Last Minute Packing Tips

**Sorry in advance to non-PC readers – the following post is very PC specific**

Three weeks from now a new class of volunteers will be arriving in Honduras.  Before departing for Honduras, David and I read every Peace Corps blog we could find, especially when it came down to what items to bring and what not to bring.  So here are some (very) last minute packing tips for the H18 group, hope they are helpful!

Clothes

Peace Corps is serious about the dress code policy during training.  You will be sent home and asked to change clothes if you wear: shorts, flip flops, t-shirts*, skirts above the knee, or spaghetti straps.  *The t-shirt rule is a little more lenient for girls – I wore several solid colored, fitted tops during training that were essentially t-shirt style but they were not baggy and did not have large logos.  If you are Wat/San you may be allowed to wear t-shirts to certain manual labor activities but you will be notified in advance of the activity.

• Avoid 100% cotton – it does not handle hand washing as well as blends.  You do not need to have fancy “dri-fit” clothes necessarily; all of my dri-fit clothes are polyester, cotton/rayon, or cotton/nylon.

• For guys – you will be expected to wear collared shirts during training.  Avoid traditional cotton polo shirts unless you just have a bunch that you don’t mind getting ruined.  After several rounds of hand washing, the polo shirts that David brought more closely resembled dresses and were given away.  The dri-fit button down shirts are more comfortable in the heat and will last longer.

• Be aware that all of your laundry and your undergarments will be hung to dry in a communal space.  In some cases your items will be visible to neighbors and even the street.  Just saying.

• Unless you really love jeans and wear them no matter what the temperature (as Hondurans do) you should be just fine with one pair.  They are a pain to wash and take forever to dry so don’t waste space on multiple pairs.

Do Bring:

• At least two bandannas (aka sweat rags).

• A pair of “house shoes” – David likes Crocs and I like rubber flops which doubled as shower shoes during training.

• Some type of lounge wear – although PC says no shorts doesn’t mean you won’t want to wear shorts on weekends or around the house.  I have two pairs of gym shorts for lounging, one pair for running, and one pair for housework/laundry – all of which are modest length.  I have a pair of lightweight cotton capris that I wear for pajamas and around the house.  (I neglected to bring any loungewear and had to have all of this sent by mail!)

Don’t Bring:

• A ton of clothes.  Remember that everything has to be hand washed so focus on fewer, smarter choices.  Set aside a pile of clothes that you can pick up (on a trip home) or have sent midway through your service (by this time you will have fully worn out several items).  You may want to bring lots of clothes to extend the time between washings but clothes that aren’t worn/washed as often start to mildew and even mold.  Gross.

Toiletries

• For guys – David changed from shave gel to shaving soap and a brush.  I found the soap and brush at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for under $10 and he is not even halfway through the soap after a year.

• For girls – PC will provide you with tampons (Kotex supers), by request, but you should bring a stash as these are very hard to find in country.  PC will not provide panty liners or pads but these can be purchased.

• PC will provide you with the following items, by request:

Dental floss, face sunscreen (SPF 30), body sunscreen (SPF 45), hand sanitizer, bug spray, hydro-cortisone cream and a wide variety of OTC medications such as anti-histamines, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, Pepto Bismol, etc.   However, you should bring a small personal stash to have on hand.

Upon completion of training you will also receive a well stocked first aid kit.  Don’t use too much of your packing space on these types of items.

Do Bring:

• Several sticks of your preferred deodorant (unless you like Speed Stick which is easily found here).

• Face cleanser and/or Stridex type face pads.

• Daily Multivitamins (PC will not provide these)

• A couple bars of soap, 2-in-1 shampoo (clutch in cold showers), toothpaste, floss, and any other daily items to last through training.   Palmolive bar soap and Colgate toothpaste are easily found here.  If you need a specific brand of any item then best to bring your own supply.

• A full size towel – the best would be a thin, white towel (think of the types hotels use) because it dries fast and can be bleached (which will keep the mildew at bay).

Gear

Do Bring:

• A good quality headlamp – this is a necessity and for some jobs a flashlight won’t do (cooking, using the bathroom, showering, reading, etc).

• A Leatherman Multi-tool – David has a full size and a keychain mini version, both of which we use quite often for various tasks.

• A small travel alarm clock – eventually you will buy a cell phone which can be used for an alarm but in the meantime an alarm is a must.

Don’t Bring:

• A sleeping bag or a sleeping pad/Thermarest – these take up way too much space and are infrequently used.  Unless you plan on camping regularly then you do not need camping gear (some people do camp, for safety reasons we do not).  We wasted too much space bringing these items only to take them back to the US on our first visit home.  We did bring cotton sleeping bag liners/individual sheets which we used during training.

Misc:

• Consider bringing a real pillow.  We both have small travel pillows and I also brought a full size one.  If you ditch the sleeping bag you should have room for the pillow which is a much better investment in the long run.

• If you plan to write home bring stationery and/or greeting cards for upcoming events.  You can purchase stamps through PC staff during training and they will post your mail.

• If you are a tea drinker, like me, bring a stash.  PC provides coffee during training and there is access to hot water for making tea.  The training site is actually a bit chilly in the morning and evenings and you will enjoy a hot drink.

• A couple travel games – we brought travel Connect Four, which was fun to play with host siblings, and a set of travel dominoes which have provided many hours of entertainment.  A set of playing cards is also recommended.

• A small stash of granola bars or snack items to get you through the long training days.  Be sure to keep any food items stored in ziplock bags.

That should be enough information to overload your brain and bore our other readers, ha!  As the title suggests these are just “tips” and not an exhaustive packing list.  Take our suggestions with a grain of salt as they are based solely on our own personal experience.  That said, if any H18ers have any questions we would be happy to answer them and we look forward to meeting your group!