Keen Traveling

Packing for the Peace Corps: What’s In My Bags?

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The last several months I've spent quite a bit of time packing for the Peace Corps. What do I pack for 2+ years in a foreign country? Will it all fit? Do I really need this? Should I take these or those? Can I live without this? Exactly what you decide to pack ultimately boils down to personal preference and what can fit in the allotted bags. The Peace Corps allows you to take two checked bags (up to 50 lbs each), a carry-on, and a personal item.

Where to start?

The first thing I did was create an Excel sheet of items I take on normal trips and things I thought I would need. Next, I added items from the packing list the Peace Corps provides. Then, I used the abundance of Peace Corps packing lists and vlogs found all over the internet to add to my list. As the days passed by, my list continued to grow and grow. Once I had a list of everything I may pack, I began to narrow it down. Each day I would revisit the list and remove items or change the quantities of things that I can live without or purchase in Mozambique.

"Primenesia" - when you order so much Amazon Prime that you don't know what's in the box

Now that I had my list, I began to purchase items that I didn't already have. Boxes were showing up multiple days each week and Amazon Prime quickly became my best friend. I also took advantage of the various discounts that companies and stores give to various groups of individuals such as Peace Corps volunteers.

Will it fit?

The moment of truth. Will everything fit that I'm planning to take? Each country is different, but for Peace Corps Mozambique, one of your checked bags stays with you during Pre Service Training (PST) and the other is locked up until you move to your permanent site. With this in mind, I laid everything out and began to sort and organize everything into my two checked bags. It took some rearranging, vacuum bags, and space-saving techniques but in the end, everything fit. I ended up placing my winter coat, sleeping bag, tent, and hammock in vacuum bags which worked out great. I also crammed stuff into every nook and cranny of shoes, empty water bottles, etc. In the end, I have four bags totaling around 120lbs.

Tips

  1. Make your list early and refine it throughout the process.
  2. Do at least one test pack early on to see how close you are to meeting the size and weight restrictions.
  3. Utilize every little space. Stuff shoes with socks or small items, fill water bottles up, etc.
  4. Pack clothes that can be used with multiple outfits and for different occasions.
  5. Roll your clothes instead of folding them to save space.
  6. Only take things that either have meaning to you, you can't get overseas, or where quality is a factor. Many everyday items can easily be bought in-country and you won't have to waste valuable space or weight.

What's in my bags?

While the basic items like shoes, shirts, pants, toiletries, etc. are the same for most volunteer's packing lists, each volunteer is unique and so is their packing list. Some volunteers pack almost an entire bag full of various food and snacks and others fill their bags with their favorite clothing. For the most part, I feel my list is pretty standard with the exception of camera gear. I enjoy photography, hope to improve my photography, and want to document this amazing journey I'm embarking on, so I'm bringing more camera gear than most people probably do.

Luggage for Peace Corps

Luggage

Large duffel x1
Osprey Waypoint 80 x1
Osprey Stratos 24 x1
Small Adidas duffel x1

Clothing

Peace Corps Packing Clothing

Shirts
Button-down shirts x4
Long-sleeved shirts x4
Polos x3
Shirts x7

Pants
Columbia shorts x2
Columbia convertible pants x1
Columbia pants x2
Dress pants x1
Gym shorts x2
Jeans x2

Outerwear
Columbia sweatshirt x1
Poncho x1
Rain jacket x1
Sweatshirts x2
Winter coat x1

Shoes
Asics tennis shoes x1
Brown dress shoes x1
Dr. Scholl's shoe insert x1
Haviannas x1
Teva closed-toe sandal x1
Teva hiking shoe x1
Teva sandal x1

Miscellaneous
Baseball hat x1
Belts x4
Columbia hat x1
ExOfficio underwear x6
Socks x12
Swimsuits x2

Supplies

Supplies for Peace Corps

Camera Gear
Camera accessories
Camera bag x1
GoPro accessories
GoPro HERO4 Silver x1
Nikon D5600 camera x1
Tripod x1

Electronics
10ft phone charging cables x3
1TB Transcend military grade hard drive x1
4TB Western Digital hard drive x1
Bluetooth speaker x1
Galaxy S7 Edge x1
Headphones x4
Kensington travel adapter x1
Kindle Fire case x1
Kindle Fire HD 8 x1
Laptop bag x1
Power banks x2
Rechargeable batteries
Solar power bank x1
Surge protector x1
Thumb drives
Travel power strip x1
Wireless mouse x1

