Cambridge What to Pack

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: SPRING: Bring warm clothes, sweaters, light jackets or coats and a raincoat. Also, bring summer clothes, shorts, T-shirts, etc. The weather changes suddenly from being very hot and sunny one day to being cold and rainy the next. You never know what to wear. People who live here don't either. It is possible to have snow even in April. We had a blizzard one year on April 1. SUMMER. It is still a bit chilly sometimes at the beginning of June, but July, August and the beginning of September are usually warm. You can't depend on it, though...our weather is strange, so be sure to pack a sweater even in summer. AUTUMN: Pack clothes similar to those for Spring for September and the beginning of October. By mid-October a Winter coat is often needed. November is cold. WINTER: Bring a Winter coat or jacket, a hat, a scarf and gloves. Bring boots if possible, and thick socks. People don't always do a good job of shovelling the snow, and there are sometimes puddles of slush that you simply can't avoid wading through. It is very cold sometimes in the winter. Also, bring sweaters and shirts to layer under your coat. Wearing many layers of clothing is the best way to stay warm in the winter. Bring an umbrella, too, because it sometimes rains in the winter. GENERAL: People tend to dress quite casually here, so unless you are going to a nice restaurant or club or to the theatre,etc., you can basically wear whatever you want. We are very accepting of differences here in Cambridge, so you can wear the national dress from many different places and nobody will think anything of it.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: There are many drugstores here where you can buy toiletries and medical supplies.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Even in summer, expect to get see rain showers. Coming from sunny Southern California, I was surprised to find a place were it's normaal for it to rain in the summers.

So pring an umbrella or a rain jacket. Ususally the rain lasts for only 10 or 15 minutes but it may rain several times during the day.

Miscellaneous: If you do forget to bring something, you can probably find it at the Harvard Coop (Co-operative). And if you join the Coop, you'll get a rebate at the end of the year. Things maybe different since 1981.

Photo Equipment: You might want to take a picture of yourself in Cambridge so that you can make all your friends think that you are a brilliant student! Don't forget your camera.