Future racers, take my word on things and do what you want
to do… it will take you 10 months to finally figure it all out and by then you
won’t care anymore… you will look back and laugh. Your route will change
everything.
Bring clothes you wear at home! Really. Most ministry you do
you will do in normal clothes and you are going to feel gross if you are in
quick dry ugly shirts and cargo pants. I brought a bunch of “racer” clothes and
then bought a bunch of stuff in Cambodia at the Russian Market. I would say
bring two crap shirts to work in, and a thick tank if you don’t want a farmers
tan. Bring some work shorts that are longer… and the rest? Honestly, bring what
you like. Bring a skirt you think is cute or a dress you like to wear to
church, if it is too short you can wear leggings. Scarves make all things cute.
I think Nepal was the only country I needed ankle length. Also, you can buy
cute clothes for wicked cheap in countries… Russian market in Phnom Phen had
“H&M” stuff for 3 dollars. I am obsessed with white T’s and I wish I brought
more, when I got some at Christmas I put them in Ziploc bags to save them for
when we left Africa and one for final debrief. Best decision ever. Bring chacos
if you wear them at home, bring sneakers if you work out, but I mostly wore my
flip flops all year. I am so glad I broght my favorite hoodie and jeans.
You can find shampoo and all that everywhere so just
bring small bottles to last you until
you find some. Usually you will get team stuff and save your stuff for debriefs
or travel weekends. I don’t wear makeup so I just had some mascara and eyeliner
that I wore every now and then, some girls wore makeup everyday.
BRING YOUR HAIR STRAIGHTNER. You can laugh now, but you will
thank me. One girl on the squad brought hers and we were bribing her to use it
all the time. At Christmas my teammate got Heidi and I one and I cried. You
will have power, you will want straight hair. Get rid of the bug spray that you
will never use to make room for it.
Nalgeens get GROSS, I didn’t believe it when I read a blog
like this but mine did and its wasted space and I chucked it, just buy bottled
water when you can and reuse the bottle.
I never used my tent… used my sleeping pad a few times…
Get a sleeping pad that is big and comfortable, I sent mine
home in Africa because it was not comfortable and I never used it… wish I had a
comfy one in India and when we slept at airports.
Bring a lot of black underwear.
Bring a lot of Tampax compact…
If you have or can get an iTouch, do it, boredom buster,
wifi when you can find it, movies and iPod all in one. The new ones have a
camera which is cool, especially if you have an SLR.
I got a SLR for the race, and am so glad I did, worth every
dollar. I would also bring a small point and shoot with video for when you
don’t want to haul it around. My team mate Curt fond a backpack with a SLR
compartment in the bottom and laptop place in the side, it was great.
Don’t bring much jewelry, you find TONS of cute, cheap stuff
everywhere, especially Africa.
Get a hard drive. Back up your pictures and music every
month before you travel. Swap movies and workout videos with people. When you
travel I would pack your hard-drive in your big pack so if one gets stolen you
still have all your stuff.
Bring a book or two, you will swap with squad-mates, and
find book stores along the way.
You can get away with a big pillow, small ones are doable
but I wish I had a big one. I never used my sleeping bag liner, I would bring a
sheet, doubles to use at the beach. (we went to a ton of beaches.) Sleeping
bag, make sure its light and comfy.
I did bring a jar of PB and stocked up whenever I could. I
also bright candy that I loved and had it when I was having a “freak-out”
moment.
The only time I used my mess kit was to bucket shower in
Kenya, and the spoon to eat my PB with.
I wish I brought my knitting needles and yarn. You should
bring a good paintbrush (you will get to Africa and your team of 5 will have
two brushes) A garlic press and veggie peeler would have saved me hours. I got
markers and journals in most countries. Oh, bring those headsets to skype with,
trust me. Best thing I brought? Possibly the power strip, it had three THREE
PRONG outlets and two usb jacks. You can get converters in every country for a
dollar, don’t buy them in America.
Your stuff will get lost, broken, stolen, you will get over
it. My team had two working computers and 1 iPod cord for a while and we made
it work. Everything turns into every ones and just accept it now, it will save
you stress and frustration later.
Bring Benydrill for allergies and to sleep on travel days…
you can get all meds for dirt cheap everywhere so don’t stress about bringing a
bunch.
A cell phone! If you have one with a sim slot bring it, some
countries are super cheap to call home.
Everyone is different and countires and ministry sights can
change everything. Don’t stress. My bag started at 54 pounds and when I flew
home it was almost 30.
🙂
