HI Ya’ll! This is an email from Laura F concerning packing posted on team b’s site…
What did you do for ‘purses’, to carry money etc?… There were two different approaches. One was having a big pack, a small pack, and a small purse just big enough for what you have to have with you. Another was to have a big pack and a “day pack” where you could carry more of what you needed for the day and pack it full for travelling. I preferred having a big pack, small pack, and small purse. I found that I didn’t need to carry that much stuff with me every day, and if for some reason I did, then I could empty out the small pack.
How much money do you think we need for spending for the year? … That’s the million dollar question. It depends on your personality a lot. Casey is an experienced missionary who is very much a minimalist. She might have spent $500 personal this year. Maybe not even that much. Sisson is a girly girl whose old life was materialistic and who had a lot of people specifically ask her to pick stuff up for them around the world. She probably spent a few thousand. I generally budgetted $100 per month personal money. Sometimes you’ll spend more. Sometimes you’ll spend less. Again… it really depends on your personality. Don’t bring any cash with you… exchange rates suck. More on that later.
How should we budget? For the team or for your personal money? Team: See if you can get our financial records from this past year. Especially blue team… they had a fairly consistent budget that worked fairly often. I would email Chad or Casey and get their budget for team stuff. For personal… again it depends on you. Inside my personal budget I included extra internet money, treats (McDonalds, ice cream, seeing a movie… homesickness cures), and souvenirs. Also… be sure you have some kind of emergency fund. My beautiful parents covered my one hospital visit this year… but if you don’t have that then make sure you set aside some for that from personal money. Healthcare is cheap comparatively…. I was only about $100 in Kenya for everything. But something to consider. Also… shipping stuff home. Again… cheap comparatively… but you’re not going to want to carry all your stuff all year. So budget an extra $50 maybe every 3 months or so.
What did you do for money – cash, debit, credit cards? debit card. Like I said… DO NOT BRING CASH! #1, it’s easy to get stolen and there’s no way to get it back like when you call your bank and cancel a card… #2, exchange rates on cash is horrible and you can really only get exchanges at border crossings. credit cards are not a bad idea in case something happens to your debit. Go for Visa or Mastercard debit and credit cards… they really are accepted everywhere.
How many bags did you bring – the pack and another smaller book backpack or something? … At the end… which was what worked best… I had my big backpack, a school sized book backpack that I wore on the front, and a small purse. Much more than that and you won’t make it through airports without having to pay for luggage overage.
How much will we have electricity? … More than you would think. India not so much… it’s there but inconsistent. Kenya is kinda inconsistent. Usually if we were camping or roughing it we would have some kind of outlet within walking distance even. Be prepared to do without electricity… as in don’t rely on it for anything… but also be prepared for when you have it. It’s a nice convenience.
Should we bring international adapters/converters? Definitely. At least a few per team if not everyone have their own. Between the abundance of laptops, ipods, and all kinds of junk we needed multiple adapters. Be sure you have a plug converter and a voltage converter. Circuit City sells a really good set.
