Flashpackers
I’m embarrassed.
My name is Lauren, and I’m a flashpacker.
I was making a list of what to pack, when I realised that I had morphed into this new breed of backpacker, the kind that is loaded down with technology, chargers, and converters.
Besides my actual backpack, I’m going to be carrying a laptop, camera, camcorder and tripod. Add to that my iPod, mobile phone, and – this is really humiliating – a hairdryer. I never did get the whole concept of simplicity. But what I am good at are justifications.
Laptop – That one’s easy. I can’t blog without a computer, can I?
Camera/camcorder – Visuals are necessary for modern media. I can’t blog without these, either.
iPod – This is so I can listen to my french language recordings. In fact, I’m listening to Dialogue 5 right now, and I just learned how to say, “The socialists are finally taking power.” (Les socialistes ont enfin pris le pouvoir.) I dare you to tell me that isn’t useful.
Mobile Phone – It’s small and practically insignificant. Also good in case of emergencies.
Hairdryer – I’m not going to lie, that’s pure vanity.
Anyway, since I’m booked into the Busabout hostels, I’ll be dropped off at the doorstep and picked up there, too. This means I won’t have to trek all over Berlin with my things, paranoid that every small child is a thieving villain who is after my camera and french recordings. I’ve also got a boosted-up insurance policy. Flashpackers should never leave home without one.
So if anyone is wondering who I am, just look for the girl at the bus with all the bags. And the perfectly dried hair.