Packing Tips for Cuernavaca!

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PACKING TIPS

PACK LIGHT!!! Leave room in your bag to bring home treasures from Mexico. You should take comfortable, easy-care, mix and match layerable clothing (light slacks, jeans, t-shirts, lightweight shirts, skirts and tops). In general, Mexicans are a bit more conservative in dress than Americans and more attentive to the condition of their clothing. Leave your torn jeans and t-shirts at home! You should take one nicer outfit for any special occasion that may come up. Shorts are not especially common around town; they are more appropriate on the beach and at archeological sites. DO NOT take expensive jewelry or lots of cash. Carry essentials and one change of clothing in a carry-on bag in case your checked luggage gets lost. If at all possible, limit yourself to carry-on!

DO YOU HAVE (if appropriate)…?
Tickets
Traveler’s checks
Valid passport and two photocopies of the same
International Student ID card (optional)
Comfortable, sturdy footgear
Swim suit
Acidophilous tablets/prescription medicines/vitamins
Personal toiletries
Towel/washcloth
Insect repellant and sunscreen
Spare glasses or contacts
Sunglasses/sun hat
Travel alarm
Folding umbrella (does double duty as a sun shade for archeological site visits)
Light jacket or sweater
Your project/pens/notebooks/paper
Reference materials:
Dictionary
501 Spanish Verbs
Mexico and/or Cuernavaca guidebook
Address book; small spiral
Small flashlight with new batteries
Camera/film/extra camera battery
Tape recorder/batteries/tapes
Photos of your friends and family to show your host family
Gift for the host family
Binoculars (great for viewing architectural and landscape details)
Money belt or secure fanny pack

EMPTY YOUR WALLET OF NON-ESSENTIALS
Tuck in one photocopy of your ID papers

THE ART OF TRAVELING

When you pack your bags to explore the beauties of your own country or to travel around the world, consider these tips for having a happy journey:

• Travel lightly. You are not traveling for people to see you.
• Travel expectantly. Every place you visit is like a surprise package to be opened. Untie the strings with an expectation of high adventure.
• Travel hopefully. “To travel hopefully,” wrote Robert Louis Stevenson, “is better than to arrive.”
• Travel humbly. Visit people and places with reverence and respect for their traditions and ways of life.
• Travel courteously. Consideration for your fellow travelers and your hosts will smooth the way through the most difficult of days.
• Travel gratefully. Show appreciation for the many things that are being done by others for your enjoyment and comfort.
• Travel with an open mind. Leave your prejudices at home.
• Travel with curiosity. It is not how far you go, but how deeply you go that mines the gold of experience.
• Travel with imagination. As the old Spanish proverb states, “He who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry the wealth of the Indies with him.”
• Travel fearlessly. Banish timidity; the world and its people belong to you just as you belong to the world.
• Travel relaxed. Make up your mind to have a good time at whatever pace is imposed!
• Travel patiently. It takes time to understand others, especially when there are barriers of language and customs. Keep flexible and adaptable to all situations.
• Travel with the spirit of a world citizen. You’ll discover that people are basically the same the world around.

**Be an ambassador of good will!**