The SAS Packing List

Packing for a SAS trip is a crazy, exciting thing.  I've been off the ship for almost two months now (boo-hoo) and I still find myself shopping for things to take on the trip.  It's like that dream you have about missing a test in high school...

I did a few posts about packing pre-trip and I wanted to combine that with my now expert (haha) alumni knowledge in a new post for future SASers.

First little bit of advice is to start early, especially for things you have to shop for.  Part of the reason is to have plenty of time to prepare and part of the reason is because who wants to wait to start obsessing about the trip!?!  I started collecting things in my SAS Bag several months in advance.  About one to two months ahead of time I started seriously making and editing my packing list and aquiring items I would need to buy.  About two weeks or so before the trip I started the mamoth process of packing because I knew it would take me several tries to fit everything.  (I was still shoving random things in as we were leaving for the airport.)

My huge duffle bag waiting to be filled.

Here is my (annotated) master packing list.  (I may or may not have copped a lot of it from other alumni's lists.)  I'll come back and edit it as I think of them.

Clothing

4 pairs athletic shorts

bathing suits (two, one to ruin)

belt (2)

bras (3)

capris (1 jeans 1 khaki)

business dress/outfit (1)

dress for ambassador’s Ball  (or buy one on the trip)

flip-flops (3)

goofy outfit(s)

hiking shoes

jacket  (temperatures may get below freezing some places)

jeans (2)  (Only needed one)

khaki long pants

shorts (4)

skirt (1)

sleep shirt (1)  (You will buy more)

socks (4)

sports bras (2)

sweat pants (2) 

sweatshirt (1)  (You will buy more)

t-shirts (3)  (You will buy more)

tank tops (4+)

underwear (18) 

walking shoes

workout clothes

yellow bandana

leggings

sundress

scarf (to cover up in religious places)

Long sleve shirts made of light airy fabric (2)  (didn't bring this but wish I had)

Rain poncho

Cosmetics

big conditioner

big shampoo

bobby pins

chapstick (3)

cover up/concealer

deodorant 

eye liner

facepaint (for sea olympics and having fun with kiddies in port)

hair bands

hair brush

hair clips

hair products (well, not really. you don't need them and they take up too much space)

hairspray

lady things

lip gloss

mascara

nail file

nail polish

nail polish remover

q-tips

razor 

tide spot stain remover

tissues

travel size bath bottles for travel in port  (didn’t use them)

tweezers

makeup remover wipes

lotion

Electronics

AA bateries  (didn't need them)

AAA Bateries  (didn't need them)

auto-shut off curling iron and straightener

bag of beans (to dry out electronics in humidity)

battery powered alarm clock (or cell phone with alarm)

book light

camera battery charger

camera case

camera cord

camera

video camera

waterproof case (you WILL want this!)

DVD movies

cell phone 

cell phone charger

flash drives

flashlight

handheld fan

hard drive  (you will definitely want one!)

headphones (2)

ipod(s)

ipod speakers

ipod USB cord

iPod wall charger

laptop

laptop charger

kindle

kindle charger

solar charger and cables 

extra camera memory card 

universal outlet adapter (or at least European adapter)

Yeah, that's right.  A coloring book.  It was awesome.

My homemade journal.

School

calculator  (pocket sized so you can bring it with you in port and calculate prices!)

blank paper

colored pencils

coloring book

hilighters

lined notebooks

pencils (11)

pens (9)

rubber bands (10)

safety pins

scissors

sharpies

sketch supplies

water colors

glue stick

glue

Art  supplies

School Supplies (The smiley faces are vital)

Meds

1 bottle advil

airbourne
Emergen-C  (good for rehydration and preventing sickness)

aloe vera

anti malaria meds

antibiotics for travelers diarrhea

band-aids (40)

blister pads

cold eeze

cough drops

first aide kit

hand sanitizer (4)

benedryl

zyrtec

melatonin

medical documentation

Medical hisotry 

neosporin (2)

non drowsy dramamine!!!!!  (may save your life/sanity)  

rolaids/tums

tylenol

ginger gum  (for nausea)

Wheelchair

vapor rub

prescription meds IN their original containers

For On The Ship

anti wrinkle spray!!!!!

