Goodbye to friends, clothes, and stuff

I've spent today doing more packing and packing-list-writing than I've ever had to do before. Let's review my serious packing experience via the three times I've ever left the country. (In reverse chronological order, of course!)

1. March 2008, I went to South Korea for spring break with HCAP. All I had to bring was clothes. Ewha University had everything down to the bedsheets and toothpaste provided for us.
2. March 2007, I went to Jiangyin, China, for spring break with HCAP. All I remember bringing was clothes, a deck of cards, and malaria medication.
3. Summer 1994, I traveled through Europe with my mom, brothers, and cousins. Needless to say, I don't remember much. Odds are that my mom did my packing for me anyway.

So now I'm packing. Not only because I'm leaving home Sunday, but also to get my mind off other, more miserable things. I said goodbye to two of the most important people in my life this weekend. Shilpa, one of my best friends since the 10th grade, began her job working for a hunger coalition in New York. And Jonathan, also known as "cute boyfriend," returned to Boston to finish his summer at a Harvard physics lab. The rest of the week will only bring more goodbyes.

Hence the packing. What do I bring? What do I leave behind? What can't I live without? So far I've come up with: ibuprofen, contact lenses, t-shirts, and a Chinese dictionary. And cable TV, but my Slingbox deserves a post all for itself later.

What's your "must-bring"? Former Fulbrightees have been most unhelpful in answering this question, so I pose it to you.

Now I leave you with a picture. First, to show off my magenta-on-the-outside, orange-on-the-inside luggage; second, to show off my new haircut; and third, to show off the fact that I really have no idea how to pack.