I'm here in SeaTac, waiting to get on my flight, a long one to Dubai.
The last few days have been final preparations for this trip. I thought I would post them here so that other people can use this as a guide.
Obviously, I had to buy things that I was missing, but there are a lot of other small things I had to take care of.
My house is currently a total mess and immaculately clean. It may seem like a contradiction but it's not. What I mean is that there is stuff everywhere. The house is very disorganized. However, everything is clean.
I did my last load of laundry yesterday. I threw my sheets in as well. This guaranteed first of all that not even a single pair of socks was waiting in the laundry bin for 4 weeks, but also means that I have nice, clean sheets waiting for me when I get home a month from now. It's one more thing I don't need to worry about.
Last night I emptied all perishable items from the fridge. I washed every dish. Even cups that just had some water in them had to be cleaned. You'd be surprised where stuff can grow.
I took out all the garbage and compost, cleaned out the sinks, bathtub and toilet. Last thing I want is to find some trace of bacteria has decided to take my one month away as a time to grow and take over my house.
So my apartment is currently immaculately clean.
It also looks like it's been hit by a tornado. There is stuff EVERYWHERE. Because I really only had one half day to prepare (up until yesterday I had classes and yesterday I had a final, yesterday evening my students had a recital), I used every flat surface as a packing and organizing space. I carefully organized what I needed and where. Valuables, prescription medications and technology in carry on and virtually everything else in checked luggage.
I backed up my computer, charged my camera, found all of my chargers, and made sure that "Pokemon" was in my gameboy (don't judge me.)
My brother and neighbors each have a spare key. Everything in my apartment that can be turned off has been turned off.
I'm ready to go!
So now I'm in the airport waiting area. We should be boarding in about 10 minutes. The flight is overbooked, but I got on. There are LOTS of children on the flight, so I'm happy that I brought ear plugs. I have a research book and highlighters....I'm not sure if can mark my books. It makes a part of me feel like it's died. As a friend reminded me, if the book is THAT special, I can buy another copy in the future.
A hotel room is booked for me in Dharamsala and a car is waiting to pick me up in Delhi.
From now on it will be less about organizing the trip and more about the actual research! I'm excited but I hope that these posts have been somewhat helpful for people who want to do a major trip.
Wish me luck...
The last few days have been final preparations for this trip. I thought I would post them here so that other people can use this as a guide.
Obviously, I had to buy things that I was missing, but there are a lot of other small things I had to take care of.
My house is currently a total mess and immaculately clean. It may seem like a contradiction but it's not. What I mean is that there is stuff everywhere. The house is very disorganized. However, everything is clean.
I did my last load of laundry yesterday. I threw my sheets in as well. This guaranteed first of all that not even a single pair of socks was waiting in the laundry bin for 4 weeks, but also means that I have nice, clean sheets waiting for me when I get home a month from now. It's one more thing I don't need to worry about.
Last night I emptied all perishable items from the fridge. I washed every dish. Even cups that just had some water in them had to be cleaned. You'd be surprised where stuff can grow.
I took out all the garbage and compost, cleaned out the sinks, bathtub and toilet. Last thing I want is to find some trace of bacteria has decided to take my one month away as a time to grow and take over my house.
So my apartment is currently immaculately clean.
It also looks like it's been hit by a tornado. There is stuff EVERYWHERE. Because I really only had one half day to prepare (up until yesterday I had classes and yesterday I had a final, yesterday evening my students had a recital), I used every flat surface as a packing and organizing space. I carefully organized what I needed and where. Valuables, prescription medications and technology in carry on and virtually everything else in checked luggage.
I backed up my computer, charged my camera, found all of my chargers, and made sure that "Pokemon" was in my gameboy (don't judge me.)
My brother and neighbors each have a spare key. Everything in my apartment that can be turned off has been turned off.
I'm ready to go!
So now I'm in the airport waiting area. We should be boarding in about 10 minutes. The flight is overbooked, but I got on. There are LOTS of children on the flight, so I'm happy that I brought ear plugs. I have a research book and highlighters....I'm not sure if can mark my books. It makes a part of me feel like it's died. As a friend reminded me, if the book is THAT special, I can buy another copy in the future.
A hotel room is booked for me in Dharamsala and a car is waiting to pick me up in Delhi.
From now on it will be less about organizing the trip and more about the actual research! I'm excited but I hope that these posts have been somewhat helpful for people who want to do a major trip.
Wish me luck...
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