Wikimecum:Packing suggestions
General suggestions
Pack light! You'll regret every extra pound of luggage that you carry with you. You’ll have a washing machine in your apartment, so all you need is about one week’s worth of clothes. One large suitcase should suffice, or one backpack, or two smaller bags. Airlines are getting stricter about luggage weight limits. Moreover, it is expensive and slow to mail stuff you forget from or to the US, so plan carefully. If traveling before or after Venice, you may have to cart the luggage around for weeks. Bring at least a small traveling bag or backpack for weekend travel during the term.
What clothes to bring
You will be in Venice in the late fall, so the weather will get colder as the term progresses (and the days will get shorter). Late October may still provide some warm days, but it will get more wintry as time progresses. November can be rainy, and it is also the month when the highest high tides have historically taken place. It may even snow in December prior to your departure. The same type of clothes you would wear at this time of the year in Massachusetts would be appropriate in Venice as well. Don’t bother bringing shorts and t-shirts unless you plan to exercise a lot. Do bring a heavy overcoat and umbrella, as well as hats, gloves and scarves. Keep in mind, though, that you will be able to buy some nice winter coats and apparel in Venice, so you may want to plan on that. Temperatures will likely not drop below freezing, but the humidity and wind from the lagoon give the air quite a chill.
You will need a couple collared shirts and decent outfits when going to meetings. For final presentations, you will also need a jacket and tie (men)/dress or other business attire (women). Besides sneakers and sturdy, warm boots, you should bring a pair of loafers or boat shoes, which are good for semi-formal meetings. You can also use them for final presentations. Women should plan to bring the same or equivalent clothing and shoes. See the dress code below. Once again, another option is to simply bring some extra money to buy things in Italy, where you can get high quality clothing at reasonable prices.
One note about shoes: you will be walking a mile or more every day in Venice, and your shoes will see heavy use. It would be sensible to buy a new pair before leaving, especially because worn-down soles/treads are extremely slippery on the city's smooth cobblestones, even more so when it is raining.
You may also want to bring some rain gear. Rubber boots may come in handy during high tides, but they are bulky and heavy to pack, so you may want to play it by ear and possibly just buy a pair in Venice. Sweat-shirts and sweat-pants are good all-around clothing for colder situations, but you want to avoid looking too much like a U.S. college kid while in Venice, so plan to wear those mainly around your apartments. Some apartments may be heated only intermittently, so you may want comfortable warm clothes for inside as well as out.
Try to bring flexible clothing that you can wear in different situations and in various combinations. That way, it looks like you have an extensive wardrobe, even though you've only brought one suitcase.
Professional dress code
When attending meetings with local contacts (sponsors, collaborators, officials, etc.), you should dress professionally. Professional dress for men is a collared dress shirt and tie, dress pants, jacket and dress shoes. It does not include baseball hats, shorts, tee shirts, sneakers, sandals, jeans, or skate pants. Professional dress for women includes a dress with jacket, or skirt or dress pants with jacket and blouse. It does not include baseball hats, mini-skirts or mini-dresses, tank tops, halter-tops, spaghetti strap tops or dresses, shorts, or jeans. Appropriate shoes for women are dress pumps or flats. No one should be showing excessive skin.
Bring WPI clothing
Bring t-shirts, sweats, etc. with WPI letters on them. They’re great for photo opportunities and are a vehicle to publicize what we do. Refrain from wearing these in situations where the good name of WPI may be blemished by your behavior...
Bring sheets, pillowcases and towels
Although most apartments may have these items already, you should bring your own, if for no other reason than because you’ll know where they’ve been. One set of sheets for a single/twin bed is all you need, plus one towel and one pillowcase. You may even want to buy these in Venice to save weight, or to bring a set that you will leave behind, making room in your suitcase for souvenirs.
Avoid bringing U.S. electrical devices (other than PCs and phones)
Italian electrical wall outlets, like most of the world, are for 220V appliances, whereas the U.S. uses 110V at the outlet. If you plug in a “run of the mill” American electrical device (such as you would buy in the U.S. at places like Wal-Mart), it is likely to blow up or burn out, and it may even pose a fire hazard. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, we recommend that you do not bring U.S. electrical devices that need to be plugged into an outlet (e.g., electric alarm clocks, blow driers). Some devices (like travel hair driers) have a switch that allows them to be used at 220V, and many (digital) electronic devices come with “universal” power supplies that will automatically adapt to the different voltages (read the labels to make sure!). Unless you are absolutely sure that your device will operate safely at 220V, we recommend that you leave it at home. If you really need it, and it is designed to only work at 110V, you will need to obtain a transformer to convert 220V to 110V, and you will plug the device into the transformer and not directly into an Italian outlet. You can get transformers both in the U.S. and in Italy, but it may be easier and cheaper to get one in the U.S.
