Packing List

Below is an illustrated list of what I've brought with me to Mozambique.  I brought too much, that I know.  Why did I bring so much?  Well, mainly because The problem with trying to prepare to spend 27 months living in a third world country (or anywhere for that matter...) is that you really have no idea what you're going to have available to you and what you are going to be able to find. So, I packed everything I thought I would need, and then some more. 

Over time, I'm sure that a whole lot of this garbage will prove to be, well, just that.  As that information comes to light, I'll make a note of it.  My hope is that future Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) can use this list as a reference for finding suggestions on what to bring, as well as what not to bring.

Clothing:

• (2) Heavy Sweatshirts, Black and Brown
• (2) Light-Weight Sweatshirts
• (1) Fleece
• (19) Pairs of Underwear
• (22) Pairs of Socks
• (1) Pair of Dress Socks
• (1) Pair of Thermal Socks
• (11) White T-Shirts
• (10) Shifts
• (2) Sleeveless T-Shirts
• (1) Tie
• (2) White Button-Down Shirts
• (1) Casual Button Down Shirt
• (2) White Polo Shirts
• (6) Colored Polo Shirts
• (5) Long Sleeve Shirts
• (1) Bathing Suit
• (3) Pairs of Mesh Shorts
• (7) Pairs of Shorts
• (1) Pair of Sweatpants
• (3) Pairs of Jeans
• (2) Pairs of Nice Khakis
• (3) Pairs of Casual Pants
• (1) Red Rain Jacket

Shoes:

OMG shoes.

• Brown Leather Hollister Flip Flops, Size 12
• Black Leather Professional Shoes, Size 12
• Blue Flip Flops for Shower
• KEEN Venice H2 Sandals, Size 12
• New Balance 510 Trail Running Shoes, Size 12
• Vasque Velocity 2.0 Trail Running Shoes, Size 12
• Three Extra Pairs of Shoelaces

Toiletries:

Why can't you just buy one of something at costco?

• (1) Nail clippers
• (1) Tweezers
• (1) Razor Blade
• (4) Oral-B Tooth Brushes
• (4) Careone Troothbursh Caps
• (5) Sticks of Degree Antiperspirant and Deodorant
• (55) Gillette Mach 3 Cartridges
• (1) Mach Three Turbo Razor
• (4) 8.5 oz. Cans of Gillette Shave Gel
• (1) Container of CareOne SPF 30 Spray-On Sunscreen
• (5) Containers of Pepto Bismol Caplets, 40 ct.
• (2) 4 oz. Containers of Clean & Clear Face Moisturizer
• (1) 4 oz. Container of Gold Bond Body Power
• (1) 40 Oz. Bottle of Head & shoulders Shampoo
• (1) 22 oz. Container of Baby Powder
• (1) 2.5 oz. Container of Jungle Juice Insect Repellent
• (1) Bottle of Aleve, 320 ct.
• (2) 1 oz. Containers of Neosporin
• (1) 1.75 oz. Container of Vaseline
• (1) Purel Hand Sanitizer
• (1) .5 oz. Container of CVS Brand Eye Drops
• (1) Reach Brush with (77) Floss Heads
• (15) Bars of Softsoap
• (1) Conair Nose-Hair Trimmer
• (1) Hairbrush and (1) Comb
• Mini-Sewing Kit
• (1) Mouth Guard
• (1) Bottle of Aloe Vera
• Medicine:
• 20 Gelcaps of Alke-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough
• 96 Gelcaps of Kirkland Daytime Multi-Symptom Cold Medication
• 96 Gelcaps of Kirkland Nighttime Multi-Symptom Cold Medication
• 400 Gelcaps of Kirkland Extra Strength Rapid Release Acetaminophen
• 60 Tablets of Clarithromycin, 500mg
• 30 Tablets of Prednisone, 10mg

Tools:

• (2) Rolls of Duct Tape
• (1) Roll of Masking Tape
• (1) Exacto Knife
• (1) Moleskine Notebook`
• (1) Multi-bit Screw driver
• (1) Multi-Tool
• (1) Pocket Knife
• (1) Kensington Laptop Desk Lock (N81250)
• (4) Bungee Cords
• (2) TSA locks
• Carabineers
• Batteries: AA, AAA
• (1) Pair of Milwaukee Job Site Work Gloves
• Master Storage Security Lock Box

School Supplies:

It's for the kids.

• 24 Pack of Multi-Colored Sharpies
• 15 Pack of G2 Retractable Gel Ink Rolling Ball Pens
• Binder Clips: Large, Medium, Small, and Mini
• Colored Pencils
• 4 Packs of Post-it Notes
• Compass
• Scissors
• Protractor
• 4.5” Circle-Drawing Ruler
• Block Erasers
• Pencil Sharpener
• Mechanical Pencils
• Envelopes
• Chalk, White and Colored

Accessories:

• (1) Headlamp
• (1) Money Belt
• (2) Pairs of eyeglasses
• (2) Pairs of Sun Glasses (One Old Crappy, One New Pair of SunCloud Rachets)
• (1) Red Beanie
• (3) Hats (Orioles, PBR, and the Me of Tomorrow…)
• (1) REI Travel Towel
• (1) Kirkland Brand Cotton Towel
• (1) Etnies Felt Belt
• (1) Pair of Head Brand Gloves
• (1) Banana Costume
• (2) Leather Belts, Black and Brown
• (3) Plastic Ponchos
• (1) Pillow 
• (1) Mini Pillow 
• (1) Fleece Blanket, Red 
• (1) Set of Twin Size Bed Sheets 
• (1) North Face Backpack (Not Pictured)
• (1) REI Lookout 40 Lightweight Daypack (Not Pictured)

 

 Kitchen Supplies:

• (1) Nalgene Water Bottle
• (1) 10” Non-Stick Frying Pan with Glass Cover
• (2) Wooden Spoons
• Measuring cups
• (1) Small Cutting board
• (1) Knife sharpener
• (1) Peeler
• (1) 6 oz. Stainless Steel Flask
• (1) Wine Key
• (2) Boxes of 40 Gallon Size Ziplock Bags
• (1) Box of 120 Ziplock Sandwich Bags
• (1) REI Lunch Bag
• Kirkland Brand Salt and Pepper Shakers
• (1) 7.5” Chef’s Knife
• (1) Paring Knife
• (1) Brita Water Bottle and Filter
• (2) Can Openers/Bottle Openers

Electronics: (Not Pictured)

• Laptop: Asus 1225B-SU17-BK Laptop Computer: AMD E-450, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 320GB HDD, 11.6" Widescreen XGA Display, AMD Radeon HD 6320, Windows 7 Home.
• (1) NOOK Simple Touch with Glowlight
• (1) Blackberry Tour 9630 (Thanks Justin!)
• (1) 4^th Generation Apple iPod tough, 64 GBs
• (1) 1^st Generation Apple iPod Shuffle, 1 GB
• (1) Sony Cyber Shot DSC-WX5 Point and Shoot Digital Camera
• (1) Flip Video MinoHD M3160B 4GB Camcorder
• (1) Silicon Power Rugged Armor A80 1TB External HDD
• (1) Toshiba 1TB External HDD
• (1) TI-83 Plus Calculator
• (1) SIIG IC-SP0612-S1 SoundWave MiniCube Speaker System
• Several High Capacity USB Flash Drives and SD Cards
• (1) Surge Protecting Power Strip

And here's the finished product.  Everything above (well, almost everything), stuffed into two bags.

Both bags weigh 55lbs each, a little over weight.  I didn't weigh the backpack, sorry folks.