Packing List- January 2011 Stage, I hope this helps!!

One of the things that I most appreciated before coming to Mali was a blog entry of a current volunteer that listed everything they packed. This volunteer included a complete list of everything that they packed and then included a reflection upon the list, for example what they use the most here in Mali, what they wish they hadn’t brought, and what they wished they had brought. Soo… since that was so helpful for me, I’m going to do the same for the new Stage that arrives in Mali in February!

Complete Packing List
o 1 bottle of Contact lens solution
o 5 tubes of Oxy spot treatment
o 20 or so Safety pins
o 1 roll of Duct tape
o Bathing Suit
o 1 queen size flat sheet
o 1 pillow case
o Needle and thread (2 of those little clothing repair kits you get for free at hotels)
o 1 Towel
o 1 Pillow
o Hard drive (500gb)
o Netbook Computer, case, charger
o 1 big bottle of Shampoo
o 2 big bottles of Conditioner
o Hair Straightener
o Curling iron
o Gifts (American flag pencils, 1 watch, 1 bracelet)
o Candy (1 bag of pixie stix, 1 bag of pop rocks, 1 bag of ring pops, 1 bag of blow pops)
o Snacks (10 Cup of Soups, 2 boxes of Apple Nutri Grain Bars)
o Underwear (I’m not sure but I think I brought like 30 or so pairs)
o Bras (I think I brought between 8 and 10)
o Face wash (2 bottles of Apricot Scrub and 2 bottles of Oxy face wash)
o Clear mascara (5 tubes)
o Mascara (2 tubes of black)
o Eye shadow (more than 10 colors)
o Eye liner (5 tubes)
o Vaseline lipgloss (5 tubes)
o Foundation (liquid and powder) (2 bottles of liquid, 1 compact)
o Makeup brushes (2 eye shadow brushes, 1 foundation brush)
o Nail clippers
o 2 Emory board s
o 3 Thumb drives
o Miniature French-English dictionary
o 6 pairs of Socks
o 4 Skirts (all past my knees, 1 to my ankles)
o 3 Shorts (2 athletic, 1 pajama)
o 3 Tank tops (2 of which are spaghetti straps)
o Pants (1 dress pant, 2 cargo pants, 1 jeans)
o 10 T-shirts
o 1 Sweat shirt
o 2 Ponchos
o 1 Very cheap Rain Jacket
o 2 Baseball Caps
o Sleeping mat
o Bug Hut 2 Tent
o Sleeping bag (thin fleece)
o 2 boxes of Infinity Pads
o 2 boxes of Tampons
o 2 Bags of travel Toilet paper (3 rolls in each bag), 3 packs of wipes
o Headphones (4 pairs)
o 1 bottle of Body wash
o 2 Loufas
o 1 pack of Hair ties
o 2 Brushes
o Comb
o 10 Headbands
o 2 bottles of nail polish
o 2 tubes tooth paste
o 5 tooth brushes
o 4 bottles of face lotion
o 6 sticks of deodorant
o 15 sets of Dailies contacts
o Razors (8 Intuition refills)
o Glasses (3 pairs)
o Tweezers
o 6 or so Pens
o Small Photo album
o Ipod
o CD player
o 2 CDs
o Ziploc bags
o 1 pair of Flip flops
o UF Gator Pennant
o Letters with stamps
o Medication
o 1 pair of Tennis shoes
o 2 Sunglasses
o Wedding ring
o 2 Head lamps
o Travel pillow
o Backpack
o Adapter plugs
o Playing Cards
o Uno
o Sudoku book
o Batteries
o Solar charger
o Rechargeable batteries
o Swiss army knife
o Money belt
o Calculator
o 2 Books
o Bandana
o 2 digital Cameras
o 1 bottle of Perfume/body spray
o Camera case
o Sticky tack
o Speakers
o Gameboy and 2 games
o Gold bond powder
o 3 Shower caps
o Floss
o Ear swabs
o Mirror
o Mesh laundry bag
o Watch
o Glow in the dark stars
o Jewelry
o SD card
o Addresses of friends and family
o Paper calendar
o Ipod cord
o Biosilk
o Cell phone and charger
o Gum
o Earrings
o Hair wrap
o Bobby pins
o Scissors
o Envelopes
o Notebook Paper
o 2 water bottles (1 Nalgene, 1 Aluminum)
o 2 Pairs of Sandals
o Ipod case
o Camera case

Ok so after reading all of that you’re probably thinking that I am a diva, but that is honestly what I packed. Alright so now that I have been in Mali for almost 6 months I think I can pretty accurately critique my list, so here we go:

-Thing I am the most happy I brought: Netbook Computer! I watch a ton of movies and TV shows and I also use it to charge my Ipod.

-Thing I regret bringing the most: all the Cup of soups I brought, they just didn’t taste very good so now they are sitting in a trunk in my room, I think I ate one of them.

-What I wish I brought more of: 1. Body Wash!! I only brought one bottle and went through it pretty fast. It is possible to buy body wash in country, but for the first two months we are basically stuck at our Home stay sites with no access to stores. 2. Towels! I only brought 1, this was super dumb because what was I supposed to do when my one towel was being washed? I had my mom send me 2 extra towels. 3. Baby Wipes. Toilet paper is kind of expensive here and public bathrooms never have anything so it’s good to always carry a pack on you. I only brought 3 packs, so now I have my mom send me 1 pack in every package she sends me. 4. Contacts. I barely wear contacts (I only wear them when I go out at night), but I’m not sure that the 15 pairs of Dailies will be enough (I re-use them until they start hurting even though you’re supposed to throw them out after 1 day).5.Clothes to go out in. All I brought was a pair of cute jeans and 2 nice tops. I really wish I had brought at least 2 more pairs of skinny jeans and like 5 or so more cute tops. We don't really get a chance to go out a lot, but I've probably been out like 10 times since being here, so yea 2 outfits wasn't enough. 6. FOOD. This is probably the most important. I wish I had brought wayyyyyy more snack food because I am not particularly fond of Malian food. There were quite a few nights where I went to bed hungry because I didn’t want to eat whatever weird food I was given for dinner during Homestay. I would suggest bringing a few boxes of granola bars, and then comfort foods like cookies, chips and candy.

- What I didn’t need to buy, but am still happy I got anyway: Hard drive. Whenever volunteers get together sooooo much file sharing goes on!! We trade TV shows, Movies and Music like nobody’s business. I came to Mali with 6 full seasons of the Office as well as like 50 movies on my hard drive, all of which were very much appreciated by other volunteers.

- What I have yet to use, but I hear will be very useful during hot season: Bug Hut. It has been kind of annoying to lug around for these past 6 months, but people tell me I will be very thankful to have it when it is so miserably hot that you won’t even want to enter your house. I hear that basically everyone sleeps outside during hot season, even Malians!

-Quick Tip: steal a blanket from your Air France flight, I did and I use it everyday!

Alright I think this is all I’ve got, or at least all I can think of for now, so I hope that this helps! And to all of you coming to Mali very soon: We can’t wait to meet you guys!!! But in the meantime live it up in America! Eat all the delicious and terribly unhealthy American food that you can and make sure you spend all the time you can with your loved ones!