I have now made the journey overseas a total of three times in the last two years and fortunately skipped out on some horrendous winters in the Midwest. I hate to rub it in but I have enjoyed the past two years living in the Mediterranean, with little snowfall and plenty of sunshine. The temperate winter has made packing just a bit easier since I did not have to fit a bunch of bulky winter cloths into my already limited space.
Despite not having to pack for winters my first season in Jerusalem I made plenty of mistakes. These included two full suits (never used), four pairs of dress pants with five button-down shirts (worn three times), two pair of sweatpants, and three sweatshirts. For those who know me this was quite the faux pas considering 98 percent of my wardrobe in high school and college consisted of sweatpants and free t-shirts from camps and tournaments. Last year I was able to correct these mistakes and have now got a good system for packing and making the jump over the big ocean blue.
This season I will be in Norway and will be welcomed back into the world of long underwear and heavy winter coats. My packing skills have greatly improved and I now make sure to have enough loungewear, but after spending so much time in Europe I have picked up a few new outfits to try and impress the ladies. This means dress shirts and pants have now reappeared in my packs and a fresh Man-bun to go with them.
I first divide everything up into two piles in the living room aka "the War Room."
The first pile is my everyday clothes, and the second pile is my work clothes, which include basketball/compression shorts, socks, headbands, dry-fit shirts and basketball shoes. It's really great being an athlete since every day is like casual Friday but even more casual.
Even with the world's best packing Tetris player (my mother), my wardrobe is limited and for the next eight months outfits will be on repeat constantly. Also packing winter clothes and boots will cause a few more items to be left in the stay at home pile. Having limited space allows for only a few personal effects, so my apartment will be barren until I find a few knick-knacks in or around Oslo.
There is a third pile, which includes winter gear, several more pairs of shoes, electronic equipment and of course my travel companion Pluto. Pluto is my stuffed animal who I got my sophomore year of college when we played in Orlando for a Thanksgiving tournament. I know I am a 25 year old who still has a stuffed animal but this dude is my friend who has been to every country with me. He is a reminder of home, and all the great people and places I have met along this long basketball journey.
After everything is zipped up both bags are weighed and adjusted to make sure I do not pay any extra charge for having bags weighing 50 pounds. This again is done by my mother is almost always spot on with balancing the weight of both cases. Yes I know I am one lucky boy to have such a wonderful helper and she will be receiving a very nice gift for her services upon my return home.
Next up: How to prepare for long travel days as a Big Friendly Ginger and how this trip to Scandinavia almost did not happen
