Misrepresentations

I recognize that I may have taken some editorial liberties with the training video.  For example, Angela says the tables in the video imply that you will actually have a table for one of your meals. 

She is correct that you will need to polish the art of balancing your plate on your knees (in the dark most often) while holding your hot-chocolate between your feet on the ground.  I often come home with shoes that smell of hot chocolate.

Seriously, you don't often get to eat at a table, and you do eat often in the dark.  We try our best to put lights up for our evening meal and meeting, but they are customarily inadequate.  A good investment may be a headlight.  There are cheap ones and expensive ones, but small and cheap will work for three weeks.  It should seem like a common-sense piece of etiquitte, but if you wear a headlight, it is valuable to point it downward more than straight out to keep from ruining your neighbor's night vision.  Mine is on a headband, and I often eat with it around my neck rather than my fore-head, which allows me to see my food without blinding everyone around me. Sometimes a small light with a clip so that it stays with you is more valuable than a 9000 candle-power search light, because you tend to have it when you need it.

It is also very cool in the evenings while we are there.  It is tough to get on a plane in Dallas wearing a jacket when it is 100 degrees on the jet-bridge, but I often wear a jacket during travel for two reasons.  1) you will need the jacket anyway, and 2) you can stuff a lot of heavy things in your pockets, and as long as you are wearing the jacket, not carrying it over your arm, airline officials don't tend to want to weigh it like they do your carryon bags.  In other words, I wear a travel jacket or vest, and stuff it full of the heavy things that I can put back into my carryon after I sit down on the plane.  This helps my backpack look smaller (even though it makes me look fatter) and it certainly reduces the weight of the carryon until after I get on the plane.   This may not be a good strategy for all of you, but it does provide you some options in those cases where your carryon luggage is being scrutinized.

In any case, bring several layers of clothing that you can quickly add to and take away, and if you are cold natured, be certain you have enough layers to stay warm while sitting around the fire in the evenings.

Have a great day and keep checking here on a daily basis.

KB