Note: This is not another “you-should-pack-this” blog. There are so many great ones written already. Read them! Seriously, they are a huge help! Do your homework. Get a feel for what other racers say has (not) worked for them. Many of the packing blogs are written by racers still on the field. Therefore, you are getting some incredible in-sight, first-hand, from the ones who know it best.
However, after you have…
…read through a whole slew of them – some of my favorites are linked below
…made some crucial decisions – “To Chaco or not to Chaco??”
…written out your initial list of do’s and don’ts – mine was about 3 pages, typed
…done the math – “If my backpack weighs 50% of my body weight…is that sustainable?”
…realized only 10% of the list might actually fit in your backpack – “Maybe backpacks do come in 150L sizes…”
…chances are you are feeling super overwhelmed!
DO NOT PANIC!
We have all been there. Take a break. Sit up out of the fetal position and remember these very important points.
- Everyone has a different race.
In your quest to find the perfect packing list, did you notice some of the information was contradictory? “Bring tanks!” “You will never be able to wear tanks. Leave them at home!” “Don’t bring Toms. I sent mine home.” “I wear my Toms all the time.” Sound familiar? No, we aren’t trying to confuse you and passively push you into hyperventilating. The reason each packing blog is different is because each racer and his/her experience is different.
Different Experiences: I have been on the race for almost 8 months now. I have yet to use my tent. Some of my squad-mates however have spent more months sleeping in a tent than not. We signed up for the same countries, but we got sent to some very different sites with different amenities.
Different Racers: There are 2 girls (Jourdan and Sarah) I have been on a team with since day one. We have traveled to all of the same sites together. Last month, we were in Cambodia. Jourdan used her hammock for a few nights before she moved inside and slept on a couch. Technically, she didn’t need a tent or hammock at that point, just a pillow and blanket. Sarah had a tent, but instead of dealing with the extra work of putting it up and taking it down every night due to the circumstances, she used my hammock. Now, I could have pulled out my tent and sleeping pad, but being ridiculous me, I opted out and spent my nights rotating between sleeping on a wooden coffee table, a wooden bench, and an actual bed. I don’t claim logic in this particular situation. It’s about the principle: same place, different needs, different blogs.
Which leads me to my next point…
- Know yourself!
In the last example, I was fine spending some nights sleeping on a bench. Even though there were way more comfortable options available, I was super content. (At the time, the ground itself would have been fine.) However, if you are reading this and are like “No Way! Not me! I would hate sleeping on the ground every night for a year!” not only would you be more normal than me, you probably would want to be sure to pack a sleeping pad.
Take your packing time as an opportunity to learn more about yourself: likes, dislikes, must-haves and can-live-withouts. Sometimes things that are most “you” are the things you use the most. My teammate brought watercolor pencils because she is super artsy. It’s her. It’s what she likes to do. And it’s her favorite thing she brought. It wasn’t on any packing blog; it was just her.
Side Note: This year is going to be a growing year if you want/let it. Knowing yourself is huge, but leave space (both physically in your pack, and also in yourself) to grow and explore and experience new things! Living in the WR community, you will get to learn all about who you are as a person. Why not get a jumpstart?
Which reminds me…
- You are going to be living in a community.
We share pretty much everything here: clothes, food, stories, memories, lives, the whole nine-yards. Rarely do we encounter a need among us that can’t be filled. Once a need is seen, there is a whole team, a whole squad, a whole community of people there to fill it. From Q-tips, to band-aids, to T-Shirts, to more, we all live together and support one another together. If I can’t get to the store and buy shampoo for a couple days, I live with 5-6 other girls on the daily that I can borrow from whenever.
Speaking of stores…
- Stores are everywhere!
You forgot something at home?? No worries! Shopping abroad is legit. Did you know that Walmart exists outside the US? I didn’t, but surprise, it does! So do a lot of the name brands you love and are used to (although the prices are generally higher). And other than Walmart, there are Tescos and generic supermarkets and the malls…wow! (Just Google “Terminal 21 in Bangkok.”) Even the months you do ministry in the more remote places, 9 times out of 10, if an emergency or McD’s-withdrawal occurs, there is an outlet for it.
But better than the stores are the local markets. These are everywhere! Fresh fruits and veggies, souvenirs, and the clothes! Thai pants for $4? Yes, please! Tanks, sandals, sarongs? Why, of course! “When in Rome…” right? Basically, one trip to the market can have you decked out in an outfit worthy of an Instagram photo (#worldraceattire)
If you’re more of a patient person, I’ve got 2 words for you: Free Piles. These start at the end of Month 1 and are pretty much present at the end of every month thereafter. We have just traveled to meet back up with the whole squad. We carried our bags loaded down with what we brought and what we bought. The realization is that we packed things we no longer want or need. Free piles are full of gems and the best part, it’s donated and given away fo-free!
- People live where you are going.
It might sound obvious, but I had to remind myself of this often. (If you’re judging me…I’ve already admitted to sleeping on a coffee table over a bed. Are you really surprised?) A lot of places you will do ministry this year are in third-world countries and/or the poorest areas of that country. But…we are never sent to places where people, communities, cultures, aren’t living. In fact, some of these places have had people living in them long before the good ‘ole USA was even discovered! (Now those are some cool cultures!)
