one suitcase and two carry-ons. Avoid bringing liquids.  Go. 

I may have been just a tad overambitious. I’ve been going over my belongings in my head. I really don’t own that many things; there is nothing to make you downsize like moving almost every year. That being said, I don’t think checking just one bag is going to work. After I just barely closed my huge Samsonite bag, sitting on it and pushing it down with my entire body until the last zipper teeth clicked, I realized that I’ve yet to pack any of my shoes. So I’m digging out that second bag and sucking up the $100, largely because I don’t think they sell Size 10 shoes in China (at least not in the women’s department). 

On a lighter note, I just bought pants for the first time in years. Those who know me have probably honestly never seen me wear pants. I am a skirt and tights or a leggings kind of girl. For the entirety of college, I’ve avoided pants like the plague. And now, as a sign of growing up, I put on pants for the first time in years. I don’t know if I quite like it. Because I have huge calves, and a waist that can fit a size 2 (ambitiously), I can’t get anything ‘skinny’ over my legs, simply because they never reach my thighs. So a trip to New York, and six hours later, I finally bought three pairs of pants. Even the lady at the Gap looked at me and said, “Girl, you’re buying a lot of clothes”. Yes I am, Gap lady. I’ve avoided wearing pants for the last four years of my life, but somehow I think my combo of ratty, college sweatshirts and leggings isn’t going to fly in China. 

And now the last four days are filled with things both incredible important and stupidly inane, like:

– Getting US-China adapters for my electronics

– Freaking out about what color to paint my toenails before I leave (they’re currently an electric blue, but I don’t know if that quite conveys the air of professionalism I want (?) to show in China)

– Getting that one last damn cavity out of my mouth before my dental insurance runs out

– Am I sure I have enough self-tanner?

– How about sunscreen? 

– Can I even pronounce the name of my hotel in English? (the answer as of 6/29 is a resounding No)

– How much peanut butter is too much to take with me? (two Costco-sized jars may be pushing it)

– What about shoes? I’m a size 10, which makes my prospects of being able to get shoes in the mainland non-existent. 

– How will I get to JFK on Friday morning? And more importantly, will I be sober enough to put myself on that plane? 

– What do I do with my collection of tea? Does it seem stupid and counterintuitive to bring tea to China? (a little)

– Finding an apartment when I get to China, preferably one where I won’t get serial murdered by the roommates I found on Craigslist. 

– And the internet? How will I watch Netflix? Or even check my email? 

I fly out on the 4th, I hope I get any of these things sorted by then.