Section 1: GEAR!
Probably one of the smartest things I did was find a waterproof daypack. I think I’m the only one on A-squad who has one, and at one time in the first 3 months of my race I had 3 DSLR cameras and 2 macbooks in my pack when we got caught in a torrential downpour. I have a North Face Hot Shot, it can also be used as a camera bag but it’s not SUPER convenient as such…although, my camera isn’t getting ruined by any rain storms, na’mean? Word. Waterproof.
Bring a sleeping bag, go synthetic because your stuff WILL get wet, even if it’s just because you’re in constantly humid climates for 4 months straight, and it will smell. I ditched mine after month 5, but I needed it all 5 of those first months. I had a flip, on one side it was rated for 35 degrees, on the other side 55 – it was awesome. I'd like to have had it still in the states but shipping stuff home costs money and Africans need sleeping bags, too…so that's where mine is now (forever).
Also, bring a sleeping bag liner, because you can wash that and because it’s awesomely tiny and convenient, so why wouldn’t you? You can make one out of a sheet, though. Fold it in half, sew the bottom and up the side,
voila! $70 saved. I really, really appreciate my actual liner, though, and I’m glad I have it even if the sheet would’ve been cheaper.
*EDIT* – Packing Cubes rule and stuff sacks drool.
By that I mean get packing cubes, they're brilliant and they're like Hermione's never-ending hand bag, you can fit more junk in those things than you can imagine. Stuff sacks make no sense. Buy the cubes. You're welcome.
Pack: Get fitted for your pack by a professional.
I’m going to suggest that you bring a rolling duffle bag the same way my friends suggested that to me, but the romance of backpacking around the world is appealing – I get it, I didn’t listen either.
There have been VERY few times that I couldn’t have just happily rolled my belongings along, but I didn’t listen and you probably wont either –
so get fitted, make sure you can walk around with it FULL for 10 minutes comfortably. You’ll be glad you did, at least at training camp (spoiler alert)…as for the size, choose carefully. you're going to fill your pack – so if you get an 80 liter pack or something, expect to be carrying that weight. Limiting yourself only expands how much you'll get to watch Papa provide for you 🙂
Do NOT skimp on your sleeping pad. I needed mine for 5 months, only had it for 3 because it completely destroyed itself. That’s what I get for saving money, right? Seriously do yourself a favor and get this guy:
Exped Synmat 7 with pump
you will not regret it, and your whole squad will be jealous, and maybe when you’re in Thailand and you're sleeping on a real mattress and you let your teammate who hate sharing beds borrow your awesome sleeping pad for the month because her's doesn't work anymore, she will be forever thankful (thank you, Caroline Player!)
I literally slept on a concrete floor inside my tent for a week in Cambodia before I spent $15 USD on a tiny, almost useless foam pad. Waste of money, if only I'd just paid the $140 for a bomb sleeping pad, I wouldn't have had to spend 3 months blowing my mattress up 5 times a night.
Pillow – I have a travel pillow, it's worked, but I'm not picky about the pillow really…plus I have a stuffed animal to supplement it when I really need to. Some people prefer a full-sized pillow…if that's you, bring one. you'll have to move it 11 times so you can sleep on it for 11 months…is it REALLY that big a hassle? probably not, if you really want it.
Actually, that rule applies to everything…just don't apply it to everything, know what I mean?
Tent – don’t go super expensive, but don’t go super cheap. I’ve only had to use mine as a bug net excluding training camp and the 3 days we had at the Nile in Jinja, Uganda where I camped by choice to enjoy some alone time 🙂 you’ll understand soon. Get as much mesh as possible because most people have race routes that leave ‘em in the heat for a long time. Just don’t forget your rainfly because you probably would prefer to have the option of privacy…and protection from the rain…
Section 2: Electronics (mostly)
Procure and iPod Touch or plan to bring your iPhone (but don’t bother jail-breaking it). At train stations/bus stations/coffee shops/in passing it’s a lot easier and safer to pull out a hand-held device and download your emails than it is to pull out your laptop.
