I have my rituals. This is sort of a necessity when everything I own is either within arms reach or thousands of miles away stored in my childhood bedroom. My laundry days are meticulously planned out, because I have about 5 outfits total and don’t often have the luxury of a dryer. Sometimes not even a washer – I’ve learned how to handwash my clothes so they’re stain-free and scented like floral hand soap. I do have a laundry bag for when my pieces get too dire, but really it’s just a plastic grocery bag I’ve been reusing for months. My wardrobe is suffocated in compression bags so I can fit it all in my backpack, usually coming out super wrinkly and I (again) don’t often have the luxury of a clothes iron. My socks are developing holes now, but I don’t think I can find my favorite brand out here. Rural Turkish villages don’t have department stores, you know.

Living minimalistically is a must. Every item I need and want needs to fit in a 40L backpack and a duffel bag small enough to be a personal item on an airplane. It wasn’t easy at first, but I learned to forgo much of what I thought I needed. I wish I had a better skincare routine, but I don’t have room for these products, so I have to be okay with a basic one. I never buy myself souvenirs – I don’t have the room or the need – but I get my mom a magnet from each country I visit, and my dad gets deliveries of spices and coffee grounds from foreign lands. I travel with a one-square-foot microfiber towel for showering, and it always seems to be questionably damp. 

I’m such an avid reader that my books are a non-negotiable requirement, so I always seem to end up using nearly half of my baggage weight allowance in novels. It’s fine, though – gives me all the more reason to get through The Count of Monte Cristo quicker. As for other hobbies and entertainment, I carry around my camera. It’s a pretty small one – I don’t have room for all the fancy lenses and add-ons. My Rubik’s cube comes with me everywhere, as do my journal and my laptop. I have micro-crochet thread and tiny crochet hooks, because when you live out of a backpack you have to get somewhat creative with your hobbies. I brought my iPad for e-books and movie watching, but I still prefer paper and I can’t access any U.S. streaming services outside of the country anyway.

The packing days are the worst. Every time, I think I’ve finally found the perfect configuration to fit everything neatly and efficiently, but somehow it never lasts. The mild stress of hoping it’s all going to fit, but also knowing there’s no choice in the matter. Checking and double-checking and triple-checking that I have my passport, my camera, my chargers – I might end up in a place with no easy access to something as simple as a charging cable if I lost it. I once forgot my passport photos somewhere, and I needed them for a visa requirement into my next country. There is no CVS or Walgreens online photo printing – I had to seek out local photographers who might have a printer. I found one online, and had to pay her extra to deliver the photos to me as I had no access to a car or reliable public transportation. Maybe I should start triple-checking that I have my passport photo copies, too. 

I stay in a lot of hostels with dorm rooms and shared volunteer houses. People have access to my stuff, all the time. It takes a lot of trust in my fellow travelers to not be paranoid about my things getting stolen, especially my camera or my laptop. Of course I carry a padlock, but it’s not always useful unless I have a locker (some hostels provide these). I placed an airtag in my backpack, because while I am trustworthy of the people I stay with, I am not trustworthy of the general public. My backpack goes in the luggage storage in a lot of overnight buses, so I try to select the seat where I can see the bags going in and out just to be sure. I don’t like checking my bag on airplanes for this reason, but sometimes I’m forced to. At least the airline would reimburse me for anything lost.

Sleep is an unknown factor. I’m not always sure how, when, or where I’m going to sleep the next night. I’m often on 12-hour overnight buses, or dealing with overnight layovers in airports, so using a backpack as a pillow is an unappreciated feature of the item. I have had to master the art of sleeping in impossible positions, or in a room with loud snorers, or with the light not going out until 2am. My sleep “schedule” is an aspect of my life I’d like to get under control, but (similar to the skincare routine) it currently deems impossible. Though this is the sacrifice for sleeping in rooms under $15, or often for free.

I’m lucky I was never a picky eater, but I’ve become even more open to various foods while backpacking. I really have to never be picky about what I’m eating – I take what I can get. Food can be the most expensive part of daily life while traveling, second only to accommodation, so I’m not going to complain when I get a meal for free or cheap. Even if it’s so spicy I’m sweating. Even if it’s questionable. Even if it’s just bread and cheese on a park bench, and calling it lunch. I’m used to eating street food, even when I’m not totally sure what it is – chicken gizzard? Lamb intestine? Pig hooves? Sometimes it’s better to not know. Splurging once in a while in an actual sit-down restaurant is a real treat. As much as I love foreign cuisine and trying new dishes every week, I do have my short list of comfort foods that I look for in each new place. Sometimes, nothing sounds better than a fried chicken sandwich and a few Oreos. 

I might sound like I’m complaining. I’m not – I actually find most of this quite amusing, now. This is just my everyday reality. It has been for months, and it will be for the foreseeable future. My rituals, my systems, and my tiny comforts help keep me grounded among the constant frenzy of new people, places, languages, meals. I do find myself occasionally missing the security of a stable place to live, of a predictable routine. Regardless, I prioritize the new experiences more. I would never trade this for anything. I know I won’t live like this forever, but while I can, I want to see how far these two bags – and my curiosity – will take me. The lifestyle might not always be easy, but it is mine, and I am endlessly full because of it.

Subscribe for post notifications!

Follow my Instagram @emmathibodeauu and my TikTok @stepsineverycorner for travel updates and dives into other topics.

***Use my promo code STEPSIN25 for WorldPackers membership discount!***