I learned a lot about suitcase-packing yesterday. ;) I flew to Germany about 6 weeks ago on a major airline, on a "humanitarian ticket," which allows me to travel with 3 suitcases at no extra charge. I used all of the 3 suitcases allotted to me--two for my own personal use and one for the University "stuff" that I brought with me. Three suitcases! Impossible to run out of space, right? Ha.
Well, unfortunately, I had booked my flight to Lisbon on a different, much smaller airline, which makes you pay for any checked luggage that you bring. I had the forethought though to pay for the suitcases ahead of time, when I booked my ticket months ago. I thought I was all set, as I paid for my suitcases at 23 kilos each. Imagine my horror when I found out that with this particular airline, it doesn't matter how MANY suitcases you pay for... you're still only allowed 23 kilos TOTAL. So, I could pay for 10 suitcases, but still only be allowed 23 kilos TOTAL. Not good... especially knowing that I have enough stuff to reach 23 kilos in EACH suitcase. What was I going to do? I started to freak out... but God is good.
The professor from last week was kind and took one of my very FULL suitcases home with him a few days ago. Yay! BUT... I still had 2 suitcases remaining and I still had to figure out how to get them together below the 23 kilo weight limit. I packed as best I could and went to the airport yesterday morning, in faith that I would be OK. Not really! I got to the airport and the kind airline employee weighed my suitcases and apologized as he told me, "I'm sorry, Miss, but you are 8 kilos over."
Oh no! What do I do? Paying for extra kilos is out of the question with this particular airline because it is SO expensive. I could book myself an extra plane ticket for the amount that they charge for extra kilos. So... my friend and I went through my bags-- thing by thing-- and threw away all items that weren't completely necessary. We then rearranged the bags to come up with the lowest weight combination possible. We weighed the suitcases again... I was still over by 4 kilos!
The only thing left to do was to do what I did not want to do... especially in the summer. My last resort was to WEAR more clothes... yes, to just keep putting on clothes until my suitcase had lost the necessary 8 kilos. It was quite a funny process. Let's just say that by the time I returned my suitcases to the guy at the ticket counter, they were the correct weight. But I looked slightly different! My outfit consisted of 2 shirts, 1 sweatshirt, 1 jacket, 2 pairs of jeans, 1 skirt, a hat, and a pair of high-heeled shoes... all worn at the same time. I think I came up with my own new style... and I actually kind of liked it!
It was quite funny. I guess it's safe to say that I learned a lot about problem-solving... where there's a will, there's always a way! I also learned about laughing at myself and learning to take myself less seriously. I'm pretty sure I looked a bit out of place, as I walked around the airport dressed for winter in the dead of summer, and I may have looked like I had gained 2oo lbs in 10 minutes... but I also had fun trying out my new style, especially knowing that my goofy outfit was saving me hundreds of dollars! =)
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