A Classicist’s Packing List

What to take with you when you GTFO this summer

Vilhelm Kyhn, “Beach formation on Bornholm. Scene from Rø.”

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links.

Happy summer! It’s about that time of year when archaeologists jet off for three months of fieldwork and Instagramming seascapes, and when philologists question their career decisions. (“I wouldn’t even WANT to spend the summer on a Greek island, anyway. It’s so HOT.”) Whether you’re going to do fieldwork, a summer course, a conference, or just some travel in the balmy Mediterranean, make sure you bring along these essential items that might not have made it on your basic packing list, but will prove to be lifesavers when you’re sunburnt, covered in bug bites, out of cash, and pounding on a malfunctioning ATM at 1am. And if you’re looking for assistance in buying supplies for your summer travels, check out the Sportula, a great group giving microgrants to classics students who need them.

Clothes

1. Boots that are good for hiking and also waterproof, so you don’t have to wear galoshes up a mountain.
2. One of those huge straw hats that acts like an umbrella for your entire body.
3. Or, an actual umbrella you can wear on your head.
4. Really cheap flip flops for mucky showers, and a second pair for when the thong pops out of the first one and you have to half-walk, half-slide down the public hallway dripping wet and clutching your towel for dear life.
5. Tevas for wearing on rocky beaches so the “sand” doesn’t cut up your feet. Bonus: you can wear them into the water! Extra bonus: they’re trendy now.
6. One shirt with the name of your university on it, so you can really quickly take a picture for your department admin who keeps reminding you that the website needs updating, but slip it off before any locals see you.

Cosmetics

1. Sunscreen.
2. A second bottle of sunscreen for when all the people who forgot sunscreen use up your first bottle.
3. Your favorite type of menstrual products. Because when there’s one particular kind of tampon you like, nothing else will do. If you’re packing light, try a DivaCup — but make sure there’s running water available where you’re staying. Or consider Depo shots and go period-free, because who has the time, really?
4. Facial mist. An elixir of life on long plane rides and long days in the sun. Also baby wipes and micellar water.
5. Monistat. Face it, summer’s sweaty, and you don’t want to be stuck trying to figure out the Italian word for “yeast infection” in a Farmacia during a 10-minute rest stop.
6. Your preferred method of birth control. You never know.
7. Dramamine, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, Pepto Bismol, Tums, Benadryl, Claritin…just get one of everything. Be a walking pharmacy. (But check first — some countries have restrictions on which OTC medications they’ll allow.) Sure, they sell stuff in foreign countries, but will you really want to go out and get it when you’ve been stung by a wasp while hungover?
8. Imodium AD. Gets its own entry because it’s that important.

Tech things

1. Google Trips. Download offline maps of any area for when you can’t access data, as well as pre-made daily agendas, restaurant reviews, sightseeing tips, and the best way to get from an airport to a city center via public transit (so you don’t look like a dweeb at the metro pass machine).
2. Adapters AND converters. They’re not the same thing! I think? Just get both.
3. A portable backup battery for your phone or camera or computer.
4. Hotel Tonight, for when you find a bug on your bunk at the hostel, and it’s 11pm, and it’s PROBABLY not a bed bug, but this one photo on Google Images kind of does look like it.
5. An international phone plan (for the scrubs who don’t have T-Mobile, which gives free international data and messaging). How else will you read Eidolon while abroad??
6. Digital versions of all the texts and books you are convinced you will read while abroad.
7. Duolingo.

Roughing It

1. A portable urination device. Actually, get a four-pack, because everyone will want one, but it’s, um, maybe not the kind of thing you want to share.
2. Duct tape, for repairing wallets, patching umbrellas, taping ducts, basically everything.
3. Carabiners.
4. Extra razor cartridges.
5. Dry or bar shampoo, or even DRY TABLETS OF TOOTHPASTE.
6. One of those cool waterproof pouches for your phone that lets you use the touch screen. So you can take selfies on boats without worrying about water damage.

Miscellaneous

1. 7,648,119 plastic bags. You never know what you’ll need them for until you need them. Suggestions: wet swimsuits, dirty pants, food that you’d rather not become home to tiny bugs, passing to the carsick person on the bus to Delphi. (We know you already have them in a pile under the sink.)
2. A sturdy umbrella. Keep it in the outside compartment of your bag at all times. You won’t need it until you suddenly REALLY need it, and everyone else will be buying terrible umbrellas from street vendors for 10 euros, and they’ll fall apart in 20 minutes or less (both the people and the umbrellas).
3. An ostrich pillow for the plane. It’ll help you sleep, plus guarantee that nobody will sit next to you unless they absolutely have to.
4. A reusable water bottle that will keep your water cold all day, even in 100+ degree heat. With all the money you won’t have to shell out at airports or newsstands, maybe you can actually afford the Hotel Tonight.
5. “Powdered ranch dressing. Even if you hate ranch, you will suddenly crave it.” — Sarah. Let the record note that I strongly disagree with this statement, and I will never crave ranch.
6. An Epipen. If you have a prescription because you’ve had anaphylaxis before, but you haven’t filled it for years because of how expensive they are, consider filling it for overseas travel. It’s the only way to guarantee you WON’T need it. At CVS, you can even get one for less than a kidney.
7. A collapsible duffel that takes up no room going over, but fits all your souvenirs, plus the laundry that has somehow expanded to twice its size, for the trip home.
8. “Truffle salt.” — Sarah says you MUST bring this.

Things to Leave at Home

1. Alcohol and related paraphernalia. Pick up some duty-free liquor and a fun flask while you’re away! Or some unique shot glasses, like this set from Ostia that features opus reticulatum, opus incertum, and opus lateritium.
2. A camera with extra film. Lol.
3. Toothpaste, soap, body wash, shampoo, hand lotion… Unless you’re really particular about a specific brand, foreign drug stores have a new and exciting selection of products to sample. Plus, find foreign brands for cheaper in their local countries, like Marvis toothpaste in Italy, Korres face creams in Greece, and La Roche-Posay sunscreen in France.
4. That important hardcover monograph for your dissertation that you really need to read and will definitely read on this trip. I mean, you’ll have so much time on the plane. And downtime at night. It’s only a 384 page book. In German. It won’t even take up that much space in your suitcase.

Tori Lee wouldn’t even WANT to spend the summer on a Greek island, anyway.