Things I Carry Around the World

Cooper.  When we travel and meet new people, many ask, “How do you pack for a year?” and our answer is always the same, which is that we pack as if it’s for a week, and do laundry often. But…some things that I carry around the world are not what you would probably guess.

One of the weird things that I’m carrying in my suitcase are some pool tiles from Rio De Janiero, Brazil. Seven of them, to be more specific. I found them on the pool deck, already loose and I thought that they were pretty. I also have some coloured pop can tabs to be colourful, balloons for a surprise party, nine bendy-straws for some drinks (the number of straws is going up dramatically in Vietnam), and some shiny rocks from Madagascar.

I’m also carrying something that has given us trouble a few times at airports, but we always find a way to keep it with us: an empty glass bottle from Namibia. Don’t laugh. It’s not just a regular glass bottle, who would carry that around? It has curves and stuff designed into the glass, so it’s cool.

Oh, and I also have a rubber duck, which I found somewhere in India that I don’t remember…but there are almost never any bath tubs in places we are staying anyway. I also had a sheet of purple see-through plastic (I think it’s called cellophane) that I got in Brazil, which I sometimes hung up on apartment and hotel windows to cast purple shadows in my room. But just recently, my parents sadly made me throw this in the rubbish bin because it had faded so much it wasn’t purple anymore.

Actually, we have mailed home four packages of souvenirs and extra clothes, despite the fact that we told ourselves at the start of our trip not to buy many souvenirs over this year. Luckily for me (well, sort of), in this fourth souvenir package, I have sent home my pool tiles, my rocks, a marble, the glass bottle, a miniature toy bike, and three small wooden elephant keychains. Sure, it may make my bag a pound lighter, but it’s a little sad to be separated from these little things that make me happy (but I’m definitely keeping my balloons and straws with me, especially the rubber duck, though I don’t know why). 

To see a full list of what I carry around the world (clothes, entertainment, etc.), click or tap here: Things I Carry Around the World (Normal Stuff)

To see pictures from our trip so far, click or tap here: Trip Photo Album