Legit PACKING Blog

Hey paranoid lil packer homies!

This is my legit, "I'm 2 weeks away from being home" packing blog.

Here is my route:
EL SALVADOR
HONDURAS
NICARAGUA
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
MALAYSIA
RWANDA
KENYA
TANZANIA
NEPAL
INDIA

Compare and contrast, and figure out what you can take from this blog. CLEARLY I spent the majority of my trip sweating my face off, so if your route goes anywhere cold you should probably adjust and figure that out. And since I'm a girl, this is mostly a girls' packing blog, aside from the gear, meds, documents, etc.

CLOTHING

TO BRING THE FAVORITE STUFF OR NOT, THAT IS THE QUESTION
NO. Don't do it. I spent a large portion of my trip wishing I had 'that pair of pants' or 'that cute shirt' but then I realized that it's folded and clean and waiting for me at home, instead of destroyed like the rest of the things I packed. Grass stains, dirt stains, paint, grease, children stains, you name it… so be prepared to possibly wreck what you bring.
On the flip side, bring things you like. Bring a pair of pajama pants, and bring that hoodie (ONE hoodie, jacket, or fleece) you love so much, and bring good workout clothes, new socks, and whatever does make you smile.

MODEST IS HOTTEST
Don't bring hoochie clothes, yall. Bring running shorts, but be careful with those. Think soccer, not volleyball. Don't wear tights for pants, duh. But bring tights. I brought black ones and gray ones, and I was set with those 2. Don't wear the low cut without an undershirt. That being said, the things unseen are up to you. Don't pack 15 granny panties just because it's a mission trip, bring what you wear, and bring some quick-drying black undies to make your life easier. Bras… bring sports bras (they tend to disappear, so keep that in mind) I started with 5 and now I have 3… so start with 5 lol and bring 2 real bras. Why so many? SWEAT. You will sweat a lot, and you have to have something to wear while everything else is drying.
Swimsuit: bring a tankini, but if you're an avid bikini wearer, also bring it. Odds are, you'll have an opportunity to wear it. I wore a bikini in all 3 continents, in appropriate settings.

CUTE FACTOR
Girls… you're gonna want to look cute sometimes. Lots of church services, debrief nights, and outings. Bring TWO OR THREE cute things, no need to get crazy because YOU SHARE EVERYTHING. You will also buy cute clothes along the way. I got a few cute clothes in Nicaragua, Thailand, and Nepal… great shopping, Thailand had the cheapest, cutest stuff in my opinion. Chiang Mai Sunday Night Market, win!!!

HAIR
Bring bobby pins in a tiny case or zippy (they run away), hairbands, the fun 'missionary' bands, and something I brought that I love are flower clips. Clip flowers to your crazy hair, all of a sudden people think 'wow, she did something to it' and it's a complete illusion. Try it.
Bring leave-in conditioner. This trip fries hair. Africa will ruin your hair… wait.. I rebuke that. Speak life.

THE LIST
It's really hard to say 'pack 2 t-shirts and blah blah blah' because every month was very different. Some months we had mostly church events, and some were manual labor, and some were both. With that in mind, here we go:

2 t-shirts
2 tank tops
2 camis/cute undershirts with the lace top, ya know?
2, maaaybe 3 dresses.. you can always wear them with tights, so make them cute.
2 skirts (one knee length, one all the way down for some African countries)
2 pairs of tights
2 running shorts
2 v-neck shirts that match the skirts but can be dressed up or down. (you will sweat in these, black is great… I'm wearing my black v-neck right now, making my point!)
1 something randomly cute, like a fun blouse
1 pair of jeans… confession is that I acquired a 2nd pair of jeans, so I have a light wash and a dark wash… I love wearing jeans.
Capris.. I brought Old Navy black gaucho pants, and during the race I inherited a pair of army green capri cargos, but then gave them away a few months later… clothes come and go.
Wind pants… so so worth it. Brought a pair of black wind pants and they roll up into capris and tie… genius. Awesome for working out in super modest countries.
Pajama pants or sweats. I still think the thinner the better.
1 hoodie or jacket with hood… why the hood? To cover your hair when you're riding in the back of a truck, and to keep the rain away.
Rain jacket… I didn't bring one and I was fine, but some people are like 'omg, rain jacket!' so you decide. I just brought a tiny umbrella, worked out great.
1 light overcoat.. mine was a converse, heather gray one (oh it's ruined, hence was)
10 undies, 5 sports bras, 2 regular bras, and bring a strapless bra.
swimsuit (tankini) plus optional bikini top
Scarves… wooo! Don't bring too many, but definitely bring some.
Skinny belt… only if you're a skinny belt-wearer… makes things so much cuter.
A sarong… I brought a really soft one and I used it as a sheet for a while, and then in Tanzania I got to use it as a skirt. Genius. Except it ripped, and now it's gone. See what I mean?
Hat or shades or both
Socks… as many as you think you need.
Tennis shoes! I also brought my Vibrams because I love them so much, but most of the time the terrain is too rocky to wear them. Aw.
Flip flops
Chacos/Tevas/Third Party alternative… I wore Havaianas Flash for 8 solid months before I busted them. Epic performance, I could wear them with everything and not feel weird. Now I just miss them and wear flip flops.
                     

