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.

Small Recap

I never look back at my old posts so I may not have outlined my experience from going from nominee to invitee (that reminds me I should update my timeline...)

While I'm not going to go through the whole story, I will say that I was continuously being told that no matter where I went I would Have to know 6 weeks before, because that's how long it takes to get a new passport. Well I was given the minimum amount of time. 6.Weeks. One of those weeks I was out of town. I officially accepted on May 11th  (which mind you was the day I had marked in my calendar to completely start stalking the lovely people in D.C. about my assigment) crazy right? 

   So that gave me about 5 weeks to completely rap up my life. I had trips planned, people to see, jobs to apply for even all out of the window. Plus I hadn't wrapped my mind around all that needs to be in order for one to just up and leave for two years and not come home to a complete mess upon ones return! 

  I have been so swamped with so much to do. I think though this experience is likened to the old proverbial band-aid rippage... It's all going soooo super fast, but at any slower of a speed and the pain/saddness of leaving would have way more time to sink and stunt my progress. I have episodes of being really sad when I let the feeling of me actually leaving really sink in... but then I realize there is no time for that because I have to write and aspiration statement, contact the DMV, make sure my finances are in order etc... 

   This whole having to learn Spanish is more than just a notion. The Peace Corps ask would I be dedicated to learning the language, and I said yes. They asked if they sent me Rosetta Stone would I dedicate my time before leaving (what time?) to leaning as much of the language as possible. I agreed. So on May 15th (four weeks before I leave) I was sent the Rosetta Stone program along with a charge to dedicate a minimum of 40 hours to the program! Yikes. So that's 10 hours a week. While last month dedicating 10 hours to anything would have been a piece of cake, that is no longer that case! Plus I knew I was still in weddings, still had social obligations, still had sleep to get, shopping to do yikes! Did I mention that they track how long you are on the program? Now I fully intended on using Rosetta Stone. I was/am SO excited, that the Peace Corps has enough faith in me to learn the language I just get nervous with the thought of a meter running. 

    I am going to email the nice folks at the Country Desk and see how many hours I have done. I hope I am half way to my goal. I have also been reading my Spanish books, having conversations with native speakers and watching Univision (which I have since given up until I get my skills up!).  Some days I feel confident. Other days I just hope I don't get played at the end of training lol. 

   I hope I am able to be as diligent in LA as I have been in the Lou. I also found out I leave yet another day earlier. I am leaving on the 15th to  go to Miami, stay over night, have training on the 16th and then we leave on the 17th! I can't believe I'll be in Ecuador for good in a few weeks!

Communications

MAIL

Until I have my own address, I can receive mail at Peace Corps/Ecuador’s post office box: 

Jennifer Covington PCT 

Cuerpo de Paz 

Casilla 17-08-8624

Quito, Ecuador 

South America 

It takes a week to 10 days for a letter from the United States to reach the Peace Corps office by international mail. 

Packages have to go through customs and can be opened and searched therefore, it's recommend that families and friends send only small items and try to keep the weight of any packages under two kilos (4.4 pounds), clearly marking the contents. They should not send anything via couriers such as DHL and Federal Express, which are more expensive than the U.S. Postal Service. 

Packages over 4.4 lbs are expensive to retrieve from customs, and it is a long process that can involve visiting several different cities. They charge just for notifying you, in addition to a daily storage fee. Letters and packages under this weight usually arrive in less than two weeks, but it is not uncommon to receive them opened and sifted through. Using packing envelopes that would be difficult to rip open is highly recommended. 

Telephones 

Peace Corps/Ecuador’s office is located at the following address: 

Av. Granda Centeno # OE 4-250, y Baron de Carondelet, Quito, Ecuador. 

The telephone numbers of the office are 227.6300, 227.2824, 245.5007, or 800.723.282 (toll-free only within Ecuador); the fax number is 227.3763. 

To use these numbers from the United States, you must first dial 011 for access to the international network, 593 for Ecuador (country code), and 2 for Quito. Note that after regular business hours and on weekends and holidays, the person answering the phone is not likely to speak English. 

To reach you in an emergency, your family should call the Office of Special Services at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., at 800.424.8580, extension 1470 (or 202.638.2574 during non-business hours). The Office of Special Services will then contact Peace Corps/Ecuador.