During today's 7 AM Peace Corps conference call, the country director tells us it's not necessary to bring much luggage and that we don't need to feel that we should max out the baggage weight limit. We will be hating our baggage as they will be heavy. While I agree with this thinking, yet I can debate that while we will be burdened initially with the weight and volume during transit; nevertheless, once we arrive at site and make our residence, I'd think those who brought a lot will be happy that they did because once they've unpacked and started to play house, they have what they want and it's there already.
To mail items from home to Tanzania is expensive and theft a possibility. While things are cheap to purchase, we volunteers have absolutely no idea if what we need to buy is 1.) available in country 2.) available at site 3.) quality is acceptable. I suppose acceptable is relative.
My M.O. is to suck it up initially and finally at the end, I have what I want to bring. This is not a 2 weeks vacation we are packing for. This is our life for the next 2 years plus and whatever useful and useless items we bring, it will all be in use and if not, give it away as gifts to the locals and neighbors of the village. Certainly, they'd appreciate a souvenir or two from the United States.
Today, I reopened my baggage and again for the umpteenth time, I try to fine comb through everything. I decided to dump all the teas thus making room for the many books we will be receiving. Two bar of soaps also didn't make the final cut and the hanging laundry needs a new home. I think it will be delighted to reside in mum's house. She actually owns one and uses to hang her cleaning rags out in the sun to dry. True to my style, what I took out, I replaced with something else. I added a bathing suit, more underwear, additional surplus of packaged seeds, one more bottle of COQ10 courtesy of mum and finally will give a chance to that black polyester dress which is the finest garment from my Peace Corps wardrobe. You now can guess what I'll be wearing to the presidential gigs...to match my newly colored hair.
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