my roommate had this awesome cosmetic holder that hung on the door...get that

beach towel

big world map for wall in cabin (can buy on ship for like $4)

blanket if can fit  (Didn't need it)

candy  (can buy on ship, but bring your own too)

clotheline

clothes pins (10)

collapsible hanging boxes (didn't bring/need)

dry erase board for door

dry erase markers

duct tape (1 roll) for taping drawers shut in rough water.  Some staff members said it was banned, but other staff members said it was ok and let me take it on.  Don't sneak it on.

febreeze!!!!!!!!!  

gum

laundary stuff

laundry bag

lock/safe  (don't need.  One in room)

magnets (20)  (bring even more of these than you think you will need so you can decorate your room)

pictures of friends and family

playing cards

post-its

sink stopper

small jorunal (2) 

snacks (you will get sick of ship food fast!  think ahead!)

      -Cup a noodle soup

      -Goldfish

      -powerbars or granola bars or something like that

      -mints

      -fill all the extra space in your bags with food!!!!

sunglasses and case

sunscreen

tea, hot chocolate packets, crystal light!!!!!

tide spot stain remover

tissues

trash bags (2)

travel mug

Word magnets

ziplock bags (9)

sewing kit

ear plugs

peanut butter (FYI don't try and sneak this into Tibet)

Misc. and Docs

$100 in $1  (at least)

$1 per day for cabin steward tips

2 copies of passport photo

4 copies of passport front page

addresses of friends/family 

copies of credit card (2)

copy of birth certificate

credit/ATM card

driver’s license and copy 

emergency contact list

foreign currency ($25 per port)  (getting it there can be a hassle and more expensive) 

immunization records

passport/visas

sas paperwork

student ID

travel student ID

travelers checks (didn't bring/need)

yellow fever proof

For In Port

binoculars  (did use these a bit surprisingly)

camleback (2)

compass (but not really)

gifts for the kiddies  (more info in future post)

homestay gifts  (more info in future post)

Things made in USA to trade (more info in future post)

money belt (or just keep things in your sock...)

mosquito repellent with deet 

picture book

purse  (one that is not easily stollen/unzipped)

sleeping bag liner (did not bring/need)

travel toilete paper

travel wet wipes 

umbrella

waterbottole (2)
a small doll or stuffed animal to take pictures of (especially if you are doing Vicarious Voyage)

Getting there

2 roller duffel suitcases

fold up duffle bag for end of trip

1 smaller cary-on duffle (for flying in port)

large backpack

India (Day 6)

Boo-hoo it's the last day in India.  :0(  I absolutely LOVED it here!  One more reason to get job so I can travel back soon!

I spent the morning on a grand adventure with one of my friends, Sarah.  We wanted to go to this mall that one of the professors had told me about the day before.  It was the place where people who lived here shop so I thought it would be a really good experience.  Getting there was pretty exciting.  We took the ferry over to near Fort Cochin, where I had gone before, and hired a rickshaw driver to get us to the mall. It was WAY farther (34 km) and more expensive (1200 Rupees) than I thought it would be.  I think we got overcharged, especially because it was originally 600 rupees one way and then we got back and it changed to 600 each way.  Oh well, the guy was nice and didn't take us any random places.  

 

On the ferry.

The price of gas if anyone is interested.  

Taking a rickshaw through a village is one thing, traveling for a long time on busy roads was quite another.  It was quite a hair raising experience!  The driver was weaving in and out of traffic and narrowly missing huge busses!  It was crazy!

We had to take a ferry once on the rikshaw with a bunch of other vehicles.  I don't think my lungs will ever be quite the same...

The mall was really fun.  It was pretty much like the malls at home except the things in the stores were different.  The people working in the stores were also much more attentive than at home.  Even the discount stores had people who treated you like you were shopping at Rodeo Drive or something.  We went to the grocery store first and stocked up on snacks.  I was so excited to find peanut butter!  I bought two tubes of it.  There were also clothes and school supplies for really cheap so I bought three outfits and some art supplies for about 1/10th the price they would go for at home.  The prices of items were really interested to me.  There would be a pen for like the equivalent of seven U.S. dollars that would go for one or two at home.  But on the other hand, a nice set of pastels would be like 80 cents as opposed to $10 at home.  

I was starting to feel a little POTSie so we just went into a few clothes stores after that and each bought a skirt.  I took a risk and got a milkshake at Baskin Robbins but so far no sickness from the milk.  :0)  I also got some chocolate for the driver since he was going to be working through lunch.

