In which four months are condensed into two suitcases

And we haven't even weighed them yet.

Your task: to pack everything you'll need for four months, in a climate colder than any you've ever experienced, into one thirty-inch suitcase and one nineteen-inch carry-on. (Oh, and your purse. And no, taking a purse large enough to transport a toddler is not an option.)

Your temperature range to pack for: according to Wikipedia, about 16-60 degrees Fahrenheit. Then again, it hasn't been above zero once in the past week. Just goes to show that you can't always rely on Wikipedia, I guess.

The particularly entertaining facet of the evening was the two very different packing philosophies within the family.
1) "You can probably wear each sweater three times before washing it, right?"
2) "Take your swimsuit! Oh, what if you go to the gym or something? Won't you need sneakers?"
The swimsuit's not dry yet, and I've foregone the sneakers, but I think I've packed enough sweaters to only need to wear them twice before washing. As I understand it, private washers are fairly common; private dryers are not. I'm hoping that the traditional clotheslines hanging outside the windows aren't still in vogue in Petersburg...my sweaters will shatter from the ice!

As it is, I've packed most of my clothes, the hair dryer, the shoes/boots, and my textbooks...but not the socks yet. I'll be very lucky to find the room for them...or maybe I'll just wear the boot warmers for the entire semester. Eh? :)