And PLEASE don’t bother buying a netbook for the race. It’ll probably break, it wont pick up wifi as well as the macs around you, and you’ll fill up its memory super fast (especially if you’re taking pictures). I brought my macbook air, my logic board failed in the beginning of month 3, I have a super cool story about how the Lord honored my desire to write and take pictures this year by repairing it and sending it back to me fo' free. Ask me if you want, or just know the Lord is faithful…and bring your computer.
If you have a DSLR or some other kind of pseudo-nice – actually nice camera, bring it. I've seen Mount Everest and Mount Kilimanjaro. I've seen the Nile and slept in a loft overlooking the beaches of Zanzibar. I've hiked mountains in Nepal and run around some of the most fascinatingly beautiful cities in the world. I'm so, so thankful for the months I was able to capture some of those images – you will wish you had your nice camera if you don't bring one.
Bring your own travel adapters and a mini-power strip. Every team I’ve been on has used mine, and knowing I had it on travel days (and every other day) made my life moderately easier. if you want to get the ones I brought, click the photos:
If you’ve got money to blow, star power. You’ll wanna have a silent disco (dance party where the only people who can hear the music are the ones with it in their headphones – often a great idea on airplanes and bus stops). If you don’t have money to blow, a headphone splitter is nice, but isn’t an absolute necessity.
External hard drive. Don’t skip over it and pretend you don’t need one, you do. A little-known benefit of the world race is that you will likely go home with about 300 movies (I have over 450…) and easily 10+gigs of music that you didn’t own before, but not if you don’t have a hard drive to put it on.
(MISTAKE: A lot of my squadmates and I got the LaCie rugged hard drives because you can literally run those guys over with a truck and your information is safe – which is great – but the connection point is terribly cheap and everyone’s has broken. I gave my hard drive to some 20-something year old Africans who took it apart, spliced my wire, connected all the right stuff, and glued it in place so it works and I have my info back…but it clearly wasn’t worth getting the “rugged” hard drive).
Kindle: do it. I don’t care how old-fashioned and cool you are because you “just love the feel of books.” I understand, I really do. but books are freakin heavy and a series might come out like the Hunger Games while you’re gone and you will be SOL and have no idea what’s happening on facebook/twitter/pintrest/earth because you’ll have no way to read said series. you're a missionary, not a monk. I read it in 4 days in early March, because I have a Kindle. I also have like 6 actual books with me, and they’re heavy, and I can’t bring myself to drop them because I want them when I get home…but I wish I just had them on my Kindle in the first place.
Several pairs of headphones, at least one with a microphone for skype. I brought 3 pairs and have had to buy 2 more anyway (stuff breaks and/or goes a-missin’ sometimes, such is life).
That said, I also have my ESV study Bible – it weighs 4 kilos, I learned during my last travel day. I’d still bring it, I’m glad I have it, I love the history of scripture and the original languages and I haven’t had wifi all the time (shocking, I know) so I have loved having that resource.
I do have a personal sized Bible with me, as well. I didn’t count those in my list of books. My pack is heavier than it needs to be because I insist on carrying these books, I understand this.
Section 3: Clothing
All I have to say about clothing is this:
Pack your own clothes. If you always dress like an REI Outlet mannequin , fine, bring all your REI clothes. If you wear khaki capris and tunic tops and cardigans, bring those. If you live in jeans, a fitted band t-shirt, and chuck taylors…bring those. You’re not going camping for a weekend, you are moving for a year. Plan to look like yourself, because you'll want to. Also plan to lose any/all of the clothing you launch with…because it'll probably get destroyed, but you'll still be glad you had it.
-LITERALLY pack everything you think you need, and then cut it in half. You’ll either do that at home or you’ll do it before month 6 when you get tired of your 50lb bag.
-Women – bring leggings.
-Men – bring pants. In a lot of cultures you wont be considered an adult if you’re wearing shorts, in some cultures that’s only true at church – but unless you would like entire countries to consider you a boy who can’t grow up, try to have a pair of pants all year. Now, if you're thinking, "I don't care what people think," consider that it isn't about someone judging you and how you think that's wrong…it's about respecting the culture you're in and the pastor or organization you're with by representing THEM well and acclimating to the culture of the people you're serving, it's about your witness. don't get cocky, just put on some pants and deal with the sweat for your 4 hours of ministry. you can do it, I promise. MAN UP.