The drive back was also quite exciting.  Instead of going right back to the boat, we stopped by one last store to spend our leftover rupees.  

By the time I had gotten back to the back to the boat I was feeling quite POTSie.  I was in a rush though, so I tried to ignore it.  I had to get on board, drop off my stuff, get lunch, and head back out to catch my field program to an orphanage.  At lunch, I got to meet my friend Josh's Dad which was awesome.  I was bummed I basically had to just say hi and rush off.  I managed to get to the bus on time after all that.

This is where Invincible Emily (my superhero name, duh) got some holes in her cape.  The bus air conditioning broke after a few minutes into a 1.5 hour drive.  And the windows couldn't be rolled down.  So we were in a metal can on a 95 degree, 95% humidity day with no air ventilation.  Not fun. I, of course was feeling completely awful, but some other people were not doing too well either.  Some people were even crying a little.  I would split my time laying down awkwardly and sitting up when I got too carsick.  Not fun at all.

We finally arrived at the village and got out to the 95, 95% air that actually felt refreshing.  It took me like ten minutes to get to the place where the welcoming talk was because I kept collapsing.  One sweet little girl comes up to me, tilts her head and said, "You are handicap."  I shook my head and said, "Yes, handicap!"  She took my hand and let me up the last bit of stairs.  I didn't have the heart to collapse on her so I made it the last little bit and thanked her very much for the help.  

   I spend the welcoming talk and the first half of the trip laying on the floor getting familiar with the view of the ceiling.  A few kids came up to me, but for the most part I think they were a bit scared of me.  haha  I finally was able to sit up and crawled over to a group of kids to show them the saucer popper thingies.  As usual, they were a big hit.  I got a brief reprieve form the dizziness and was able to walk to and visit one of the houses the kids lived in.  The orphanage was set up in a very cool way.  The kids are divided up into different families and all have a house mom.  They is just like any other family, eating meals and hanging out together.  It was such a healthy way to organize things!

   On my way back, one of the younger boys ran up and took my water bottle.  I thought he was so cute, I didn't even care.  And boy did he love that thing!  He ran around and wanted me to take pictures of him in various poses with his water bottle.  I think we had a strange kid bond.  He had no interest in the other kids or toys, but loved our disposable water bottles.  He had several by the time the trip was over.  Honestly, probably more things happened that were noteworthy, but I can't really remember much of the trip.  :0(  

   The bus ride back was even more miserable than the way there.  I was so carsick and dizzy and it seemed to last forever.  When I got back to the dock, I collapsed SO many times on the way to the line to get on the ship.  During one of my down times, the drum guy who I had talked to before came up and the lack of blood flow let me to buy a huge drum from him.  I'm actually glad I did because it is pretty cool and makes a nice sound.  It's just so big I have no clue what I'm going to do with it.  

   

  After I got on the ship (with some help) I basically crawled to my room and my roommate got my wheelchair for me.  I had to use it when I went to dinner which was a little embarrassing, but after the first shock of wheeling in to the dining area and having people stare at me, I was ok.

   

  I couldn't eat much, but at least it was something.  I also drank a glass or two of water.  :0)  Then it was to the health center with me for an IV.  Dr. Bill is seriously awesome!  He gave me 2 liters and didn't give me a hard time at all.  I also drank a bottle of gatorade while I was there so I was pretty tanked up.  When I got back to my room, my face looked super pudgy!  haha

  Now it's bed time!  IVs always make me so sleepy!  Hope tomorrow is better!  I don't need to make more of a scene than I already have on this ship!  haha

India (Day…um…4?)

   I gotz my groove back!  Today was fantastic!  Not even a hint of feeling crummy like I have been feeling.  It's amazing how one day I can hardly walk and the next day I walk for hours and hours.  No complaints though!

   I found out this morning that I didn't have my tickets for the field programs for today and tomorrow which either means I didn't get in, or there was a processing error and I'll get the ticket for tomorrow sometime this evening.  It didn't matter as much for today because I was a total goof and got the time wrong.  I showed up at 10:10 when the trip left at 10:00.  (I thought it was at 10:30.)  I had been thinking about skipping it anyway, so I think it was just my subconscious making the decision for me.  haha

   I spent the rest of the morning relaxing and eating free lunch on the boat.  :0)  I had planned to go out on my own, but I met a group who were going where I wanted to go so I decided to tag a long.  Our final destination was a place called Jew Town (yes, that is quite possibly the best name EVER) but we took our time getting there.

