Packing My Life Into 80 Pounds

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Well, as you can imagine, packing up my life for twenty-seven months was a bit of a challenge. Thank you to my family for allowing me to make such a mess of the living room, as you can see in the first photo. And thanks, mom, for packing up a little more after I left.
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Eventually, I fit everything into two suitcases, a school-sized backpack, and a laptop bag. I was allowed to check eighty pounds, and I think I managed to pack about seventy pounds into my checked bags. But that means that I loaded my carry-ons with heavy books and electronics. My shoulders are paying for it.

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The books I packed:

Yoga book

An ESL teaching book

A couple journals

Three Buddhist books

Pride and Prejudice

The Poems of Emily Dickinson

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The weirdest thing I packed:

A portable, metal fork/spoon/chopstick set (it's awesome!)

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What I wish I had packed:

My yoga mat

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One guy from my group packed his mat. He said that he had a made a commitment to himself to bring it. I tried to fit my mat it, but it just didn't work. Maybe I'm not as committed.

Packing has been an interesting experience. It told me a lot about myself, primarily that I love, love, love my shoes and clothes! I'm more shallow than I thought! :)

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Love you all, Jennifer