What To Bring (for prospective PCVs)
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Clothes (Health and Community Development)
What to pack for female teachers
What to Bring (Everybody)
What not to Bring
See also:
Cookbooks
for third world countries
Brian Bueler's packing updates:
text file or word
file
Clothes
for Health and Community Development PCVs |
You can find very inexpensive used clothing in the
markets in Guinea and also get some neat stuff made.
You're really just packing for three months of training
right now. After you're more familiar with Guinea,
you'll be able to find and buy almost everything you
need in country.
Cotton Underwear (14-20)
Bras (W: 2-5, 1-2 nice ones for your own sanity,
1-2 sport bras)
Two nice outfits suitable for conferences and/or
meetings in the states (W - skirts or dresses or
nice slacks and blouse)
Jeans (W-1, M-2)
T-shirts (2-4)
Tank tops (1-2)
Casual pants (2)
Casual long dress, women (3-4). Sleeveless is
OK. Especially sun dresses. Cotton is best.
Casual skirt (W 2-3)
Dancing dress (can be above the knee)
Sweatshirt/sweater/flannel shirt
Short-sleeved nice but sporty shirts (W 2, M
3)
Oxford type shirts (M 1)
Light raincoat (shell) or poncho
Swim suit
Decently nice shoes -- like sandals, no dress
flats
Light waterproof hiking boots and/or sneakers.
Running shoes, if you're a runner
Hat for the sun
Cotton socks (3-4)
Shorts (1-2), especially long shorts
Tevas or sandals. Birkenstocks are great, too,
except they fall apart during rainy season.
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What
to pack for female teachers |
Submitted by Jenni Pearson, Siguiri, June 02
Clothing/Shoes
3 pair khakis/slacks
2 long skirts
1 pair jeans
5-8 tank tops
4 button-down shirts
Modest swimsuit
Everyday sandals, like Tevas
Hiking/athletic shoes
Raincoat
25 pairs of underwear
6-8 bras
5-8 pairs cotton socks
Cotton pajamas
Cotton slips
Several cotton bandanas
1 sweatshirt
A hat for sun
A good watch with a plastic or web band, not leather
1-2 good outfits for holidays/going out with other
PCVs
For School:
Ink pens, especially red
School bag
Accordion file
Grade books
Colored construction paper (one multicolored package
from Target is good)
Good scissors
Scotch tape
Low reading level English books for adults (magazines
with lots of pictures are good)
Miscellaneous:
Lots of hairclips and bobby pins
Halgen water bottle (available at sporting goods
stores)
Leatherman utility knife (has multiple blades
and devices)
Headlamp (halogen or LED)
Regular flashlight
Pillow
CD/cassette player and plenty of music CDs/tapes
Can opener
Rare spices (or ones you like a lot)
Crystal Light drink mix
Sauce packets (like Knor) to add variety to the
rice
US stamps (letter and $3.50 stamps for small packages)
Envelops which seal with a sticker
Girlie stuff (a little makeup, good smelling cream,
etc)
Lots of film (Guinean film sucks)
Stuff that makes you feel good and comfortable
$500 in $100 bills for traveling (traveler's checks
are hard to cash and have poor exchange rates)
Don't Bring:
A French-English dictionary (unless it's tiny)
the Peace Corps will give you a big one
Basic medications (PC will supply these)
Lots of toiletries (you won't need them or can
purchase them in Guinea)
Lots of books (there are good libraries at the
regional houses which you will visit periodically)
Do Bring (because they're hard
or impossible to find in Guinea):
A good pillow
Music CDs
Good pens
Advice:
Don't bring anything with spandex - it will feel
like rubber in the heat!
How you dress strongly influences how you're
treated in Guinea. Skirts above the knee, skimpy
tops, or anything too tight will mark you as a
child because that's how they dress. Certainly
bring a fun outfit or two for the capital, but
for day-to-day wear, favor more conservative dress.
Tank tops are fine - don't worry!
You can get almost everything in Guinea, but
it might not be exactly how you like it.
You're really just packing for three months of
training right now. After you're more familiar
with Guinea, you'll be able to find and buy almost
everything you need in country.
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What
to Bring (everybody) |
Comments: Africa will be here, with or without
your stuff. That said, here's the compilation of
our obsession with What We Wish We Had Brought.
In general, you want to pack enough clothes to get
you comfortably through 3 months of training, and
then use the rest of the space to put in the things
that are most important to you. There is no perfect
list, it's a matter of priority. And bring what
makes you happy and kicks ass -- like platform shoes
and that fave pair of black jeans. Plus, anything
that doesn't fit into your luggage will be a GREAT
care package item for your family to send. Don't
stress!
If it's in this color
it means we think you'd really like to have it.
Luggage
You'll be in a lot of airports in the beginning.
The dream-combo of luggage is:
- Huge bag on wheels for heavy stuff
- Large internal frame pack, inside a huge duffel
bag. This serves to protect all the straps on
the frame pack, plus to give you another bag to
use, and some extra space.
- Carry on: a nice medium sized hiking
backpack -- that funny size that's
larger than a day pack and smaller than your standard
overnight pack. Kelty Redwing overnight
has been recommended. Plus, a pillow,
outside of your day pack.
