How many bags are you bringing?

This might seem an odd question, but bear with me. How many bags do you think you'll be taking with you to Italy? What sort?

Hey Dave

i think i am going to be brining a big backpack(the ones ppl use for like touring europe) and then a smaller backpack that i could use for little day trips or so. not 100% sure yet but from what i have been told and read, its soo much better to pack light

also, try to get bags with wheels if possible

ian

I plan on taking the same as Ian. if needed I shall buy a suitcase.

I've been planning on bringing one backpack, big but still a carry-on size. I don't expect much of a problem packing light or living out of one bag, I think I'll be fine with that, but now that I realize how much warm clothing I might need I'm suddenly not so sure about having it all in one bag and still having any space left. I imagine I'll still buy a backpack along these lines but maybe use a small, simple one as a day pack as well. I'd prefer to stay away from anything that I can't easily carry with me on my travels after the term.

I am going to try for one rolling suitcase and one backpack.
I think I will do:
2 pairs of jeans,
3 shirts,
1 skirt,
1 dress
2 pairs of boots
1 jacket
Long underwear and other essentials

Does anyone know if we are buying our books before we leave or when we get there?

Before we get there I believe... but that is a question for Friday.

Oh dear, I am the queen of overpacking, you can never be too prepared! I`m not really planning on traveling around much once the term is over so my only concerns are how much space we will have in the room, and how safe our belongings will be. If the hostel in Cortona is pretty much our home then I don`t see why we need to pack super-light. Plus, I anticipate that I won`t be able to stop myself from shopping out of control (but can always mail that kind of stuff back home I guess) and if I bring my laptop then thats one bag right there, plus a backpack, plus a suitcase, plus a purse - you can see that I might have an issue with this packing thing! I hope this is one of the questions that will be answered on friday

I'll be bringing my laptop and a few other gadgets so that severally restricts my choice of bag and the way I can use it. I'm debating whether I should use a large laptop backpack and a simple daypack, or a small laptop backpack and a larger simple backpack. Figuring out baggage is not the most vital of decisions but it is annoying me.

Barbara, if you look on the syllabus it says that the course packs are ready to be purchased in Italy. (I only the syllabus for my courses - arhi and class, so if you are taking the other courses then you should check) I assume it is the same for all courses.
Hope that helps

Dave I am also bringing my laptop as well and I just bought a back pack with a special compartment for your laptop. I got it at Best Buy and it rocks. So I will be using that for day trips and then another smaller suitcase i think. I do tend to over pack as well. So this shall be interesting.

Hi Maria,
Thanks, that helps alot-less to pack. I am in both the AH and the Class for sure. I hope I will be in Itallian 1 and 2 as well but my NMSU advisors are not sure that they want to approve them as two classes! They may only count them as ONE!

Barbara:
thats ridiculous! How can they count for only one class? I hope it works out for ya.. you should talk to the advisors again (well that's what I could do at the uofC, is it the same over there? or do you have to talk to the italian faculty?)

Oh, I’m working on it! I could pick something else but how often do you get to study Italian in ITALY!

... Hopefully I’ll have better luck then I had studying French.

I had planned all along to bring a larger pack. The sort one would use when trekking across the countryside. I will pack a smaller, compressible bag ( empty ) to fill if need be for the way home, and of course a carry on bag that will serve as a camera, school, bottle of water and sweater bag. I notoriously overpack aswell, but this is the sort of trip wherein I do not want to be bogged down with 100 lbs of stuff when I have to RUN to catch a train, plain or bus.

On the topic of roller suitcases, I have a friend who attended the Cortona Program in January 2005 and she said that with the cobblestone streets everywhere in Europe she found the wheels to be a little, how should I say, irritating. Thus my back pack plan. By no means does the back pack suit everyone's needs though. I will be traveling from the end of the program to April 2 so I want, rather need to be fairly mobile and self sufficiet. I always feel comfortable too with everything I need on my back.

Those are my thoughts. Oh yes, she also mentioned ( as did the alumni on friday ) that wrinkle free light weight clothing was ideal for the washing canundrum. Good Idea I think.

Ciao!

I think I am going to take the advice of one of the alumni and bring both a backpack and a suitcase, both on the small side though. due to a persistant car crash injury, my shoulders tend to rebel when i wear heavy backpacks, so i found one that is smallish that i can actually carry, but is still a nice enough size that if my travel plans change i can live out of it indefinatly. My smallish suitcase will be filled with things that i wouldn't want to drag around the continent with me (like hot water bottles and down filled blankets and extra sweaters......) and if i need to, i will just ship it back home.

Hey Christina,
Just wanted to mention that I cant normaly wear a backpack either but if you get one with a hip belt that makes ALL the difference.

Let me just add to that; make sure the belt is big enough to actually be supportive and in the proper place (ie, not around your stomach). I've had packs with both uselessly narrow straps and ones that were not positioned very well for me and they were more of a hinderance than anything. A good belt though, is great. Also, a proper sternum strap (high on your chest) helps hold the bag in place so the weight doesn't shift as much. Also quite helpful. Just be sure to try them on before you buy and make sure it'll work for you.

I know I cant fit all my warm clothes into one backpack, so I'm thinking about bringing a roller, hardcased suitcase half empty to get all my stuff there and then ship it home full once school is over. I'm also planning on bringing a travelling backpack to use during and after classes as well as a smaller backpack as a carryon/schoolbag.

Also, my shoulder is severly messed up and I found that Coast Mountain Sports fit me with a great (heavy) backpack and it was one of the most comfortable bags I have ever walked around in.

i'm bringing a large travelling backpack that my brother used last year when he went backpacking through Europe. then i'm bringing just a regular backpack as my carry on, so that i can store my laptop and then a rolling duffel bag, which i'm going to leave in Cortona once we're done classes and then i'm going to pick it up in the middle of april, when i fly back home.

I am doing pretty much the same thing as Elise in terms of bags.

Well I have had numerous debates over this topic with family, friends, etc. What I`m thinking now is that I will bring a medium/large suitcase as my checked luggage, with an empty duffel bag type deal in it for all the stuff I am sure to buy, and an empty day-pack. Then I will have a carry-on small-ish backpack (I am not traveling after term) with my computer and such, and then a purse. That way I can fill the duffel bag and use it as my second checked item on the way home.

hmm I have no idea, since Im staying until August I need my whole life with me. I am thinking of bringing a school backpack, a BIG backpack and a large suitcase (im thinking now that a duffel bag inside is not a bad idea.
I will not be bringing my laptop, for weight mainly.