Details of where I'll be

Snippet from one of our Staging Letters:

Orientation

Accommodations

We have a very full and intense schedule planned during the first few days of the “Arrival Event”. Activities include administrative matters, safety and security, specific program information, an orientation to Community Based Training (CBT) and the area of Cayambe where CBT will take place, a medical orientation (including vaccinations!), information on aspects of culture, and “Survival Spanish” classes.  PLEASE PACK A SEPARATE BAG FOR THESE FIRST FEW DAYS.  Trainees will spend the first four nights in the Hostal San Javier, with the first day’s activities taking place in the Peace Corps Office in Quito.  Accommodations in this hostel, located 15 minutes from the PC Office, include shared rooms to which there will be assigned 2–5 Trainees, private bathrooms in each room, hot water, and breakfast served in the morning during the Arrival Event.  Couples will have private rooms.  Trainees will be provided with bottled drinking water as it is not recommended to drink the tap water.  

There will be phones available at the hour of Trainee arrival, with international access.  All phone calls must be paid for individually by Trainees, in cash, before leaving the hostel.  Sunday morning, after the programmed activities for the Arrival Event, Trainees will travel by public bus to Cayambe, a town north of Quito (1 ½ hours), accompanied by their Language Facilitators, to their host family sites. These sites are within 30 minutes of Cayambe.  Trainees will meet and have lunch with their host families with whom they will live throughout approximately eight of the 9 weeks of Pre-Service Training.

Pretty exciting stuff!

The Journey and the Final Product

There are two pictures included in this post. The three final bags, and the mess the basement was while I was in the process. I hope this is the final packing, my 3 month bag is popping at the seams and I still have tennis shoes, laptop, chargers, books, spirals, make up bag...etc little things that I'm still using that I haven't put in a bag. Not one more Q-tip will fit in my 3 month bag. I have a wee bit of room in my 4 day (really 7 day) bag, but it's going to fit all of the items I need! Hopefully I can bring oooone more bag that I pass as a reeeeallly large purse or something. We shall see!

2 Year Bag

My 3 Month bag is embarrassing. It's clearly everything I will need for two years.  I just didn't know how to discern between what I'll need for that short period of time versus the rest of the time I will be in Ecuador. So what's left over?

Clothing wise, I tried to put some items aside that I could live without for three months. I thought I did a good job. I see now that I'm looking at 5 articles of clothing.

1 pair of jeans

1 sundress

1 long skirt/strapless dress

1 t-shirt

1 polo shirt

I'm going to pick a bag, pack it and post pictures of the final product! 

The rest of the items I will be brining mimic my very own Target. I honest could go without a third bag. But I'm going to take the maximum amount of bags I can take! 

Other items in my 2 year bag (that I have decided if I'm taking a bag, roller duffle, or a piece of luggage)

Facial Cleansing Wipes Pack

Flushable Wipes Pack (I hope these aren't dried out by the time I get them!)

Several mini hand sanitizer bottles 

Several Bigelow Lip Balm/Carmex/ChapStick

2 Boxes of Toothpaste

10 or so Boxes of Dove Soap Bars (too much?)

2 Sticks of Deo

40 Tampons 

1  Bottle Conditioner

1 Huge bag of Halls...(I should divide that up and put some in each bag)

2 Tubs (4 oz & 8 oz of various hair balms

1 Skin So Soft

1 Tub of Coco Butter 

1 Bottle of Jergens

2 Rolls of Cotton Rounds

1 Bottle of Ain't Miss Behavin Zip Zapper (what is my skin gonna do out there!!??)

3 Month Packing List

*I had to downgrade my other packing list so some items may appear twice.  

Roughly my 3 month packing list-

Outerwear:

1 Fleece

1 Light Jacket

1 Short Sleeve Hoodie

1 Quarter Length pull over Hoodie (thick)

Shirts:

3 Button Down Long Sleeve Light Weight Shirts (good for layering

6 T-shirts 

2 Long Sleeve

4 Tank Tops

3 Cami's

Dresses:

1 More Formal Length

1 Short Sleeved Formal

1 Long Summer Dress

1 Short Summer Dress (suit cover up)

1 Housedress

1 Strapless Dress (I had to do it!!)

Skirts:

1 Quarter length Jean Skirt

(my "strapless dress" dress actually is a long skirt)

Pants:

1 Cargo

1 Khaki Work Pant

Casual Pants:

3 Sweat Capris

2 Full Length Sweats (thin)

1 Pair of Leggings

Shoes

2 Pair of Flip Flops

1 Pair "sturdy" Sandals

2 Pairs of Tennis Shoes

Other:

1 Swimsuit

9 Pairs of Socks

1 Scarves 

1 Sheet 

1 Sun Hat

That's a rough list...oooh and I should have included my toiletries....hopefully this list will be helpful to someone...