High
Priority
- Nice big fluffy bath towel
- Washcloth and/or loofah
- Good small flashlight
- Headlamp
- Duct tape (attach
roll to outside of luggage)
- Stationery stuff: permanent black marker, thumbtacks,
nice paper, envelopes have a tendency to seal
in the heat, postcards, glue stick, pens, scotch
tape
- U.S. Postage stamps, both letter-rate and priority-rate
($3). One of the best ways to get letters
home is to send them with travellers going to
the U.S., and they can post your letters for you.
Bring about 5 books of the self-stick kind.
- Art stuff: colored
pencils, crayons, markers
- Nalgene water bottle and/or Platypus
- Tape Player/Walkman. You can buy boom-boxes
here for $30-100 if you want.
- Lots of Tapes, especially mixes and dance music
- Camera and camera batteries
- Replacement bulbs for flashlight, esp. for
mini-maglite
- Good batteries w/ built-in tester. You cannot
get C-batteries in-country
- Film (available here, but quality varies and
it's expensive)
- Personal pictures
- Mini alarm clock
- Swiss Army Knife/ Leatherman
- Books -- a few good ones. We've got tons of
pulp novels.
- Book bag/backpack
- Sunglasses
- Day planner and/or calendar
- Calculator (especially for teachers)
- Spices:
curry, Italian, basil, cumin, coriander. Buy in
bulk at a health food store, real cheap.
- Zip-lock bags
- Hair bands, headbands, hair clips
- 2 bandannas (essential for dusty taxis in dry
season)
- Some US Dollars (bring large bills -- $50 and
$100 -- you get a better exchange on them). Traveler's
checks are hard to use in-country, but are useful
if you travel.
- A credit card.
- Short-wave radio (digital is easier to use,
analog easier to fix). Can also be bought here
but are of questionable quality.
Very
Nice To Have
- An extra small towel, or camp pack towel
- If you bring a real camera (SLR) bring a point-n-shoot,
too
- Spray bug repellent or skin-so-soft
- 7-day pill holder
- Pillow
- A nice diary or two
- Spiral-bound notebooks don't exist here
- Frisbee, soccer ball
- Walkman speakers
- A small gift for your host family in Thies,
i.e. tea, key chains, baseball cap, T-shirt.
- Cards and games to play with small children
and villagers. We would love a copy of According
to Hoyle here in Conakry. Or Boggle!
- Sewing kit
- Good blank tapes
- Ear plugs
(PCVs and roosters are noisy)
- Tough plastic-y mailer envelopes for sending
film home
- Lids that fit on tuna cans
- Tupperware
- Kitchen items: , garlic
press, spatula, 1-2 good knives,
good can opener, coffee press or gold filter,
- Food items: Knorr's
pasta sauce packs and other instant sauces,
mac-n-cheese sauce packs,
herbal teas, coffee,
protein drinks, Koolaid). Your family can also
send these in care packages.
- Toiletries: deodorant (expensive in-country),
facial scrubs & masques, deep hair conditioner,
nice moisturizer, good hairbrush, haircutting
scissors (we also have little scissors in med
kits), pumice stone, toothbrushes & toothpaste
(expensive here), echinacea or garlic tablets
- If you like camping: tent, sleeping bag, standalone
portable mosquito net (see Campmor)
- OB tampons,
if you know you like them (though your hands aren't
always clean enough for that)
- Seeds for garden -- herbs, veggies, flowers.
Good soil here!
- Wash-n-Dri disposable toilettes
- Video tapes (to watch in PC Conakry house).
This will win you points with 2nd-year PCV's!
- Good sunglasses
- Children's books
- Picture book of USA
- Those few silly things that will make you feel
happy or luxurious -- i.e., mud mask, things that
smell good, massage oil, nail polish, stuffed
animals, gameboy
- Bike stuff, if you're hard core: climbing bar,
headlamp, toe clips, bike headlight
- Magazine subscriptions (although we all get
Newsweek International for free every week)
- A youth-hostel type sleep sack comes in handy
- Book light
- Silica gel for packing film and batteries in
Don't Bring Because Peace Corps
Gives You This
- Vitamins (multi, B, C, Calcium)
- Iodine tablets
- Sunscreen (unless you have a particular preference,
like PABA-free)
- Mosquito repellent (although spray-pump is very
nice to have)
- Bike stuff: bike repair book, bike gloves, All-in-One
Tool (you may need to bring a helmet if they tell
you to)
- Med kit stuff: Neosporin, Vaseline, Peptobismol,
Chapstick, small scissors
- Mosquito net (non-travel variety)
- Basic medications (PC will supply these)
Don't Bring Because You Probably
Won't Use It
- Solar shower
- Solar battery charger (the $10 variety just
doesn't work)
- Water filter (although a nice, small, portable
one could be handy for trips)
- Tons-n-tons of tampons. Just bring a few months
worth.
- Sheets. Take up space and you can get them cheap
here. They're provided during training.
- Lots of jewelry. Just bring a few nice items.
- Spandex - it will feel like rubber in the heat!
- A French-English dictionary
- Lots of toiletries (you won't need them or
can purchase them in Guinea)
- Lots of books (there are good libraries at the
Regional houses which you will visit periodically)
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