The trip to Thailand looms ahead… I’m even starting to think about packing. David looked up the weather there last night online, and it will be in the low 90s every day with a 60% chance of rain in Bangkok. I’m apparently coming during monsoon season, so it should be wet and hot. I think I’m going to go purchase a light rain jacket this weekend, if such a thing can be found here with winter approaching.

For me, the eternal question when I go to a new place is, “Whatever shall I wear?” This is particularly difficult when you’re going to conferences, because you can never tell whether it is going to be professional or casual dress.

Take church conferences, for instance. I go to these things thinking, “This is my job! I’m supposed to present! I should dress professionally!” And when I show up in my slacks and dress shirt, I meet all these campus ministers in Bermuda shorts and Birkenstocks who look at me as if I had just been spewed forth from the jaws of corporate hell. I see it as a sign of respect for them—I think they see me as “The Man’s” minion. And I just hate looking out of place anyway.

With this problem, I think khaki pants are the cure-all solution. They’re too casual for the boardroom, but still professional-looking. Plus you match the campus ministers’ Bermuda shorts in color. Too bad I can never keep my khaki pants clean. I need a pair for each day of the week.

And then you always have to deal with the inevitable “inside-outside” issue. Have you ever been to those conferences where it is sweltering outdoors, but the minute you step inside you think you’ve entered the Arctic Circle? AWID has already warned us that the conference hotel will likely be much cooler than outside. This means that I either look like a freakish American dropped from Michigan onto the streets of Bangkok, or I develop hypothermia in the hotel. I’ll probably just wear the same little white cardigan five days in a row.

If those of you who have been to Southeast Asia before have any tips for packing, help me!!

One other thing—since apparently at least a few of you like the blog, I’ve been encouraged enough to start a discussion forum for NNPCW members and alumnae. The Network Café will hopefully bring together young women from around the country to discuss and learn. The page also includes regional posting boards, so you can meet other NNPCW members and alums in your area. We’ve had quite a few postings thus far, so please stop in and check it out. Just remember that our usual liability disclaimer applies (opinions expressed here do not reflect the positions of the PC(USA)…), and keep it clean. We’re the church, not the Cosmo chat room.

I’ll be back in on Monday before the great adventure begins. Until then!

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will God not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” --Matthew 6:30

Kelsey

"Too bad I can never keep my khaki pants clean. I need a pair for each day of the week."

A simple solution is to wear darker colored khakis that will hide dirt or other stains.