the Packing List

You are moving more than half way across the world to a land you have never seen, to live for 2 years in conditions you do not know. Will it be warm and tropical, mountainous and cool, hot and desert-y, or mild and equatorial? What sorts of amenities will you be without, or might you have: electricity, a bathroom, a shower, a TV, pillows? You will be meeting people of a culture you know little, and who have equally little knowledge of your culture – if that. You want to bring them something that makes a nice gift, and also somehow represents your background, but also doesn’t push you over your 80 lb. weight limit.

So what do you bring? This is what we are packing (cumulatively), we’ll let you know once we are there which of these sacred things actually deserves the title ‘sacred’ or is deemed completely absurd and cast aside in the airport even prior to arrival…

2 travel backpacks
2 carry-on backpacks
Assorted PC paperwork & health records
1 Ipod – 60 GB
1 Solio – Solar charger for ipods, cellphones & the like
2 sets of ear phones
1 crank short-wave radio – supposedly we can get the BBC – Thanks Josh : )
1 digital camera
2 – 512 MB Flash drives/micro vaults (“indispensable” as we hear)
Memory cards - 512, 128, 64, 16 MB
4 AA batteries
4 Nalgene water bottles
15 Seed packets for a variety of vegetables, fruits & flowers (hoping to have a garden, and thought the flower packets might make a good gift).
6 Burt’s Bee’s chapsticks
2 solar showers – (hoping for a hot one every now & then)– Thanks Jen & Karl :)
1 First Aid Kit – Thanks Aunt Theresa :)
1 nylon hammock – Chris couldn’t live w/o it
3 spare toothbrushes
2 tubes toothpaste (apparently Colgate is everywhere)
2 sticks deodorant (apparently tricky to find)
2 crank LED flashlights – Thanks Jodie :)
2 large containers of Cetaphil – 20 oz. each
approx. 25 hairties – not expecting them to be easy to get ahold of
2 money belts
3 cookie dough balance bars – should probably bring more, but can’t fit them…
4 woven Trader Joe’s bags – should be good for carrying things around
2 “swimmer’s towels” – light & dry fast (we’re arriving in the rainy season)
1 chess set
2 tubes anti-bacterial lotion
2 packs of anti-bacterial hand-wipes
about 10 razors – supposed to not be any good over there
24 large ziplocks – should be handy for all sorts of things
12 tubes of Doc Martin’s sunscreen – plug plug
1 shampoo/conditioner – (organic Giovanni’s 50/50 Balanced – great stuff!)
1 rubber doorstop – Thanks for the tip Brady
1 box Q-tips – seems like one of those things that they wouldn’t have…
60 yds of duct tape – highly recommended from a Cameroon RPCV
150 odd pictures of us, friends, family, the US…
1 Water Filter – Thanks to the Kamigawachi’s :)
1 pair hair cutting scissors, 1 pair ‘thinning’ scissors – 1 comb, (I’ve cut Chris’ hair 2X now, Thanks) :)
1 set nail clippers
1 French/English dictionary
1 copy – Essential French Grammar – PC recommended
1 box – laxatives (apparently can be an issue…)
1 petite sewing kit & couple spare buttons
2 journals – Thanks again Jodie :)
2 boxes tampons
2 bars of soap
1 compass/thermometer – Thanks to all mom’s flight attendant friends the REI gift cards were great!!
2 yoga mats
2 packs of sugarfree Extra gum – good to chew & stick things on the wall
6 months of thyroid pills
2 months of ‘the’ pill
3 pairs of sunglasses
2 sets eyeglasses
2 watches
1 tube shaving cream
1 tub ‘hair wax’
4 mesh laundry bags – 2 large/2 small
1 copy of Franny and Zooey by Salinger
1 copy of Absalom, Absalom by Faulkner
1 copy of July’s People by Gordimer
1 copy of Hamlet by Shakespeare
1 copy of To Have and Have Not, by Hemingway (can you tell someone was an English major? Thankfully, he will also be teaching English)
1 copy of Yoga published by the Yoga Journal
1 copy of The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
1 copy of The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
1 copy of Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus - heard about him in ODE
1 copy of Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins
1 copy of The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (can you tell someone else was a Global Studies major who will be doing micro-credit development?)

CLOTHES:
2 large sunhats
1 visor
1 bucket hat
2 pairs running shoes
4 pairs Rainbow flipflops
1 pair of dressy slides
36 odd pairs of underwear – better to just bring extra…
5 bras
15 pairs of socks
3 running shirts
5 sports bras
9 pairs running shorts, 1 pair Capri track pants – hoping Kim can wear shorts….
15ish shirts for Kim
4 pairs of pants/capris
5 skirts – all below knee length
1 wind breaker
1 hoodie
2 pairs boxers – for sleeping
5 tank tops – probably as undershirts – bare arms don’t seem kosher
1 bikini
6 long-sleeved button-down shirts
3 short-sleeved button-down shirts
3ish polo shirts
5 pairs of pants
1 pair of yoga pants (Kim will be trying her hand at teaching :)
Several pairs of shorts
Several t-shirts
14 pairs of underwear
2 pairs of swim trunks, 1 pair board shorts

As Gifts:
2 tubs of chalk
24 colored pencils & sharpener
792 stickers
1 pack of UNO
25 balloons – thought we could set up a village water balloon toss!!
1 watercolor paint set
1 box of Velvetta shells & cheese (we’re going to cook for our host family)
1 blow-up “earth ball” like a globe but the outer-space view point

What didn’t make the cut:
1 pad of stationary paper & envelopes
1 nylon duffel bag – might have been handy once there…
Soccer cleats & shin guards
Surfboard *may be retrieved when we come back next year*
2 rashguards
Numerous copies of National Geographic & ODE magazine


How much does all this confounded crap weigh you might be asking? 45 lbs each – excluding maybe 10 odd pounds in our carry-ons. So basically, each day we plan to use exactly .068 lbs of our precious goods for our entire 802 day stay, not counting anything sent to us – see next email on that!