The Great Jean Experiement

Day 1

Today is the day after thanksgiving. I have decided to test to see how long I can wear my jeans without feeling like too much of a dirtball. The objective of this experiment is to reduce my stress about packing for Guatemala by proving that I can wear the same pair of jeans for a long time without panicking. I generally only wear jeans for 2 days and wash my clothes quite a lot so I am not sure at all what the outcome will be. Let me tell you a little about these jeans.

They are GAP 1969 jeans, about 3 months old. I bought then with my little brother who tried to convince me to get straight leg jeans which look good on him but awful on me. So these jeans are bootcut and are my sturdiest jeans, though not my favorite. They are mildly dark blue and look pretty good on me I think. Basically, they are your average pair of medium-priced blue jeans.

Day 1: The jeans are freshly washed, which everyone knows means they are a little hard to get on, but I succeeded. Today I went to lunch with Hannah in Freemont and walked around for awhile. I bought 2 CDs that I didn’t need. “Happenstance” by Rachel Yamagata and “Hvart-Heim” by Sigur Ros. I got home at around 4, ate Thanksgiving leftovers with my parents and met some friends for bowling. I bowled poorly but had fun hanging out and playing a little DDR. Overall, I was pleased with the performance of my jeans. They feel nice, not too stretched out but not too tight.

Day 2

Today my family and I drove to Oregon to see family. We spent 3.5 hours with my entire family (5 of us) in my Dad’s 5 seat Passat wagon. We stopped at my Aunt Susie’s house to say hello to her and my Uncle Pat and their 8 kids before going to my grandparent’s house. There, we spent time watching football and knitting. In the evening, the whole family came over for dinner (My grandparents small house + 30 people = chaos). It was a lot of fun. Afterward, I went to stay at my Aunt Ginny’s house but hung out with my Cousins and my brothers across the street until pretty late. My jeans worked really well on the entire car ride. They were comfortable, which means a lot on a ride like that. They survived all the kids and the food. They still fit well and feel nice and not too dirty.

Day 3

More family time and the drive back to Washington. I am surprised, because my jeans still feel good and don’t really feel grungy at all. When we got home I went shopping at Target and then to hang out at Keri’s house. I told her about the experiment and she told me that she has a pair of jeans that she thinks she could wear every day forever without washing them and they would still be good. Interesting…

Day 4

I have decided not to wear my jeans today. Not because the experiment has failed but because I think it could go on forever. I think I would wear my jeans indefinitely if I had to (not that I would want to…). However, I feel content knowing that in the event that I can’t do laundry for a very long time, I will have something to wear that makes me look decent.

I deem this experiment a success. My jeans deserve a name…a good Spanish name for my new life…

Eduardo.

Packing List

Here is my packing list (subject to revision) for Guatemala. Let me know if you have any advice, but keep in mind:

1. I will most likely not be in the middle of nowhere for the whole time and can get things I need when I am there.
2. I am trying to pack VERY minimally. I don't want to appear as if I have too many things or have a whole bunch of luggage to carry around between locations.

Packing List

Clothes

1 pair nice pants

3 pairs regular pants

Gap Jeans

Cords

Light Jeans

5 T-shirts

3 nice shirts

Birthday shirt

Yellow shirt

Plaid shirt

1 pair shorts

Dark jean shorts

4 skirts

2 home made

Tan skirt

Wrap skirt

Grown-up dress

Long underwear?

2 pairs pajama pants

2 pairs pajama shorts

2 sweatshirts

1 vest

Raincoat

Scarf

Belt

Bandana

Hat

2 Bathing suits

Underwear

Socks

Shoes

Chuck Taylors

Running Shoes

Chacos

Flip-flops

Ballet flats

Toiletries

Chapstick

Shampoo

Conditioner

Soap

Face wash

Face lotion

Lotion

Razor

Hairbrush

Hairbands

Nail clippers

Tweezers

2-3 pairs earrings

Light makeup

Misc.

Sunglasses

Flat sheet

Elephant pillow case

2 towels

Headlamp

Day pack

Watch

Alarm clock

Wallet

Nalgene

Multi-tool/knife

Sewing kit

Sleeping bag

Camera

Books

Guatemala book

Into the Wild

Long book

History/culture book

Journal

Pens

Pictures

Cards

i-pod

Duct tape

Peanut butter

USB drive

Guitar?

Gifts for family