On Tuesday my mother and I did what I like to call “packing practice.” We got together all the stuff I’m taking and proceeded to do a test run of fitting everything into my nice large suitcase from an L. L. Bean luggage set (it has my initials on it in yellow letters). Unfortunately all of my stuff wouldn’t fit into that one big, as big as it was. We discovered that the bag is deceptively big…it has a large frame, but the interior isn’t very deep. So I found another large bag that I had used on the Spain trip. We attempted to fit my stuff into that bag and the large L.L. Bean one, and it was very tight. So I had 2 large-framed bags filled to the brim, with no breathing space whatsoever. It didn’t look good at all…and it’s not like I had an exorbitant amount stuff either.

My mother and I watched videos on YouTube, trying to figure out the best way to pack a suitcase. We also looked at luggage sets for sale on QVC and HSN. It was a challenge.

My mother was determined to pack all of my stuff into one large bag (the one I took to Spain) and a smaller bag from the L.L. Bean set. Initially I wanted to take only one bag to avoid having to pay those ridiculous baggage fees, but I was just like, what the heck? 2 bags it is…

So yesterday morning she spent a lot of time packing everything, and she did it! It’s a beautiful packing job! Plus I have room left over incase I accumulate stuff in Denmark (which I’m not planning to do excessively). I have the best mother in the world, really! The best family, actually. They have all been so supportive of my trip, helping me out along the way, and for that I am really grateful (and lucky)!!

Well, all of my shopping is done! I spent Friday, Saturday and part of today (Sunday) hopping all over town and buying all of the necessities. It was great because it’s tax-free holiday. I wanted to take full advantage. There are still some things I’ll have to order online or get later, but I got most of what I needed.

My mother put together a nice notebook for me which she organized into sections. I then made a list of items I needed for each section. This was really helpful when it came to building shopping lists. Here are the sections in the notebook:

• Clothes
• Shoes
• Hair products
• Face products
• Body & Bath
• Household items
• Electronics
• School stuff
• Personal items (including documents like passport, tickets, money, purse, etc.)
• Miscellaneous

It was a good way to organize things for packing so that I don’t forget anything! We will be doing a “packing practice” before I leave so that there are no unpleasant surprises at the last minute.

Departure Day is almost here…I still can’t believe how fast time is suddenly moving…

Hey, I’m back with another post! Well, I have pretty much handled most of the arrangements for this trip, and I’m amazed at how everything is coming together so nicely. The international coordinator at my school was very helpful in putting me in touch with the international coordinator at RSLIS when I first expressed interest in going abroad. I’ve been in touch with the RSLIS international coordinator for the past half-a-year via email. She’s been really helpful, and I’m looking forward to meeting her in person!

Like I said, things have come together nicely. First was the residence permit. Since I’m staying longer than 3 months, I need a permit. RSLIS sent me the application, and I had to fill it out and mail it along with my passport to the Danish Embassy in New York. I was upset and a little panicked about sending my passport because I wasn’t sure I’d have enough time to get the permit processed before I leave (it can take up to 3 months). That was way back in April, and thankfully it only took them about 3 weeks to process my application and send the permit!

Next, I enrolled in some placeholder classes at SILS so I can still be considered a full-time student there and thus have my credits transferred when I return in the spring.

I’ve ordered a lot of little things to take with me on the trip, such as a SIM-unlocked cell phone (I’ll buy a SIM card in Denmark), a voltage converter / international outlet set (the AC outlets & voltage are different in Denmark), and a textbook for one of my classes.

There’s still a lot left to do. Namely, the big shopping trip for a lot of the necessities I’ll need — clothes, personal items, accessories, you name it. The NC Tax Holiday is coming up, so I plan to do all of that shopping then!

I know this post isn’t well written, I’m really tired and should go to bed soon. Better post next time! :-)