-Otherwise, DO look up the weather for your route. Yes, it is subject to change – but the truth is that you will drop and pick up clothes all year partially out of necessity (because your clothes will be in shambles/disgusting) and partially because the cultural clothes and even normal clothes you find will be MUCH cheaper than what you’d find in the states. I started in Eastern Europe (you know, close to Russia) in the fall, it quickly became freezing cold. I’m glad I brought pants and long-sleeved shirts/sweaters for the first few months, but now even most of the t-shirts I had left have been cut into tank tops. I even dropped my north face fleece (WHAT?! Yeah, I did. Gave it away in Africa).
just for fun…because you never know what you'll find yourself wearing when it's 30 degrees fahrenheit at 3pm, but that's what we wore.
-Lastly, ladies: Spanks. Seriously. I don’t know why I didn’t, but I didn’t, and I should have. Leggings are good, but I’m not always tryina look like I’m wearing a Punjabi (although, sometimes I for sure was…like when I was actually wearing a Punjabi) but sometimes I just wanna be able to wear a dress and not worry about it flying up – because sometimes when I wanna wear a dress (which takes up less space as an entire outfit in a pack than anything else), I have to randomly pick up 60lbs of gear (okay maybe less than that, but I do have a guitar out here) and hike somewhere, or crawl through a tiny space to get to ministry, or 8 small children are going to encircle me and insist that I play some kind of game where I end up doing a cartwheel, or get on the back of a motorcycle with sometimes two other people to get to the grocery store (these things are normal on the world race). The moral of the story being that dresses are convenient and are a brilliant way to still feel feminine on the race…but you’re still on the world race, so be prepared and be comfortable, wear spanks under them. You must bring spanks in order to do that. So bring spanks on the race.
Section 4: a traveling first aid kit/medicine cabinet?
You may want:
Cipro (it’s not just for traveler’s diahr…ew. When my team got Typhoid in Cambodia, we were prescribed 1 cipro 3 times a day for 10 days, supposedly that’s what cured us, but it can be used for a lot of stuff), tylenol, airborne/emergen-C packets, chewable pepto, Dramamine (I learned on the race that I get super bad motion sickness…or maybe I just started getting motion sick on the race, either way, I didn’t have enough Dramamine and I’ve suffered because of it), a sleep aid (you'll change time zones and time schedules a lot, your body will get thrown off, you may want the help every now and then), cold/flu medicine – just OTC stuff you may need to take once in a year at home, don’t go overboard…I absolutely did, but you don't need to. I'm still glad I did, but I'm a little odd.
hydrocortisone (you will get bit by a thousand mosquitos [properly pronounced “mo-skwee-toes,” as I learned in Africa] and some strange spiders and maybe some other things…I mean seriously, I'm on the 3rd floor of an air conditioned building and I'm getting bit by mosquitos in my bed right now), Neosporin, bandaids, hand sanitizer (you can find this almost anywhere in the world – stock up for Africa, but otherwise you’re good). otherwise…bring some scissors and scotch tape, keep them both in your pack because some airlines have very strange rules about tape.
Section 4A: Malaria Meds.
As for Malaria medicine – seriously pray about it. I was on doxy, I got malaria, I had no idea I had it (one teammate felt sick, my team leader did not, but both got the blood test because it cost $2 and sick-teammate didn’t want to do it alone, then they both tested positive, so then we all got tested and half the team had malaria and had no idea. it was also the day before my birthday. happy 23rd, you have malaria? thanks a million, Africa, it was unforgettable).
If you are NOT on malaria medication, you will feel the symptoms sooner – when you start to feel symptoms, go to the doctor and get some pills that you take for 3 days that make you all better. If you wait longer, you’ll end up on an IV. I haven’t taken my malaria meds for the past 4 ½ months and I’ve been in malaria-risk countries and I’ve been fine – plus I haven’t had to deal with the negative side effects of doxy (heightened sensitivity to the sun…do you have any idea how close Malaysia is to the equator? Real close. hello, lobster face? no, thank you).