TOILETRIES/ACCESSORIES

JEWELRY
I'm a basic person and I don't like to shop much, so I brought a few earrings and 2 necklaces, nothing I would mind losing. Still fun to get jewelry in other countries. Your call. WATCH… Make sure it can endure the sweating.

MAKEUP
Bring it.
I love Mary Kay products, and I want to suggest the tinted moisturizer with 20spf… triple benefit! I loved it, I will use it forever.

SHOWER SUPPLIES
They have this everywhere, don't overpack here! BRING A REAL TOWEL! Bring one of those camping towels, they are good, but you're gonna wanna use a real towel. Also bring a washcloth.

RAZORS
I brought my Venus and venus refills, and I was just fine… never had to buy razors 🙂 #boss

LOTION
I brought my Bath & Both Works favorite scent (Moonlight Path) and I'm SO GLAD I did. Bring the thing you love if you wear it. And I brought body spray also.

DEODORANT
If you're picky about this, pack it up. I packed 5 of my favorite Secret scent and they lasted, and I actually gave one of them away… so figure out how many YOU need.

MYSTERIOUS LADY PARTS
Diva cup. Google it, figure out what it is, buy it, use it. It is a life saver. I haven't used a single tampon or pad on this race (tmi, don't care, this is serious business!) and DO bring panty liners, however many you use in real life. It's practically weightless.

EYES and EARS and MOUTH and NOSE
Contact solution and contacts cases (if you are a 4 eyes like me!),
Q tips
Tissues
Nose spray
Cough drops!
Ear plugs
Eye mask
Toothbrushes, toothpaste (don't overpack).
FLOSS.

FLIPPIN BUGS
Mosquito spray… yes, the heavy deet stuff that corrodes spandex.
Anti-itch spray for when they get you anyway

RANDOM
First aid kit (bandaids, neosporin, gauze, tape, Bactine)
Tiny sewing kit
Sunscreen
Tiny nail polish remover and maybe 2 colors of polish, nailfile, toenail clipper
Tweezers
Clean and Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment (tiny silver tube, zaps the zits!)
A pillow. Some people bring a full-size pillow or a pillow pet. I brought an airplane pillow, tiny, does the trick for me.
A throw blanket, airplane one is great.
Journal, pens, BIBLE, one or 2 books
Straightener & curling iron… if you really really use it, bring it. I did. Chi died month 4. I only used the curler once in month 1. I curl my hair with a headband, works wonders and there's no heat damage 🙂

TECHNOLOGY
Laptop & charger
Adapter!!!
Surge protector (bring it, you make friends when you bring more plugs)
Camera, battery charger
Smart phone of some kind… droid, iphone, itouch
Batteries (don't pack too many, you can buy them in most places)
Flash drive
External harddrive (I so wish I had brought one)
HEADPHONES… A TON OF HEADPHONES. I brought 4 pairs, bought 3… I'm on my last one… BRING A BUNCH OF GOOD ONES.

GEAR
Tent (I used my tent 3/11 months, but it was SO worth it)
Sleeping bag
Sleeping pad (I ditched mine month 6, bring one that folds down small!)
Headlamp
Day pack, mine was a Kelty 23 Liter
Big pack.. mine was a Kelty 65 Liter, plenty big
Airporter… I have a rolly duffel, and it was a genius idea, everybody wished they had my rolly! Get your big pack then go shop for a bigger bag with wheels… WHEELS.
Fork, Knife, Spoon, collapsible bowl, mug
Nalgene bottle (don't bother packing water purifying stuff, you'll have bottled water)
French press? Some people brought it and I certainly was glad they did.. I didn't.
Compression sacs or packing cubes.. the age old question of how to pack your clothes… I like sacs better.
Ziploc bags… bring some quart and gallon size bags… great for toiletries, I've had a few spills and nothing got ruined because I had it double bagged haha #paranoia

MEDICINES
Malaria pills (most people had doxycycline)
Albendazole and Etofamide (take every 3 months, to kill parasites… yum!)
Pepto tablets help
I brought amoxicillin and I did need one round of it.
Tylenol/Ibuprofen
I needed medicated eye drops because my eyes had allergic issues
Vitamins are a nice concept…

DOCUMENTS/VISA STUFF
Passport
Vaccination record (yellow card)
Copy of your passport (keep it in a different place than the passport lol)
8 passport pictures… better safe than sorry!
Copy of your insurance information
Info on your stuff back home, account #'s, addresses, etc. You forget everything.

THINGS I'M GLAD I HAD
Spotify Premium… 10 bucks a month, all the music I want available offline on my computer AND my phone… amen.
My Spy Belt! Google it, it's awesome. It's more for runners, but I used it for emergency team cash, my cash in dollars, my cards, and the team card when traveling.
Bobsled app, free calls via wifi!
Pinger app, free texting via wifi!
Snacks… I am a hoarder of snacks, strawberry lollipops, mentos, and swirl nutella.

Okay… that's all I hope.. I might go back and edit this if I have some sort of epiphany, but I think that's it… see, even at month 11, packing is still weird. Hope this helps!

DO NOT WORRY.
YOU were called, and as long as YOU show up with Jesus, you haven't forgotten anything. You'll be fine. Breathe. Smile. Sing something fun. Hurray for being called to missions! You are God's chosen.

If you have any questions, leave me a comment with your email and I'll respond as soon as I can <3