Ready....Set.....No!!!

5 Weeks!! 5 weeks of not knowing. 5 weeks of being by myself. 5 weeks of being confined to a suitcase. 5 weeks of being away from my bed. 5 weeks of foreign food. But then again, it is also - 5 weeks of adventure. 5 weeks of self exploration. 5 weeks of reinvention. 5 weeks of living life to the fullest. 5 weeks of not caring. Most importantly 5 weeks of no regrets.

Literally, the thought of being away from my friends, family, and everything that I am accustomed to is a tad bit stressful. The idea of sleeping in a hostel - people keep on refering to the movie when I tell them this; NOT COMFORTING, not speaking the language, getting around - safely, eating who knows what, not knowing and not being able to trust most, and attempting to befriend complete and utter strangers. To say the least I am not sure I am ready to leave yet, but at the same time I am.

So in approximately 5 days, I'll be putting my life into a backpack - seriously, how am I going to fit 5 weeks of stuff/more importantly clothing into ONE damn backpack, and venturing to a serious unknown. Going day to day without a set itinerary, let alone hour to hour without a clue as to what my travels will have in store. That in itself stresses me out because I don't know what to bring - although it should be simple, currently in Argentina it is summer/fall and the next couple of days in Buenos Aires are to be in upper 80's to low 90's. I hope TOM is able to keep up - cause as well all know I sweat something special. But the predicament lies in that I will be traveling all over Argentina and even to Brazil - Carnival here I come! Climates apparently change. So to try and alleviate my stress I looked to the knowledge of Rick Steves (apparently a backpacker who provides tips on what to bring while traveling) to aid me in my quest to pack the essentials - mind you what I consider and he considers essential may pose to be a quite the problem. So let's give it a try - this is what he suggests to bring:

What to Pack

Shirts. Bring up to five short-sleeved or long-sleeved shirts in a cotton/polyester blend. Arrange mix according to season.
Sweater or Lightweight Fleece. Warm and dark is best — for layering and dressing up. Dark colors don't show wrinkles or stains.
Pants. Bring two pairs: one lightweight cotton and another super-lightweight for hot and muggy big cities and churches with modest dress codes. Jeans can be too hot for summer travel. Linen is great. Many like lightweight pants/shorts with zip-off legs. Button-down wallet pockets are safest (though still not as thief-proof as a money belt, described below).
Shorts. Take a pair with pockets — doubles as a swimsuit for men.
Swimsuit. Especially for women.
Underwear and socks. Bring five sets (lighter dries quicker).
One pair of shoes. Take a well-used, light, and cool pair, with Vibram-type soles and good traction. My wife and I like shoes by Ecco. Sturdy, low-profile tennis shoes with a good tread are fine, too. (Some people bring along an extra pair of sandals in case the shoes get wet.) For winter travel, bring heavy shoes (for warmth and to stay dry).
Jacket. Bring a light and water-resistant windbreaker that has a hood. Gore-Tex is good if you expect rain. For summer travel, I wing it without rain gear — but always pack for rain in Britain and Ireland.
Tie or scarf. For instant respectability, bring anything lightweight that can break the monotony and make you look snazzy.
*Money belt. It's essential for the peace of mind it brings. You could lose everything except your money belt, and the trip could still go on. Lightweight and low-profile beige is best.
Money. Bring your preferred mix of a credit card, debit card, an emergency stash of hard cash, and a couple of personal checks. I rely on a debit card for ATM withdrawals, a credit card, and $400 in cash as a backup.
Documents and photocopies. Bring your passport, airline ticket, railpass or car-rental voucher, driver's license, student ID, hostel card, and so on. Photocopies and a couple of passport-type photos can help you get replacements more quickly if the originals are lost or stolen. Carry photocopies separately in your luggage and keep the originals in your money belt. In your luggage, you'll also want to pack a careful record of all reservations (bring the hotels' written confirmations), along with a trip calendar page to keep things up-to-date as your trip evolves.
*Small daypack. This is great for carrying your sweater, camera, literature, and picnic goodies while you leave your large bag at the hotel or train station. Fanny packs (small bags with thief-friendly zippers on a belt) are a popular alternative, but are magnets for pickpockets and should never be used as money belts.
Camera. A digital camera and a high-capacity memory card mean no more bulky bags of film. A mini-tripod allows you to take crisp shots in low light with no flash.
Water bottle. The plastic half-liter mineral water bottles sold throughout Europe are reusable and work great. If you bring one from home, make sure it's empty before you go through airport security.
Wristwatch. A built-in alarm is handy. Otherwise, pack a small *travel alarm clock. Cheap-hotel wake-up calls are particularly unreliable.
Earplugs. If night noises bother you, you'll love a good set of expandable foam plugs.
First-aid kit.
Medicine and vitamins. Keep medicine in original containers, if possible, with legible prescriptions.
Extra eyeglasses, contact lenses, and prescriptions. Contact solutions are widely available in Europe. Because of dust and smog, many travelers find their contacts aren't as comfortable in Europe. Bring your glasses just in case.
Sunscreen and sunglasses. Depending on the season and your destination.
*Toiletries kit. Sinks in cheap hotels come with meager countertop space and anonymous hairs. If you have a nylon toiletries kit that can hang on a hook or a towel bar, this is no problem. Put all squeeze bottles in sealable plastic baggies, since pressure changes in flight can cause even good bottles to leak. (If you plan to carry on your bag, all liquids, gels, and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers, and all of these items must fit within a single, quart-size sealable plastic baggie.) Consider a vacation from cosmetics. Bring a little toilet paper or tissue packets (sold at all newsstands in Europe). Fingernail clippers and tweezers (for retrieving lost bank cards) are also handy. My Sonicare electric toothbrush holds a charge from home for 30 one-minute brushes.
Sealable plastic baggies. Get a variety of sizes. In addition to holding your carry-on liquids, they're ideal for packing leftover picnic food, containing wetness, and bagging potential leaks before they happen. The two-gallon jumbo size is handy for packing clothing. Bring extras for the flight home, as they can be hard to find in Europe.
*Soap. Not all hotels provide soap. A plastic squeeze bottle of concentrated, multipurpose, biodegradable liquid soap is handy for laundry and more. In the interest of traveling friendlier to our environment, I never use the hotel bathroom "itsy-bitsies," preferring my own bar of soap or bottle of shampoo.
*Clothesline. Hang it up in your hotel room to dry your clothes. The handy twisted-rubber type needs no clothespins.
*Small towel. You'll find bath towels at all fancy and moderately priced hotels, and most cheap ones. Although $50-a-day travelers will often need to bring their own towel, $100-a-day folks won't. I bring a thin hand towel for the occasional need. Washcloths are rare in Europe. While I don't use them, many travelers recommend *quick-drying synthetic towels.
Sewing kit. Clothes age rapidly while traveling. Take along a few safety pins and buttons.
*Travel information. Rip out appropriate chapters from guidebooks and staple them together. When you're done, give them away.
*Map. Get a map best suited to your trip's overall needs, then pick up maps for specific local areas as you go.
Address list. A list of email and mailing addresses will help you keep in touch. You can send mass emails as you go (bring a shrunk-down print-out of your email address book in case you can't access it online). Or if you prefer to send postcards, consider printing your mail list onto a sheet of adhesive address labels before you leave. You'll know exactly who you've written to, and the labels will be perfectly legible.
Postcards from home and photos of your family. A small collection of show-and-tell pictures is always a great conversation piece with Europeans you meet.
Small notepad and pen. A tiny notepad in your back pocket is a great organizer, reminder, and communication aid (for sale in European stationery stores).
*Journal. An empty book to be filled with the experiences of your trip will be your most treasured souvenir. Attach a photocopied calendar page of your itinerary. Use a hardbound type designed to last a lifetime, rather than a spiral notebook. The rugged, black, and simple Moleskine notebooks have a cult following among travel writers.

Please take note of those things marked in red. SERIOUSLY, one pair of shoes, one pair of pants, one pair of shorts which can double as swim trunks, up to five t-shirts, pants with zip-off legs! Who is this guy, some of these other things may have to go to make room for a slightly better wardrobe - I know I am not going to be on the catwalk or anything but I can't be looking completely homeless! But I guess on this trip it will teach me what truly is a necessity, right?!?! It will be a surprise for all of us to see what I can fit into that backpack, on to decisions :-/

But between now and then, I'll be LIVING FULL OUT!!