It may seem counter-intuitive, but I seriously would’ve left the meds at home. None of them prevent malaria, they just lessen the symptoms – which in my case would’ve meant completely covering the symptoms until I needed an IV (which 3 of my teammates and my squad leader did need, for 2 days minimum each).
Section 5: Completely random?
Earplugs. I brought 150 pairs (which is just what comes in a new box of the kind I use, don’t think I’m crazy) I have like 20 pairs left, but I’d rather have extra than not enough. They’re a saving grace. Plus, for travel days and any other days that you may be sharing a sleeping space with others (which will be every single day of the race, so don’t expect otherwise), I suggest an eye mask. If you’ve discovered the magic of light-canceling curtains in the states, consider a good eye mask the world race equivalent.
Tea Tree essential oil. Deters lice, disinfects an entire load of laundry with 2 drops, dries up acne, kills body odor bacteria, refreshes clothing, smells awesome…and deters lice. When we worked at the special needs orphanage in India, I was the ONLY female on 2 teams working together not to get lice. I was also obsessed with tea tree oil, keeping my hair up, and not napping on the beds at the orphanage.
If you’re into oils, I also suggest peppermint for nausea (seriously), almond oil to cut the tea tree and make it less intense for some uses, lavender/rosemary to relax yourself (among their other uses), and thieves for when ya sick! also, shout out – Shay Isaacs, thanks for educating me on the uses of essential oils this year.
Ziploc bags. store all kinds of crap in them before launch plus pack extras, you'll use them eventually or someone else will need them.
Toiletries:
I have three 3oz liquid soap container THINGS (they're "Go Toobs") that are awesome, I store body wash, shampoo, and face wash in them – that plus a single travel-sized toothpaste gets me through every travel "day" involving a flight. Not all airlines internationally care about liquids, but most do, so be prepared and you'll thank me when you randomly have a 16 hour layover and you get to wash your face/hair in the sink at the airport and suddenly feel like you participated in the whole day that elapsed while you were in transit.
Ladies, I brought a single package of bobby pins and a single package of hair ties and put them in a ziploc in my toiletry kit…I still have at least half of them (so now I've disproven my theory that they walk away on their own at home). and some girls brought straighteners and curling irons. I've used them on occasion, it was nice. I wouldn't have brought my own but if you want to – do. don't let fear of being "that girl" stop you, we appreciate "that girl" very much on nights we get to dress up and go to dinner!!
Nail polish crosses all language barriers, just sayin.
As far as toiletries go – don't bring more than a month's supply, it'll just weigh you down. If your team can't afford to buy team toiletries, you'll have yours, but a lot of times the team budget can swing it and if not you'll be able to find it…except stick deodorant, which I've found in like 3 countries (one of them being Tanzania).
Section 6: Budget.
It is likely that you already know that you will not be makin' it rain for the next 11 months – if you weren't
aware, now you are.
The race has evolved a lot. A lot of teams spend a lot of time closer to major cities, airport food is outrageously priced all over the world, and unexpected expenses come up.
The race recommended we budget about $100/month…I would budget at least twice that, honestly.
That way you're under some months, maybe over some months, but if something comes up, you know it's taken care of. don't be afraid to fundraise for some pocket cash – people legitimately DO want to support missions work, they want you to eat and get medical treatment and, yes, sometimes replace your tattered clothing with something new or give you some extra cash to get something for your birthday…open a PayPal account and get it goin'.
You'll be provided for, absolutely, don't question that! I just wish I'd anticipated a more realistic figure when considering how much personal money I'd spend this year.
I didn't have the money I spent this year until I needed it. You will not go without – but if you have an expendable income and want to raft the Nile ($100-$150) and fly around Everest ($100-$150?), or do other cool things in the countries you're going to, etc. budget for it.
Just a heads up.
So…that's not exhaustive, but that's the advice I can think of off the top of my head. I've got another one cookin' about life on the field (mostly life with your team/squad), but feel free to leave a comment or email me questions – I seriously LOVE answering them!!
Hope that helps!!
