December 19, 2014

The Semester at Sea Packing List

Dear future Semester at Sea students,

Before I left for SAS, I found these great blogs here and here which helped me craft my packing list. I wanted to add my own thoughts so that you are as prepared as possible!

Nicole's Packing List

Clothing
-       Basic cotton shirts: 10
-       Sleepwear/t-shirts: 4    you will buy a few, but better to have enough to start
-       Long-sleeved lightweight shirt
-       Sundresses: 2   I wish I'd brought more! Maybe 3-4
-       Bottoms: 4 pair shorts, 1 pair capris, 1 fun skirt, 1 long skirt, and 3-4 pair jeans  it will get cold in the countries at night!
-       Athletic: shorts, sports bras, bathing suits, yoga pants    who was I kidding with the whole trying to look nice thing - I should have packed more sweatpants! 2-3 pair yoga pants
-       Warm wear: cardigan, sweater, sweatshirt    I would have killed for a jean or leather jacket - it gets cold at night in-country, but you still want to look decent! Also, the ship is cold. Bring warm casual stuff and warm sleepwear.
-       Rain coat 
-       Formal wear: nice dress   didn't really use, but you really never know...
-       Scarf
-       Belts
-       Undergarments
-       Business appropriate outfit      actually came in handy
-       1 going out outfit (nice top & jeans)  this was crazy. What was I thinking. You need 4-5 going out outfits that you can mix and match. 99.5% of SAS students go out at least once in each port. About a third go out every night in each port. You don't want to miss out on a country's night scene. Bring some options!

Shoes
-       Regular sneakers
-       All-terrain shoes (ex casual hiking shoes)   not necessary, but handy
-       Flip flops
-       Converse or casual shoes for walking
-       1 pair all purpose flats
-       Consider a fun/basic pair of heels


Toiletries
-       Body: Body wash, Deodorant, Lotion
-       Chapstick
-       Hair: Comb & Brush, Shampoo, Conditioner, hairbands
-       Nail care: polish, remover, file, clippers
-       Razors
-       Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss
-       Tissues (1 box + 4 on the go packs)    I am prone to allergies, so you don't necessarily need this!
-       Tweezers
-       sunscreen
-       travel size items

Electronics
-       Laptop & charger
-       phone & charger
-       camera? & charger      I actually survived the whole trip on my iPhone's camera!
-       headphones (x2)
-       portable hard drive     This is actually a must! (or a flash drive). People will put movies and TV shows on a shared drive and it's great to swap shows and store them for yourself.
-       Flash drive
-       European adapter

School
-       One notebook (medium)
-       Writing: highlighters, pens, pencils
-       Scissors
-       Post-its
-       Journal    Keeping a journal is a lot of work, but 100% rewarding
-       Folder


Medicine
-       Prescription: Malaria, diarrhea
-       Allergies: Claritin, benadryl
-       Cold: dayquil, airborne, cough drops      Airborne will save your life!
-       Misc: pepto bismal, tums, seasickness, advil       Pepto will save your life!
-       First aid kit
-       Hand sanitizer
-       Mosquito repellant with DEET


Misc
-       Snacks: snack bars, m&ms, gum     can't go wrong with nutella, but you will also buy snacks in-country
o   Candy for kids: something w individ wrappers that wont melt
-       Beach towel
-       Blanket           having my own blanket was really nice and a personal touch for the bed
-       Bags: drawstring, cross-body purse, small duffle, backpack
-       Anti-wrinkle spray; laundry detergent bar     there's a handy clothes line for hand-washing clothes in the bathroom. 
-       Magnets & photos
-       Ziplock bags
-       Important documents: copies of passport, extra passport photos, copy of credit card, copy of license, immunization records
-       Water bottle (2) and thermos or mug
-       US things to give out     gifts from home are nice to give out to locals!
-       Umbrella
-       Sunglasses
-       Safety pins and bobby pins
-       Laundry bag
-       Foreign currency & USD       US dollars helpful for paying people back on the ship
-       Yellow Fever card

Also, consider packing a small collapsable duffle bag on the way over so that you can bring your extra souvenirs back at the end.

That's it! I had the time of my life on Semester at Sea and hope you do too!


All the best,

Nicole




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