What To Pack: Rome pt 1

What To Pack: Rome pt 1

I’ll dedicate another post to the clothing of what to bring, but I wanted to take some time and talk about non-clothing related things I wish I had brought along with me, or that I brought and have not found much use for. I hope this list is useful to you who will come to JFRC, whether you are an incoming student just browsing about, or a student getting ready for your journey here next semester and you happened to stumble upon this page.

Also, just as a side note, I wanted to add that our President Rooney is visiting J-Force today! It’s very exciting for us LUC student, while my friends from other Jesuit universities like SLU and Santa Clara are less so.

So without further ado, the list. It’s not complete, since I haven’t completed the semester, and it’s individual, so if you think you’ll need something, don’t just take my advice – follow your heart!

First off, we do not have access to a kitchen here, unless you stay over winter break, so if you like to eat outside hours that the mensa or rinaldo’s is open, bring or buy some cheap Tupperware you can throw away at the end of the semester. It’s not encouraged, but if you’re of the rule-flouting sort, you can temporarily borrow utensils from the mensa without the knowledge of the staff. But there are microwaves, so if you have leftovers, eat just half a panini, or want a bowl to mix the groceries you buy in, bring a Tupperware.

Second, a shower caddy. All restrooms on the residential floors are communal, so you’ll want to bring a shower caddy for ease of transporting things to and from your room. And bring a bathrobe, if you are not a fan of walking down hallways in just a towel. If you’re like me with thick, long hair, a hair towel wouldn’t go amiss either, since they only provide you with one large towel.

Third, a money belt and padlock, either with key or combination. A majority of the students here travel on the weekends, and even if you’re staying in the safest of hotels or only flying to places far-off, neither of these things will hurt. I often put all my money except one 20 euro bill in there, so that I do not spend too much and also so that when I am bargaining the price of something with a vendor, I can show them my wallet and honestly say I don’t have anything more and can’t pay their price. That’s gotten me quite a few bargains in my time. Padlocks on your luggage is just good sense, for flights, buses, or hostels. Can’t go wrong – but don’t lose the key!

Fourth, extra things you can’t live without. By that I mean adaptors, headphones, portable chargers, and charging cords for your electronics. I have lots of friends whose electronics that have been lost or broken by use, and they bemoan paying the price when they could have spared a square inch or two and packed their extras they have back in the States. I don’t mean bring five or six pairs of headphones, but I brought three and one broke, so now I’m glad I have two. Especially since one is plugin and the other wireless.

And fifth, bring your hobbies. You might think you’ll be having fun every second and studying the rest of them, but believe me, there is plenty of downtime. Plus, everyone needs to relax some times. If you like knitting, bring your needles, but there’s a yarn shop here so you don’t need to bring that. If you like video games and you have them on your computer, bring a controller or your good gaming mouse (not the whole Xbox 360 though, goodness). If you like watercolor, bring a palette that’s halfway used but not emptied so by the time you leave, you can toss it and it won’t take up the room. Bring your GameBoy or your Kindle. I’m not talking large things, mind, and many things you can acquire here, but I wish I had brought a few more things to occupy my time.

Sixth, a VPN. Loyola’s wifi here is terribly annoying and blocks you from downloading any here, and if you want to break free of the Italian Netflix or anything like that, there are free VPNs and paid ones that do the job.

 

That’s all for now! I’ll make another post soon about what NOT to bring, and probably update this when I think of more things, but just let me know if you have any questions. 

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