On travelling and packing
Since I was very little, I’ve travelled all over the world, I’ve lived in different countries and got to understand numerous cultural backgrounds. I speak 7 languages, six in addition to my native Spanish (although my command of English and the fact that I teach university, undergraduate and graduate level courses in this language, have made people indicate to me that my English is near-native).
All the travel I accumulated through the years did not decrease as the years went by. Even throughout my PhD and afterwards, I’ve always attended numerous international environmental conferences. I sit on several advisory boards and consultative groups in the field of domestic and international environmental policy, and I speak at conferences all over the world.
My cumulative experiences have taught me a lot about how to travel and how to prepare for contingencies. The one thing that NEVER changes is my own attitude. Before I travel, I deal with all the administrative stuff (both work and home-related). Then I clean my apartment a bit. I make piles of clothes and plan for how long I’ll be away. I ensure that I have anything and everything related to my work while I am away (if I’m going to be at a conference or international meeting).
I then proceed to pack my luggage. Once all my luggage is packed, I take a shower and if I have enough time, I do some work. It looks like tonight I will actually be able to go to sleep for a bit before taking off. Technically today was a day off work, but I still had to deal with Christmas shopping and some administrative (client) stuff.
Tomorrow is a new day, and it’ll be the beginning of my disconnected period. I can’t wait.
Related posts:
- The Minimum Travel Work Unit (MTWU)
- Restaurant review – IHOP (International House of Pancakes) [Richmond]
- Travelling in Mexico City
- Travelling around San Miguel de Allende
- The politics of climate change