Health & Beauty
Blistex x10
Combs x4
Deodorant x1
Electric razor x1
Liquid containers x6
Medicine
Mirror x1
Nail clippers and files x2
Qtips
Retainer x1
Safety razor x1
Soap
Toothbrushes x5
Tweezers x2
Wahl hair clippers x1

Home & Office
501 Portuguese Verbs x1
Clothespins
Document folder x1
Duct tape x2
Flashlights x2
Microfiber towel x1
Multi-purpose tool x1
Notecards
Pens
Pictures
Portuguese pocket dictionary x1
Rubber bands
Scissors x2
Sharpies
Towels x2
Ziplock bags

Kitchen
Can opener x1
Contigo 32oz water bottles x2
Cutting board x1
Kitchen knife set x1
Kitchen timer x1
Measuring cup set x1
Nonstick pan x1
Reusable plate x1
RTIC 30oz insulated tumbler x1
Spices/seeds
Vegetable peeler x1

Outdoors
Headlamps x2
Eat'N Tool x1
Marmot 2-person tent x1
Sawyer mini water filter x1
Sleeping bag x1
Sunglasses x2
Trek Light double hammock x1
Umbrella x1

Snacks
Clif Bars
Granola Bars
Gum
M&M's
Ranch seasoning mix

Miscellaneous
Gifts
Locks x6
Moneybelt x1
Mozambique map x1
Playing cards x2
Solar power inflatable lanterns x2
Watch x1

Did I pack the right stuff? What did I forget? What did I bring that wasn't necessary? Sooner or later I'll have answers to these questions. After settling in and getting adjusted to Mozambique, I will do a follow-up to this post to answer the questions and see how good, or bad, I did at packing for the Peace Corps.

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Where’s My Luggage?

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I step off the plane in beautiful Costa Rica and proceed to immigration to receive my first stamp in my passport. Afer nearly an hour of winding back and forth through the line, I step up to the counter and speak with an immigration officer and receive my stamp. Next up is to retrieve my luggage...or so I think. I anxiously watch as the conveyor belts go around and around and around until it becomes apparent that my luggage hasn't made it to Costa Rica with me. I dreadfully walk over to the customer service desk where I have my first experience speaking Spanish outside of the US as well as my first experience with the "Pura Vida" way of life. After just a few seconds, I realize life here is indeed much more laid back and that my lost luggage isn't a big concern of theirs. The customer service representative simply slides me (and the others from Detroit) a form, asks me to fill it out, and continues to text on her cell phone. I fill out the form, slide it back, and quickly adapt to the "Pura Vida" way of living and think "there's no sense stressing because there's nothing I can do about it" and I begin towards the exit.

I exit the dark airport to find a large group of taxi drivers fighting for customers and chauffeurs holding signs with names on them. Yep...one of those is for me! I make my way through the crowd, constantly warding off the barrage of taxi drivers begging for my service, and find the Tico (Costa Rican) holding my name who is taking me to my hostel. The drive from San José to Turrialba is beautiful but it takes much longer than expected due to severe weather (more about this in a future post). After a long day of airports, flights, and car rides, I arrive at the hostel with only the clothes on my back and whatever was in my carry-on backpack. Seeing as I have no clothes or toiletries (always take the essentials in your carry-on) and have no idea when or if I'll get my luggage, I decide to go to the grocery store in town to pick up some essentials. The hostel owner, hostel manager, and two Dutch guests also need to go to the store so we all jump in the owners truck and head down into town. We arrive at Maxi Pali, a grocery chain owned by Walmart, and part ways to do our shopping. I roam the aisles looking for essentials and some snacks. While waiting to leave, everything suddenly goes black. The power has gone out. This is fairly common here (and in developing countries) especially with the weather recently. Eventually, we pile back into the truck with groceries in hand and head back to the hostel. I take a nice hot shower in my private room then fall asleep to the sound of torrential rain on the metal roof.

Turrialba Bus Stop
Bus Stop with hostel gate in the distance.

Fast forward 2 to 3 days later and a German lady from the hostel and I are standing in our raincoats at the bus stop in the torrential downpour waiting to go down into town to explore. While waiting for the bus, a green truck slowly drives by and yells something out the window. Neither she nor I understand what the males said so we point to the hostel which is across the street so they could speak to a native. I see the truck slowly pull into the driveway and two males step out of the truck. The passenger walks towards the back of the truck and I see him begin to grab something out of the bed. Lo and behold I recognize the object and it's my backpack! What a coincidence that we are standing outside waiting for the bus at the exact time they're trying to locate me and the hostel. I walk across the flooded street and happily sign for my luggage. While this isn't how I wanted to start my first solo trip abroad, it's a great reminder that some things are out of your control and being flexible is a part of traveling. ¡Pura Vida!

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