A few more words on what to pack and what to leave at home

(posted by Zsofi Budai)

If you haven’t read Janelle’s original entry on the subject, do so at .

Only two more weeks until orientation! Hopefully, you’ve already begun to think a bit about what you’ll want to bring (and what you’ll want to leave at home to lighten the load). Let me tell you, I always agonize over this more than I should, but I think I’ve finally mastered the art of packing for a summer with LE. Allow me to give you a few words of advice:

DON'T BRING MORE THAN YOU CAN CARRY
I know that Janelle has already reiterated this point, but we cannot stress it enough. Although that huge suitcase that you packed at home may seem easy to transport when you have a car that takes you from your house straight to the airport, you will hate yourself when you have to drag it across the border during midpoint break (from Komarno, Slovakia, to Komarom, Hungary) if you have to catch your train in the latter city. So leave it at home. Bring a large backpack and/or a duffel bag. If you insist on bringing a suitcase, make sure that it is small and relatively easy to lift, since you’ll be getting on and off trains when traveling.

Now, in terms of specific items you’ll need or won’t need (some of this will be repetitive, given Janelle’s earlier post):

Clothes

Personally, this is where I tend to run into trouble while packing. During my first summer of teaching (back in 2004), I really didn’t know what to expect, so I thought it was better to be over-prepared than under-prepared and brought clothes for almost every possible occasion I could think of. NOT a good strategy! The following is what I’ve learned, in terms of dressing for LE:

Orientation in Budapest
By day, you will be meeting with Janelle to go over LE rules, regulations, and teaching strategies and sightseeing around the city. By night, you will be going out to dinner, bars, and clubs. (The night stuff is all optional!!!) Since it will be late June, the weather will be warm and sunny, and you’ll need to dress comfortably for trekking around Budapest. Bring t-shirts, tank tops, shorts, skirts, capris, etc., as well as a pair of good shoes or sandals in which you can do a lot of walking (I’m a fan of flip-flops, but for some people they don’t offer enough support). Budapest is famous for its baths and spas, so bring a swimsuit as well. Also pack an umbrella (in case it rains, which it does occasionally), a sweatshirt or light jacket (in case it gets cold), pajamas, and flip-flops (for showering at the hostel). If you plan to participate in the nightlife, bring something to wear to the bars and clubs. You don’t need anything fancy, but you will need to dress a little better than you do for sightseeing.

Teaching sessions in your villages
You are under no obligation to dress professionally as a teacher. The same casual clothes that you packed for Budapest sightseeing will be fine. Actually, you can even go down a step from there and wear sweatpants to class like I did when I got really lazy… Also, as Janelle will tell you when discussing LE rules and regulations, hooking up with anyone in your village (especially with your students and/or members of your host family) is strictly forbidden, so you can leave all your super cute outfits at home, regardless of how much you’d like to look good in front of your host brother (or host sister) or that guy (or girl) in your evening adult class.

Nonetheless, bring at least one semi-formal outfit. Your host family may take you to or ask you to participate in a somewhat nice function – one of my host families took me to the theater, and the other asked me to come to my host parent’s 25th anniversary and host father’s 50th birthday party (both of which were huge celebrations). The next year, my host family took me to a wedding. Since I over-packed, I wore different outfits to all of these, but I really could have worn the same thing (or at least the same skirt). If you plan to go to church, remember that people do dress up. (Even if you’re not religious or if you’re a member of a religious group not represented in your village, it’s a great cultural experience to go to one of the local services or mass.)

Midpoint break in Komarno
See the above paragraph on Budapest. Same deal.

General items

◦ Learning Enterprises documents and teaching manual
Bring everything that Janelle e-mails to you and tells you is important.

◦ Guidebook

◦ English-Hungarian dictionary or phrasebook
Study it during your flight! You can also get an English-Slovak dictionary or phrasebook, but you won’t get nearly as much use out of it.

