Things that I have found useful to have since I arrived in Botswana on April 3, 2011
I have only been here since April 3rd, so this list is the stuff I am glad I had during PST. Bear in mind that your PST will be happening as the weather starts heating up. And when I started this list, I really didn’t think it would be this long. Sorry. Hope it is helpful.
1. Headlamp
2. Solid water bottle with a good sealing lid. You will drop it or the lid, so go for hardy. I decided against my metal one because I didn’t like having to totally unscrew the lid each time I used it.
3. Pocket knife, corkscrew and bottle opener required
4. Travel soap container that you can use to pour water on your hair to wash.
5. Scissors, both for hair and for random things that need cutting
6. Solar powered flashlight – small is fine
7. Solar powered mini emergency radio, crank and battery capable
8. House slippers and another pair you can slip on and off easily to go outside and don’t mind getting wet – flip flops or tevas are perfect.
9. Pocket tissues
10. Hand sanitizers and wipes
11. Hand and body lotion
12. sunscreen you like vs. the stuff they give us, which sometimes they don’t bring to give to us. Some people got really burnt during the first few days before this got sorted out.
13. Insect repellant, until PC gets organized to give you some
14. If you wear eyeglasses, bring a small repair kit with that eensy bitsy screwdriver.
15. Two spiral paper notebook (the 8 ½ by 11 size if you like big, but smaller (5x8?) is easier to carry), or one that is clearly divided for different topic sessions. It’s a pain to have your language class info mixed up in with the other material, and I wish I had used two separate ones right off the bat.
16. Mini-med kit. I read before coming that we wouldn’t get our med kits until we were sworn in (which is true). I brought and shared plenty of: bandaids, pepto-bismol tablets (not liquid), dramamine, cold meds, ibuprofen/Tylenol, Neosporin.
17. Tennis ball and yoga strap. Since my massage therapist stayed at home, these items help with the stretching and getting that spot on the back you can’t reach yourself. A lot of folks brought yoga mats, but I didn’t have room. And guess what? They have them here. Still looking for a new massage therapist….
18. Down jacket – light and packable. Same for sleeping bag
19. gloves, scarf and hat, thick socks, long underwear and tights. You will be coming in the “spring” and moving into summer, so the stuff I am glad I brought related to cold weather may not apply to you right away, but you will need these things.
20. Easy to hand wash clothing, preferably things that don’t easily snag or fade, or need a lot of ironing. You will be washing your clothes by hand.
21. Pictures of friends, family, home, etc. I brought hard copies as well as stuff on computer. I used the hard copies early on to show my family as I gauged the appropriateness and safety of pulling out my laptop (as well as any other electronics you bring. Less show and tell is really more when it comes to your gadgets).
22. Good can opener. My host family used a big knife to open cans. They all still have their fingers, but that takes years of practice and I wasn’t going to risk it.
23. PJs you can wear in front of your host family. This may get trickier as the weather gets hotter; if you sleep in the buff, you need to think about this.
24. Leave your large wallet with lots of stuff in it at home and bring a small one that can fit into your front pocket. I have both a small wallet and a simple zippered money pouch, depending on how much I need to carry. Those silly money pouches you wear around your neck and under your clothing are great in the winter, I suppose, but in the summer they are easily seen and clunky as hell. Duh. Wish I hadn’t wasted money on that one.
25. Look into Chico Bags and Baggallini brands for extra shoulder or other bags that you can use once here so you look like less of a back pack type person. They pack really small and you can use them (and even recycled boxes) by the time you get through training to carry all the PC stuff you are given. Don’t bring a laptop bag that looks like a laptop bag. I have a netbook that slips into its sleeve and into my small backpack, but could also fit into my chico bag messenger bag.
My most important suggestion would be that you don’t go buy everything we suggest all at once. Sit with it, think about it and realize you can’t bring everything and they have things here (you won’t be able to afford them here, but if you figure in the cost at home and the postage costs for someone to send it, it is a better deal to buy here. Of course if someone is buying it at home and sending it and comes out of their pocket…well then.) I tended to go out and purchase whatever sounded like a good idea at the time, only later to have way too many “good ideas” to pack. The list posted elsewhere ( I think it is on the Bots 10 page WAY back in February, but was given to us by Bots 8 and 9ers so ask for it again if you can’t find it), was a great help with my abovementioned caveat.
Don’t bring more than 1 or 2 books. You can really trade them and get a lot at the PC office where you will go at least twice during PST. Some people read a lot, but I spent most of my evenings trying to figure out my Setswana or other homework, hanging with my host family, or relaxing, so really only read 1 book during PST, and I am a generally an avid reader.
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