It’s a cold sunny April day in Seattle. I’m drinking my exquisitely crafted double shot vanilla latte from Uptown Espresso just blocks away from my downtown apartment and basking in the sun that’s shinning in the window. I have really come to love this city. On these rare sunny days, the mixture of green trees and blue sparkling water from the ocean almost make me forget it’s freezing outside. (Freezing of course by my own personal standards…) But let’s not get carried away, I have a million things on my to-do list, not to mention I’m leaving the country in less than two months. On my recent vacation to Belize, my traveling buddy and best friend, Lori, had to listen to my constant ramblings of “do you think I could take this to Africa with me?” or “I need something like this for Africa” or “have you seen the list of stuff I need for Kenya?” This daunting packing list is always in the back of my mind. Everything I seem to look at or touch gets immediately categorized in my head as either ‘bring to Africa’ or ‘don’t bring to Africa.’ It’s almost like my mind is in some crazy state of limbo. Here is what I’m dealing with: I’m allowed two checked bag that do not exceed 40lbs each and one carry on. I must pack enough shampoo and personal hygiene stuff to last at least the first three months of training. So this is my packing list of “must-haves.” I’d appreciate any suggestions people have for me!!
-Sleeping bag
-Personal pillow
-One light blanket
-Set of Queen size sheets
-Towels
-Mosquito netting
-One pair of hiking/running shoes
-One pair of Chacos
-One pair of comfortable dressy shoes
-Rain Jacket
-Warm sweatshirt
-Lightweight cotton pants
-Cotton T-shirts
-One dressy dress
-Leatherman multi-tool (Juice CS4)
-Head lamp
-Nalgene bottle
- Steripen (Journey with LCD screen)- to sterilize my water with UV rays
-Netbook computer with external hard drive
-Multiple electronic converters and outlet adapters
-Ziplock bags
-Not to mention some shampoos, lotions, tampons, face washes, mascara, undergarments etc.
Am I missing anything!?? Making a list is easy, but actually acquiring these items is the hard part. I feel as if I spend my days off roaming the aisles at REI and I always find something else I want to add to my list! A special thanks goes to costco for packaging tampons in bulk. My departure date is May 30th and I plan on leaving my job on May 13th. This should give me enough time to finish my packing and spend some quality time with my family and friends.
49 days until my departure!
-Yours Truly, Christina Gusa
