Answer? Things that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I push the rewind button a few times and find myself sitting in a circle with friends on the livingroom floor at the LeBlanc residence. I am about 8 years old. Maybe 9. Cousins, friends, and siblings are all crouched beside me, both listening and watching carefully in the hopes of catching a sudden slip up of the alliteration rhymes or a random hand attempting to edge its way toward the chip bowl sitting within the group. One of Anne`s notorious metal mixing bowls holds the loser prize. My guess is that the chip of choice was sour cream and onion. Maybe a few cheesies also thrown in the mix. Afterall, us LeBlanc gals can`t resist a chip sandwich! As the rhyme game made its way along the circle, I fantasized about the idea of someday leaving on some sort of grandiose adventure. In actuality, I very much doubt that I ever really thought such an adventure possible until I reached what was likely my early twenties. Up until then, I hadn`t yet begun to understand that a world outside the chip bowl and my circle of friends possible...
Choosing what to bring on a longer planned trip can prove to be quite the daunting task. Formulating the "what I`m going to bring list" is only a part of the process. Finding the space in one`s backpack is the ultimate task at hand. Having embarked on several lengthier trips over the past few years, I still struggle in knowing what to and what not to bring along with me. I`ve learned a lot of important lessons through my travels. One of these lessons is first and foremost: you always pack more than you need, and secondly, that there is virtually nothing that cannot be replaced at your destination. Despite this, here are five things that I would never leave home without (and no, chips is not one of them- though it was a very close call! haha)
(A look at my packing job back in 2007. I implemented a packing system whereby I laid out everything I thought I might need onto my bed. Every day for a week leading up to my trip, I would remove one item... Note the toilet paper. You honestly thought I was pulling your leg?!?)
1). Toilet paper: One must NEVER leave home without toilet paper. If I had to put my finger on one thing that absolutely confused me while traveling overseas, it was the fluctuation in toilet standards country to country. Some have toilet paper. Some don`t. Some have seats. Some don`t. Some cost money to use. Some don`t. Some have soap and a bucket of water beside them. Some don`t. Some require squatting. Some don`t. All it took was that very first experience of having to get by like the locals "sans toilet paper" and I learned my lesson the hard way. And again, "One must NEVER leave home without a roll of toilet paper... or two."
2. Pocket Calculator: Sometimes I wonder what I packed on that very first international adventure of mine. Afterall, it would appear as though my list of travel essentials has developed through a series of trial and error faux pas`. The second most essential travel companion is clearly a pocket calculator. It only takes a few dollars lost through one`s confusion over the local currency to realize the value to a pocket calculator picked up at the local dollarama store.
3. Heels: I know. It sounds positively ridiculous. In fact, I may be the sole backpacker to ever list something so silly as a pair of heels in her top five packing schema. But seriously- what better way to pull yourself out of a travel slump than to throw on a pair of heels and prance round town like your the Canadian version of Jessica Simpson? An instant pick me up!
4. Rollers: Okay. Now you are officially going to think that I have lost the plot. No joke intended. I`ve been foolishly forcing velcro rollers upon my straight limp hair since I was about 14 years old. Toothbrush? Optional. Hand sanitizer? Optional. Velcro hair rollers? Non- negotiable. Hehe
5. Camera cord: Take it from the girl who once went through three cameras within a 6-month time span- pictures must find their way off of a camera prior to disaster striking! Enough said.
"He who would travel happily must travel light." -St.Exupery
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