◦ Documents/passport/ticket
Make several sets of copies: at least one to leave at home, and at least one to carry with you (in a different bag or pocket from where you carry the originals).

◦ Towel
The best is a quick-dry towel that is available at camping and similar stores (I’ve also seen them at the Container Store). These towels cost much more than regular ones, but they are so worth it!

◦ Money: ATM card for regular use, cash for emergencies
How much money you spend is up to you. Don’t let others pressure you into buying expensive souvenirs or whatnot if you are on a tight budget. It is possible to get through orientation without spending more than you have to (for the hostel, meals, sightseeing, nightlife) and still have a great time. Remember, you will also need money for travel to and from your villages, and any traveling that you want to do before, during, or after the teaching sessions. You won’t need much while you are in your village – your host family will take care of meals, and there will be in general very few opportunities for shopping. It is easy to find ATMs in cities (like Budapest and Komarno) but your village is very unlikely to have them.

◦ Money belt (optional)
This is a great option for traveling. You can store your cash, credit/debit cards, and passport in it, and then strap it around your waist (under your shirt) so that potential thieves have to practically molest you in order to get to it. I bought my money belt at Target, so they’re easy to find.

◦ Camera

◦ Gifts for host families
See Janelle’s post about gifts here
http://lecentraleurope.blogspot.com/2007/06/questions-4.html
Since you don’t know the specific details about your host families (remember that you will have two!), don’t try to get something for each member. A general “gift for the family” is fine. As Janelle wrote, a gift should reflect something personal about you, i.e. something about your cultural/ethnic background (unless that cultural/ethnic background is Slovak or Hungarian, I guess), your hometown or state, or your university. I went to my local Minnesota souvenir shop (like the kind they have at airports) and bought some calendars and books with pictures from all over Minnesota, as well as some wild rice (a real Minnesota thing) and maple syrup candy. While at school, I also picked up a small book with pictures of Georgetown.

◦ Electronic voltage converter and plug (optional)
If you have anything electronic that you plan to bring, you will need at least a plug that lets you plug your appliances into European sockets. You can also get a voltage converter, but I haven’t needed one since everything that I have is actually dual voltage: travel hair dryer, straightening iron, laptop, iPod power adapter.

Hygiene/toiletries/medicine

◦ sample sized bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash/soap, deodorant, hairspray, toothpaste, etc.
You just need enough stuff to get through orientation, and then you can stock up either in Budapest or even in your village.

◦ hand sanitizer
I really can’t go without this in Eastern/Central Europe, especially not when traveling on dirty trains with dirty bathrooms that lack toilet paper, not to mention soap and paper towels.

◦ sunscreen
You can buy this in Budapest or in your village, but it is next to impossible to find sunscreen of an SPF higher than 30. If you have ultra-sensitive skin like I do, bring a big bottle of SPF 55 or 75 from home.

◦ mosquito repellant
Again, you can buy this there, but it’s good to bring a trusted brand from home.

◦ feminine products (for the ladies)
Yes, tampons with applicators are indeed impossible to find in Hungary and Slovakia. Otherwise, everything else you need you can get at a local convenience store.

◦ small first aid kit (include band aids, over the counter medicine, etc.)

◦ any prescription medications that you take
Don’t count on being able to fill your prescription in Europe.

Teaching materials

Since your primary obligation in your village will be to teach, you should make sure that you are prepared with teaching supplies. Stationary or office supply type stores in Budapest, Komarno, and other cities will have a lot of things you need, but it’s best to get stuff together while you’re still in the US. You can leave everything in your village(s) once you’re done teaching to lighten the load for traveling in August or your return trip home.

Janelle’s list is already quite comprehensive, so I won’t repeat it here. I got a lot of mileage out of the children’s books that I took, as well as out of the tapes/CDs of children’s songs that I had with me. Everyone likes to learn English-language songs, especially if they involve movement. (Your older/more advanced students may prefer to learn the lyrics to the latest pop or hip hop songs.)