Lists

Life Lists

January 17, 2019 /

In these posts I want to start sharing a bit more from my “professional life”. I work in agricultural research and while I don’t want to get into any pro and con debates here, I want to share interesting things that I learn.

Plants and travelling? In my head they go together perfectly. I am interested in how the world works. Everything from food, the atmosphere, medicines, to rope, furniture and buildings, and everything in between rely on plants. The world works because plants work. Travelling gives you so many opportunities to appreciate the world, its systems, its history, and see something different outside your bubble. I think they match perfectly!

Plants

Many of the scientific names for plants are either Latin or Greek based. Knowing Spanish can help you decipher many Latin-based plant names, either fully or partially.

  • Wheat is in the genus Triticum = Trigo in Spanish
  • azur // azul // blue
  • If the Latin roots made it into other English words, these can be clues
  • alba = white (makes me think of albino)
  • haema = blood red (hemoglobin (spelt with “a” in the UK))

Lists

This week is pretty dominated by my prep for Asia. Things are going well but busy, trying to see friends before leaving and getting things ready.

Make Sure to Pack

  • 2 passport photos for arrival visa in Laos (tip: CAA Manitoba gives members 1 set of passport photos for free per year- take advantage!)
  • Birks- bought Birks this week to take, to avoid the foot ordeal of last year (cuts > infection > Indonesian hospital)
  • Zit patches- bought these off Amazon, haven’t tried yet but sound great for when you really don’t want a zit
  • Matcha stick– bought this for the UK and LOVE it
  • Long sleeve shirts- bought a few last week to avoid all the burning
  • All currencies- take all the money!
  • Spoolie– I am going to get fake lashes for the trip and they have to be brushed everyday

Pre-Asia Money

  • Pay all credit cards- I have some on “auto-pay” but some aren’t and must be paid manually
  • Pay rent- why can’t you pre-schedule e-transfers!?
  • Check bank withdrawal- what is my daily limit of cash per day?
  • CC Travel notifications- this is going out of fashion, but I should check anyways

Pre-Asia

  • Activate SIM card- I have a UK sim card with Go Roam, so useful
  • Getting a hair cut pre-trip!!
  • Paint toes- I used to go for pedicures but now I just do it myself, starting with a foot bath containing tea tree oil
  • Last minute supplies- not sure yet but there will be some
  • AMEX travel insurance- have to top-up the days I already get (talked about here)
  • Travel health consult- this should be done way early but since I got a bunch of shots last year I knew I just needed some medications. Let me know if you want to know more about travel health consults in Winnipeg.

What are your pre-trip tasks? x