Wow, re-reading these entries remind me how organized I used to be! Yes, in hindsight, definitely bring the towels, Advil, Mac & Cheese, and cereals. Really, any “American” food. The one thing I did not pack was a thermometer, which is going on my packing list this time. Both kids came down with multi-day high fever within the second week we were there. When you’re used to reading degrees in F, it’s hard to use a Celsius thermometer. Not fun to deal with while your kid is sick.
I would also like to note, we did NO homeschooling while we were there. Those notebooks went untouched for 3 months.
It took me all Thanksgiving weekend to pack 1 carry on and 1 suitcase. I think the lack of sleep the last 7 years has done me in. I just cannot concentrate and work longer than in 10 min increments. And there are so many little things to pack! I’m really surprised we managed to fit our 4 day side trip into one carry on and everything else in just 1 suitcase.
The last suitcase will be ALL food and diapers. Yes it’s true, diapers. Astroboy is not pooppy trained yet. We had some emergencies over the weekend doing last ditch effort. But after doing some internet research, I have decided to give up and try again in Taiwan.
I know you can buy a lot of things in Taiwan, but some Western stuff are expensive there, esp if you’re a Berkeley-eque mom who does the all natural, half organic, but sometimes cheap route. So that’s why I decided to bring own diapers, Burt’s bee shampoo (twice the cost in Taiwan!), towels (they seem to use small towels for baths) and Children’s Advil. And must not forget those very useful earplugs! I will be sleeping with a snorer for a few months. I wanted to bring those baby food pouches as they’re a great easy snack. But alas, they don’t fit the 3 ounce limit. 🙁
Other than that, I need to pack all of Thumper’s “School” stuff today. She proudly showed Baba her notebook from Target today. “This notebook is for both English and Chinese homework! Mama is going to homeschool me while in Taiwan!” So happy to hear that. I figure this will provide a framework and excuse for me when I want to introduce concepts to places we visit in Taiwan. I also bought some of the Primary Journal
Other than that, I’m doing the super lazy route. Safe for some pencils, colored pencils, and crayons, we’re going to entertain the children purely through the iPad on the plane and at home. I’ve been madly porting Chinese DVDs the last few days. And I bought some audiobooks for Thumper through Amazon. Let’s see if we can travel more lightly this time around.