Laptops typically have a so-called universal power supply that will work in Italy and can be directly plugged into the wall outlet without a transformer. Other electronic devices, like digital camera and phone chargers, may also be “universal”. Electronic devices operate internally with direct current (DC), so they typically will already come with a transformer to convert AC to DC (the black box between your wall plug and your laptop plug is the where the magical transformation occurs). Other electronic devices will have a bulky plug ("wall wart"/"power brick") that houses the transformer. To make sure that your electronic power supply is “universal,” look for something like “110-240V AC Input" somewhere on the bulky black plug or in the back of the black laptop power supply. If it does not give a range of voltages or only shows 110V as an accepted input, it is not a universal power supply and you will need a 220V-to-110V transformer to plug the device into before plugging said transformer into an Italian outlet.
Regardless of the voltage issue, the physical prongs on Italian plugs are different from American ones. Italian plugs have 2 or 3 round prongs instead of the flat prongs (+ round ground prong) on U.S. plugs. You can get U.S.-Italian plug adapters either in the U.S. or in Italy. Typically, these are cheaper to get in Italy (they only cost a couple of euros each), but for convenience you may wish to stop by Radio Shack before leaving. These adaptors do NOTHING to the voltages and currents that pass through them; they simply allow U.S. plugs to be plugged into Italian outlets. Just getting a plug adaptor will NOT guarantee that you will not blow up your appliance/device. The above issues about voltages – and the need for a transformer – still apply even if you have a correct plug adaptor. In short, adaptors are NOT transformers. Plug adaptors are light and cheap, transformers typically are heavier and bulkier and cost a lot more, so that's one way to tell the difference.
When in doubt about any of this, DO NOT PLUG YOUR DEVICE INTO AN ITALIAN OUTLET!
You can buy most things in Venice!
In case you forget anything, you can always buy stuff in Venice or elsewhere in Europe, so you may choose to bring none of the formal clothes (for example) because you plan to buy some fine Italian clothes while there. Same goes for sheets and towels, etc. The only things you won’t find in Venice are WPI shirts. All kitchen utensils, dishes, glasses, etc. are already in the apartments, so you won’t need to bring any of that stuff. Remember: electing to not bring something you will need (e.g., dress clothes) is to make a commitment to spend the time and money while you're in Venice to go and buy it there.
Project materials to bring from the U.S.
DO NOT bring printer paper, since we have a different format (A4) in Europe. Because each of you is expected to spend $75 on project supplies, I suggest you get more bang for your buck by buying certain supplies in the U.S.; the specifics of what you buy is up to you. Also, any important books that are essential to your project should be brought to Venice with you. English texts are virtually non-existent in Venice. The VPC has a small library, but be sure to check whether they have something before assuming you can get it in Venice.
Eurorail
This is another thing you cannot purchase in Europe, so you may wish to buy your Eurorail passes in the U.S. before leaving. However, most students in the recent past have NOT purchased Eurorail passes, finding it cheaper and less constraining to pay for trains as needed. You may never even ride a train, choosing to fly everywhere instead.
Telephone cards
To keep your calls to the U.S. cheaper, you should get a telephone card (AT&T, MCI, Sprint, etc.) that you can use to call the U.S. from Italy. All you really need is the card number, not the card itself, if you would prefer to leave it in a safe place in the U.S. Card calls will cost nothing in Italy and the charges will show up on your U.S. phone bill.
Apparently, calling cards you purchase in Italy for a finite amount of money are also very cheap and may be a nice alternative.
Internet telephone
Nowadays, you can also use internet phone services like Skype to call for free over an internet connection. However, your apartment may have DSL that you pay for by the hour, or you may be sharing a cell phone dial-up card that does not have enough bandwidth. If you can find a place with free wifi, however, you may be able to use Skype without too much trouble.
Restaurant
WPI students will receive a special student price at the restaurant “Dal Vecio Squeri” for lunch (see the map). The complete menu of the day will cost €10.00 (first and second course, water and coffee). The half menu will cost €7.00 (first course, water and coffee) or €8.50 (second course, water and coffee).
Questions
Send us an email with specific questions not addressed herein.