Ingrid's Preparations

First published April 24, 2005

Ingrid's Version

In the past, my travels have always been organised through a travel agency. The hotels had several stars and my time was divided between going to the pool or going to the beach.

But this time things will be different.

First of all Frank explained me about the way BeWelcome works. I had to look for my English dictionary in the attic and became a member. Pretty soon my free evenings were filled with surfing on the BW site and it didn't take long before I got addicted to their way of travelling. I even invited my first guest from Indonesia.
When I showed him the city I realized that I didn't know a lot about my own city. From that moment onwards I have been keeping a book about Hasselt on my bedside table.

Frank gave me a list of things that I HAD TO and things that I COULDN'T take with me. Most things I didn't own, so I started looking for a sleeping bag and a camping mat. In every shop I asked about the different qualities of sleeping bags and I bought one that guaranteed up to + 4°.

In the meantime I had my hair cut short and filled my toilet bag (not a beauty-case) with mini-versions of deodorant etc.
I'm still thinking about what clothes I should bring. This time I can't bring a suitcase filled with 7 pairs of shoes, skirts, blouses and shirts. Instead I need to make a realistic choice.