Suitcase Army

Being from the University of Maryland College Park, we purchased large, red, duffel suitcases that roll on wheels for easy transportation (Maryland's colors of red, black, gold, and white). We have pom-poms made for them as well so they will not be hard to miss when picking up luggage in the airport terminal. With two red suitcases, two black, and two red carry-on bags an army of formidable force has taken over the basment, study, and bedrooms. As they slowly accumulate more inside of them with the folding of clothes and organization of toiletries, school supplies, and other items they are becoming giants. Rolling them through BWI and Nassau will be quite a battle.

J - journals (You guessed it!! What else would "J" be? If you love writing like us pack plenty. Our journals are made from recycled banana, coffee paper, and adinkra cloth).

K - Kubler (Okay, we admit, "K" was not on our packing list, except George Kubler's "The Shape of Time" and respectively we thought this would be an ingenious method of introducing a "pack-ahead" idea, sort of like just-add-water. Think about what types of material you have utilized on your home campus and if there is one, or two, that you find yourself returning too often, think about bringing it along, especially if you are taking classes where it might be beneficial. For papers all you will have to do is just add the information. Kubler is perfect for us because we are non-western art history majors and the text is only 150 pages in paperback. We also photocopied several articles by Olu Oguide, Kwame Anthony Appiah and Uche Okeke, among others. Even if we don't use them, they are fun to read).

L - labels (small round labels will come in handy for your many purchases in port. Once you wrap and pack the item the small label can be used to write on what and where the piece came from, possibly for whom you bought the gift as well. Our grandparents used this method and it has helped us identify where the pieces came from years later).