The Holiday season has officially wrapped up for me! Christmas, New Years and the month-long festivities of Chinese New Year have made my return to Canada from Ethiopia, bearable.
After more than 3 years of calling Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as my home, being back at “home” is definitely bittersweet. With the daily small successes, challenges and bureaucracy of working in Ethiopia in my memories, I’ve been indulging in the small luxuries of life that I had come to live without.
My sister, “Princess Master Packer”, was nice enough to come visit me in Ethiopia just before I left for good. Princess Master Packer, is a gifted packer and is spatial-visualization inclined. I’ll be the first to admit, without her supervision, skill and additional baggage allowance; I don’t know what I would have done! Packing up 3 years worth of memories, essentials and just stuff was intimidating and one of the hardest things I’ve done (made climbing Mt. Kenya 5008m look easy)!!!
Seeing Ethiopia through Princess Master Packer’s eyes was certainly entertaining. Things that I’ve come to embrace seemed completely foreign and outright absurd to her! I wonder if I was like her when I first stepped foot on to African soil 3 years ago…F.O.B. (fresh off the boat)
If you’re an Expat that has accumulated a lot of stuff like me…here are some packing tips:
1. How to embrace outdoor equipment when packing:
– Water bottles, Nalgeens and other hard plastic containers may seem like space wasters in your suitcase, but
they serve as perfect canisters to pack small items such as shavers, tampons, jewellery, medication, sunglasses etc.
– Rug sacks and mountaineering backpacks should be emptied and flattened to line the bottom of your large
suitcases.
2. Additional piece of luggage
If you know ultimately you won’t make the baggage allowance and your only option is to pay for an extra piece of
luggage, then invest in a good cardboard box and cling wrap at the airport. As an oversized cardboard box, you can
place all of your heaviest items in that carton. Airlines are generous with weight with extra pieces and if they’re in cartons since you’ve already paid extra.
3. Anything odd shaped or cardboard MUST be wrapped with cling wrap at the airport! Don’t be a cheapo and opt out
of the wrap thinking it won’t do much and is cheaper to buy wrap from Wal-mart to DIY. You’ll be surprised how well
the cling wrap at the airport is able to distribute stress away from the corners of a bashed up box and not to
mention keep things inside the box.
4. Always have extra USD enough to pay for extra/overweight luggage. USD is the only currency that no matter how
rural and off the map you are, people will accept. Don’t depend on credit cards because as I have experienced, the
only credit card machine at the airport might be broken. Or, you only have Euros but the staff insist on USD only
and the currency changers are all closed!
Remember to expect the unexpected!
Women of the Hamer Village in Omo Valley looking into the African sunset photographed by Susan Wong
The sun sets into a peaceful Hamer Village in Southern Ethiopia photographed by Susan Wong
Crossing the Omo River 20km from the Kenyan-Ethiopia border photographed by Susan Wong
Filed under: Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Life, Photography, Thoughts, Travel, baggage allowance, cling wrap, Ethiopia, Expat, extra luggage, F.O.B., fresh off the boat, Hamer Village, Kenya, Omo River, Omo Valley, packing tips, photographer Susan Wong, reintegrating back home, Susan Wong
the BIGGER picture 