i did it

somehow i managed to narrow down everything i own into a pile small enough to fit into 2 bags. this was not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. i had to balance my favorites with things that i actually need. for instance, i won't be wearing a lot of shorts and tank tops in europe. not only do italians pretty much wear pants year around (i want to blend in), but you can't wear shorts or tanks tops into most churches (if you do you have to put on these embarrassing paper hospital gown-looking things that cover your shoulder and thighs).

a few things that made the cut: one big coat, 2 bathing suits, 2 pairs of jeans (painful), one fleece, 3 cardigans (eessh), a few books, 5 sticks of deodorant (really expensive and hard to find in europe), the cards from "scattegories", 32 dvds, a robe, 3 tank tops, 1 skirt, 2 dresses, no hairdryer (i've been told to get one there so mine doesn't explode/catch on fire from the wacky voltage difference), 1 bible, 2 moleskines (1 full of notes taken at HUF of everything we saw, 1 blank to be used as my journal), a tiny ihome, tennis shoes, ugg boots (i know, but that's all i could think of for winter), 2 pair of toms, chacos, a video camera, a "with love from my kitchen" cookbook full of my favorite recipes of my friends/family, crochet needles, 2 balls of yarn...

wow, when i list it out like that it really sounds like a lot; and this is only about a fourth of everything we own! reducing all of our worldly possessions down to 2 years worth of necessities was really a humbling experience. we take so much for granted and honestly, if i can live without something for 2 years then i probably didn't need if in the first place (this doesn't apply to people, just possessions). on that note, i had to tell my grandparents bye last night and as forrest gump would say "that's all i'm gonna to say about that".

the evidence