Donde Estas?

Everyone is asking where will I be.

Well it's complicated...at least as I write this it is. Everyday I get more and more clear on how this is all going to pan out. We received some packing guidelines with our staging information and we need to pack 3 separate bags for 3 separate stages. The 4 day arrival in Ecuador, 3 month training and the remaining 2 years (if I under stand that correctly) I have already sent out an email to the Country Desk for clarification.

So first stop...the Sierra highlands for four days. I'm guessing that's the Andes region, but I could be wrong. This area is approx 45-70 degrees, chilly at night and can get some rainy days even in the dry season (which is now). The best way to dress is layers. So that means two shirts on one days which equals, more things in the bag to pack. However, I can count these clothes towards the clothes I have during training....

Training, three months in Cayambe (finally city!) Our staging packet states that we need all kinds of clothing, t-shirts, long-sleeved, short sleeved, boots, different pants etc. This is where I need to pack smart. The letter puts a strong emphasis on not packing excessively. So that is the goal.

Our third bag is everything else we will need for our 2 years of service but can live without for 3 months. So right now I'm thinking that is mainly supplies and other various items. We are told to label this luggage "Quito" because that is where the are storing it. As of right now, where I'll be for the next 2 years is still a mystery..... 

Four Day Pack

My tentative four day pack. I wish I could take Molly Ann also, but she's not going to be coming with me. I think she knows I'm packing and is sad about it because she is all up in my mix! :)

In our staging information we are told that we will be in the "sierras" mountain area and that we should bring layering clothes and be prepared for rain even though this is the dry season. 

What's pictured is:

Outerwear-

Poncho

Fleece

Pants-

Cargo

Khaki Work Pants

Jeans 

Short Sleeves-

T Shirt

Hot Pink Polo

Light Pink Polo

Long Sleeves-

Blk Cardigan (layering)

Striped Button down (for layering)

Grey T

Black T

Lounge Wear

Stretch Pants 

(more will be added to this list I'm sure)

Shoes

Black Flip Flops

Choacos

(more will be added)

Toiletries- 

Toothpaste

Toothbrushes (3)

Sunscreen

Soap Dish

Off Skintastic

Skin So Soft

Face Wipes

Baby Wipes

Imodium

Dove Bar

Deo

Pack o Razors

Aquaphor

Initial Packing

I have started my packing event. Yes, it is indeed an event as there are so many specifics. A few weeks ago we received new information about how to pack. Originally I had been searching the web for Peace Corps packing lists and I have a HUGE LL Bean roller duffle that is made for a 2 year jouney! So mentally I had my packing all planned out.

With this new information however I had to revamp a few things...well a lot of things. We actually need three bags. The three bags will be going to three different locations therefore each bag needs to have all the essentials to live. Don't forget there are weight and size limits also. We can't exceed 107 inches for checked bags and the limit for our carry on is 40 inches total.

The three bags we are allowed are our four day bag which needs to be the bag we carry on the plane. We will be spending four days in Ecuador (the 17th-20th) but actually I need a pack a bag that will take me to Miami on the 15th and last me through the 20th. There are specific items we need for this bag that are listed in our staging materials. 

The second bag is our three month bag. This is what we will have while living with our host family's and what we will be living out of during PST (Pre Service Training). We are sending this bag to Cayambe.

The third and final bag is our two year bag which would have everything else we need. This bag is being sent to Quito.

At first I was thinking the 2 year bag would be the biggest, but really the bag with the most essentials will be the 3 month bag. Whatever I need to live for 3 months I can use for the next 2 years. So really I think my 2 year bag will just have bulk supplies that are hard to come by in Ecuador. 

Also, since I'm traveling to Los Angeles I am going to pick out clothes to wear for the next 10 days so that what I wear in STL and LA won't be items that I also need to have packed. That way I don't have to unpack any items for my Peace Corps trip. 

My bags are all scrambled. The backpack I bought that I was going to use for my 4 day really is actually quite large so I think it will be my three month. I will use my small roller duffle for the four day (that's really seven days) and maybe this suitcase I have for the 2 year..not sure. But Big Red my favorite huge roller duffle I don't think makes the cut! 

I'm going to try to practice attaching pictures with the digital camera my dad gave me...maybe next post.