. . . and I’m off!

It was hard to pack: 2 countries, 4 seasons, and 6 months. People asked me how to pack for 6 months. The answer is — I don’t know.

One suitcase, the smaller one, is for my first stop at the South Africa conference in Stellenbosch (and travel afterward). Current temps range from 60s to 80s, and I managed to only stuff in one book. Somewhat professional clothes for attending and presenting at the conference got squeezed between a bathing suit, sneakers, and safari shirts. The Global Alliance for Justice Education — clinical legal educators from all over the world — is hosting their “Justice Education: Building Resilience and and Strong Connections in Times of Challenges” and I’m thrilled to be presenting with colleagues from India, Nigeria and South Africa (more on that later).

The bigger suitcase was harder. Five months in India on a Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence grant for teaching, starting with the winter that is “cold” (but I’m from Buffalo — packed long underwear but it doesn’t get below 50?) and then the warm spring and the beginning of the hot summer. I brought all the clothes I purchased from my last trip there (favorite item is a long brocade jacket from Jaipur), my special scarves from Kashmir from my friends Umair and Tariq, blue jeans, and yes, a few books that I couldn’t download on my Kindle app.

The week before I left, as I thought about teaching and working in Delhi for five months, I pondered many important things: how many notebooks should I bring? Should I rush to the store to get a small bluetooth speaker for my apartment in Delhi? Friends gently reminded me that I can probably buy notebooks there, and of course India is probably ahead of us in electronics development.

It really comes down to the feeling of wanting something from home, that feels familiar, that offers me a piece of my regular day, my rituals. After all, I love my journals, with different colors, themes and moods. But it’s time for new journals.