On Packing and Music and All That Jazz

Honduras

I was about to say I’m leaving in two days but golly jeepers, I’m leaving tomorrow night! I’ve become a pro at this whole packing thing. I literally threw my scuba gear, cameras, and a few sets of clothes in a backpack and called it good. I remember the days of stressing for weeks over what to pack but no matter how many times I dump out my backpack with the intention of doing the job properly, I can’t think of a good reason to bring anything more. Remember that detailed, extended packing list I posted before Semester at Sea? Well here’s one for this time around, no separate page required:

clothes
scuba gear
digital camera
Nikonos
GoPro
toothbrush

Done.

And here’s a playlist of all my latest travel jams because everyone loves playlists! Before my Honduras plans were finalized, the name of this list on my iPod was “Someday I’ll Travel the World Again. Until Then….” People are always asking me what kind of music I’m into and hopefully this will clarify why I’m never able to answer that question.

“Ticket To Ride” by The Beatles – It’s the Beatles. No explanation needed.
“Coastin'” by Zion I & K. Flay – Story of my past semester.
“My Life” by Billy Joel – “I don’t want you to worry for me cause I’m alright, I don’t want you to tell me it’s time to come home”
“Some Nights” by Fun. – One of the best songs I missed while I was away. From the first time I heard it, the chanting and drums brought me back to Africa.
“Better Life” by Keith Urban – An awesome song for rough times (such as when taking 19 credits and working 40 hours a week) about the better times ahead.
“Island Song” by Zac Brown Band – The next four are by Zac Brown Band because their music is always just downright happy and they sing about about islands and beaches.
“Jump Right In” by Zac Brown Band
“Toes” by Zac Brown Band
“Where the Boat Leaves From” by Zac Brown Band
“I Know How to Say” by 3OH!3 – “I’m always in a different time zone, My home is where I roam, I’m never going to stop, I’m a rolling stone.”
“Danza Kuduro” by Don Omar & Lucenzo – I don’t think I went into a single club/bar abroad where this song wasn’t playing.
“Vamos a la Playa” by Loona – Vamos a la playa!
“Dance Again” (feat. Pitbull) by Jennifer Lopez – I’m not quite sure how this one fits in but it makes me want to dance and you can never have enough dance music.
“Under the Sea” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid – Seeing as I’m going to be spending a good majority of my time over the next three months under the sea.
“Pressure” by Keche – The next three songs I picked up in Ghana and they’ve been playing on repeat ever since.
“Waist and Power (African Man)” by 4X4
“I Love My Life” by Demarco
“Circle Of Life” from Disney’s The Lion King – Because nothing will ever beat the excitement of sailing into Cape Town, South Africa, at sunrise, while playing this song.
“Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” by Shakira – I honestly don’t know how I can still listen to this, it was playing nonstop everywhere we went in Africa, but here it is.
“Chaiyya Chaiyya” by Sukhwinder Singh & Sapana Awasthi – This was playing on every radio station in India, and as we spent so many hours in taxi cabs, traveling around the state of Kerala, it still brings back the smells of spices and tea.
“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Eurythmics – It was an overcast early morning, and the waves were rolling, and us early risers were all sitting in Glazer Lounge (where we were not supposed to be) to watch a sunrise that barely broke the cloud cover. We were sailing into Honolulu after a long week of crossing the Pacific. And someone started playing this song… “Sweet dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree? I’ve traveled the world and the seven seas.”
“Hopeless Wanderer” by Mumford & Sons – I like the idea of being a hopeless wanderer. Or maybe I just already am one.
“From Finner” by Of Monsters and Men – My new favorite group; I actually managed to get into their concert for free a month ago and it was brilliant. This is a really beautiful song about being far away from home.
“Little Talks” by Of Monsters and Men – The other best song I missed while I was away (the first I mentioned earlier was Some Nights). I’m not even quite sure what this is supposed to be about but the music just sounds like a grand adventure. I listened to this nonstop after I got home.
“Wavin’ Flag” (Coca-Cola Spanish Celebration Mix) by K’naan & David Bisbal – This song will always be epic. But switching it up this time around by throwing in the Spanish mix!