My point is: you are going to have access to everything you need to survive. Last month, I ran out of my stick of deodorant so I got some local stuff. It was plumeria-scented and in an aerosol can. I figured I could at least try it. It couldn’t hurt. So I did, and the worst-case-scenario happened: I didn’t like it. Being on a tight budget, I felt as though I should at least use it up. After a month of misfires and occasional taste of flowers in my mouth, I finally finished it off. Yesterday, I went to the store and splurged. I bit the bullet and paid the extra $1 for a stick of deodorant. Granted, you might not always find the brand name you are used to, but if you’re worried, you can either bring it (and leave something else behind, see below) OR you can look at it as an opportunity to try a new brand (and if you’re lucky, you’ll get a story out of it too).
- Everything is a trade-off.
You are dealing with a pre-defined amount of space. If you want to bring 3 pairs of jeans, you might have to cut the number of skirts you are taking in half. If you want to bring that brick from the corner of your house to remind you of home, do it! (It’ll make for a great team time of show-and-tell.) You just might have to sacrifice your tent-poles. What do you want more? What do you want the most? This goes back to knowing yourself.
- Everything has a weight.
You are also dealing with a pre-defined weight limit. American airlines have one standard, international airlines have another. You can certainly bring more than the limit, but it’ll cost you a pretty penny. In connection with that, don’t forget the WR commandment 4 ¾: What thou bringest, thou must carry. So even if the airlines say, “Special Deal: No Weight Limits” (which they won’t), you still have to carry your pack.
Most months, but certainly not all (Tip: search “Un-Sung Hero” months), you arrive to your ministry site, drop your bag, and don’t move it until the end of the month. But then travel days come around and they are known to be full of buses, trains, planes, and a lot of walking. (My “favorites” are when you have to get out of the comfy bus to carry your bags through customs and across the border. For some reason, it especially likes to rain those days…) Each month, I plot out the things that won’t make it to the next travel day. (This is clearly how the “Free Piles” were first invented.)
Side Note: I have found travel bottles to be my main weight saver. In previous months, I’ve split a bigger bottle of shampoo with my team, and then before we leave countries or fly over oceans, I’ll fill up my travel size. That way I’m covered going into the next country but not carrying all the extra weight.
MOST IMPORTANTLY
- Remember your mission!
You are going around the world to show Love in its rawest, truest form. You are a window to show God to people desperate for hope and answers. When you arrive at launch, the hours spent worrying over what to bring are forgotten in the moments you are reunited one-by-one with your WR family. When you pick up that 2 year old boy every day for a month from the abandon train station, and 50% of the times, he isn’t wearing any clothes…the only thing that matters in those moments is that you have been given the arms to wrap around him and to show him Love. The stuff at home, the things in your pack, don’t exist. I don’t remember what I wore the day I went to the nursing home, but I do remember the look in the woman’s eyes when I told her she was loved by God. It’s not about what we bring or what we wear, it’s about the mission!
My heart in sharing this is so that you don’t loss focus and get overwhelmed to the point of tears. (I cried a few times.) By switching our focus up, instead of at the countless piles forming, we can find rest and peace. Ultimately then, what we bring with us on this journey is a blessing, not a burden. If you forget something, God will provide. If you need something, He will provide that too. Start learning to trust Him now. He will become your point-person and ultimately your life-line on this journey and for the rest of your life.
In conclusion…
- Don’t sweat it! – If you go to Southeast Asia in the summertime, there will be plenty of time for that.
- Do your research – If you want to bring a tent, find recommendations by racers by reading all the packing blogs. Helping out future racers is why we write them.
- Find out what countries have dress codes. Plan accordingly – If a country calls for women to wear long skirts, certainly bring one or two. (Recommendation: leave all the “extras” and “just-in-cases” behind. Remember, if the country of Whoville says that everyone there must wear a Who-Hat, there will be stores in Whoville that sell the authentic Who-Hats. Besides, if you wait to buy some of the extra things abroad, you’ll have a collection of whosits, whatits, thingamabobs, and Thai pants from all over the world!)
- Cover your bases initially – It may be a few days before you can get to the market and find that perfect sarong to be your towel for the next year. The Solution: bring some basic things you aren’t super attached to like tanks, tees, pants, towel, etc. That way, when you find that must-have item in the market, you can swap it out with something generic and ditch the extra weight!
- LIVE your “real” life – WR life is crazy, but it’s our new normal. We go out to eat some nights. We go to the movies and malls. We hang out in both big cities and in rural ones. Some nights, we get dressed up. We put on make-up. It’s us being vagabonds…but we are still us.
- Have fun! – You’ll be packing up a minimum of 11 more times in the next year.
Grab your passports and get ready for an adventure!
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” 1 Peter 1:3
Packing Blogs:
http://brittanycantrell.theworldrace.org/?filename=ultimate-race-packing-list-for-girls