 

Lots of people took pictures of our boat as we went past.  :0)

 We took the water taxi to what we thought was Jew Town but turned out to be somewhere else.  Unfazed, we shopped there for quite a while.  I was excited to get a beautiful red sari after some unintentional awesome bargaining.  It was originally $60 so I kept trying to walk away until it was down to $35 and I really had to buy it then.  It's funny how bargaining works.  I really was leaving the store and not trying to make a deal at all.  But I'm not complaining!  

  In our wanderings, we found a store one of the girls had been to previously to buy some sultan pants.  She was going on and on about how amazing these pants were and I didn't quite understand until I tried on the pair I bought just now.  THey are like heaven!  The guys at the store were SO nice!  Some of the girls bought some pants and then we asked to see his other store that he had just opened.  We walked a block or two and came to another store filled with beautiful things.  Some of the girls bought some bedspreads and things and then we hung out with the guys for a while.  It was SO much fun!  One of the guys, Muhammad, was really into earthquakes so we had a lot to talk about.  I told him about the website where all earthquakes within the last week were displayed and he was really excited.  Nerd bond!  haha  We ended up taking a bunch of group photos and swapping e-mail addresses!  I love how shopping here ends up as an awesome social experience!

  From the guy's new store, I somehow knew where we were!  Go me and my improving sense of direction!  IT was right near the Chinese fishing nets, so I led our group over there to we could see those and shop some more.  

   We started heading to Jew Town, but since we didn't know where that was, we were just kind of walking.  Finally we stopped and asked someone where it was, and it was too far so we took a rickshaw.  So much fun!  All four of us somehow squeezed into it and we were off on a very exciting ride to Jew Town. 

   The shopping in Jew Town was also really good.  I split off from the group part way through because I was wearing out and I still wanted to get to the synagogue.  I expected to be nervous being on my own, but I actually felt just fine.  I found the synagogue by asking around a little and headed inside.  

   I was really excited to meet the lady who took my ticket.  SHe is the only Jewish woman of childbearing age left in the area.  She has been under enormous pressure to marry her second cousins to keep the line going, but like a boss, she refused because they are not her type.  I guess she has a reputation as  being quite a grump but she seemed nice as long as people were nice and respectful to her.  I wanted to tell her that I thought she was awesome for standing up for herself, but felt that was SO not my place.  So I just smiled.  

   The synagogue was very old, dating back to the 1300-1500's (part of it was older and part of it was rebuilt).  It was very peaceful and beautifully decorated.  There were no cameras allowed, so I did my best to memorize every detail.  I'm not religious, but it was still pretty meaningful to come to this place.  The state we are in in India has always accepted people of any religion.  It was nice to think that there was at least one place in the world where Jews were welcomed.  

  

 The acceptance of all religions is still very apparent today.  The state is known as "Gods own Country" because everyone here is deeply religious, going to pray at their place of worship at least once a day.  Most people are either Hindu, Muslim, or Christian or even from mixed families.  Even though people are very religious, there is really no tensions between the different religions.  From what I have seen, this state is a good role model for the rest of the world. 

   I took a rickshaw back to the water taxi with only one stop at a store so the driver could get a point.  The taxi and rickshaw drivers get points for every person they bring to a store and I think they can exchange enough points for money.  As a result, most taxi or rickshaw drivers will try to take you to many different stores you aren't actually interested in going.  It's not really a big deal though.  If you insist they keep driving, they usually will.  I just walked through the store because I had time and what the heck.  :0)

  

 I was afraid I wasn't going to have an easy time getting back to the ship because the driver and I had a lot of trouble understanding each other.  I was pretty sure we had the same idea of where I wanted to go, but I wasn't sure.  I decided to just hope for the best and it turned out well.  He drove past the water taxi stop, but I spotted it and had him stop just in time.  He wanted more money than we agreed upon, but I knew he already overcharged me so I said no.  We thanked each other anyway and I headed off to the water taxi.  That was a little confusing also, but I managed to figure out how to buy my ticket (after first getting in the "men only" line) and got on the next boat.

  

 The last bit of walking form the water taxi to the ship seemed miles and miles even though it just a few hundred yards.  I was SO happy to get back into air conditioning and lay down on my bed.  I feel like I definitely earned my right to go to bed at 8:00 tonight!  What an awesome day!