I have made it one year!!

I arrived in Morocco on September 15th, 2010, one year ago exactly! On this special occasion I thought that I'd revisit how I packed, having no idea what I was getting into at the time. I've broken it into three fun lists, with notes at the end.

Things I'm so happy I brought:
-A set of sheets! They're hard to find here and I have never seen fitted sheets. This is definitely at the VERY top of the list, plus it doesn't take up much space. *********
-Good nail clippers/tweezers (Mother- I've managed not to lose these for an entire year! Aren't you proud?!)
-Lots of floss. It's good for a whole lot of things, not just teeth. (hotel room clothes lines, etc.)
-Hair brush. They don't have them here. They have little no-handled, bristled things that look like they're for my cat.
-Lots of deodorant. They sell it here, but not a wide selection, and only at the supermarkets. -I don't live anywhere near any supermarket.
-One of those travel soap cases!!!******
-Tons and tons of hair elastics and bobby pins.
-This is a “Happy I Didn't bring it” one: Books! The Peace Corps library is stocked! No sense wasting space on them. M'Hamed the librarian will send you anything your heart desires.
-A bath towel and a hand towel. I actually forgot these at first but got one from Sally from her's and my dad's apt in DC right before leaving.
-A sewing kit
-Duct tape! I actually didn't bring it, though I was advised to, because I thought it was too heavy, but the volunteer I replaced left a roll and I don't know what I'd do without it. White medical tape is also really sticky and won't take paint off.

Things I wish I hadn't wasted luggage space on:
-Shampoo. There's shampoo readily available here of fine brands
-Sleeping bag. It takes up so much space and sure, it's useful when visiting cold places, but so far in a year it hasn't made itself useful enough to make me forget how annoying it was to drag across the Atlantic and then across the country. I'll leave it here when I leave, for sure.
-Hand sanitizer. I brought 3 big bottles and don't ever use it. I know I probably should take little bottles with me when I'm out but I don't. I wash with soap, if available.
-AA Batteries. I don't know what I was thinking not bringing rechargeables.
-Sunscreen. It's in the med kit. You really don't need to bring any medicine, including vitamins.
-Baby wipes. Sure they're convenient when bathing isn't an option, but once they're gone, they're gone and you learn to live without them. Plus they're wasteful.

Things I wish I'd brought (or brought more of):
-Hair Shears. My home hair cuts are great but would be better with proper scissors
-Conditioner. People don't use it and I guess I'm high maintenance and have to use hair conditioner.
-Scotch tape dispenser. I know this is a weird one but it would make my life with scotch tape a lot easier. I use tape at the Dar Chebab for sticking stuff on the walls.
-Winter clothes! Or at least a proper coat. 30 degrees is cold, especially without heat and I don't know that I would have made it through the winter without the stuff my predecessor, Melanie, left behind.
-Jeans!! I have been going through them like crazy! One volunteer who's been here longer told me it's because all the squatting for the squat toilets wears out the fabric faster. I don't know, but I currently don't have ANY casual jeans left.
-Travel size bottles of shampoo/conditioner/moisturizer that I can refill. It's a pain lugging full size bottles around.
-A bathing suit. I figured I wouldn't need it, being in a Muslim country where I have to remain pretty covered, but those tourists are dressed all trashy on the coast and I could be one of them if I had a bathing suit.
-Outlet converters. They get lost pretty easily.
-A little photo album with family pictures. People would love to see what my family looks like.

I sort of wish I'd brought more clothes in general. I spent a lot of my luggage space on mountains of toiletries- soaps, shampoo, etc. and really could have used some more clothes.

Winner of Best Travel Item
A fancy fluffy only-for-the-guest-bathroom!-hand towel that your mother probably wouldn't want you to take out of the house. Why? It's great for short term traveling because it's small, but, believe it or not, can and will dry your whole body and hair and still not be soaking wet. By now I don't think my mother would permit it in any bathroom, especially not the guest bathroom because it's been so heavily used that it's kind of gray and dirty looking...but it still fluffs up even being dried on a clothes line. I don't have a camp towel and while all the all volunteers talk about how 'fast drying' they are, every single one I've encountered smells AWFUL. When you pack a wet towel, “camp” or otherwise, it's going to smell. Plus this towel makes a great pillow against the window on bus rides.

Forget bringing any kind of water purification device. If it's necessary for your region, PC will provide it. If it's not and you're getting sick, man up or boil your water.

Long Term/short Term bag:
So Peace Corps asks us to pack two bags for traveling: a short term bag for the period when we're in training, living with host families; and a long term bag that will be kept in storage until we travel to our final sites. What do I need for the first three months and not the rest of the time!? I had no idea. I basically packed all my clothes in the short term and some of my toiletries and put the rest in storage. I was pretty accurate, I think. The only thing I would change is that even if I like to sleep in little shorts and a tank top, while living with a host family all I wore was one conservative set of pajamas. Never assume that people won't bust into your room at all hours of the night. Privacy is not a Moroccan concept as I understand it. All my tank top/undershirt kind of things plus cotton shorts should have gone in the long term bag. So short term bag should have clothes and toothbrush, one tube of toothpaste, bottles of shampoo/conditioner, 2 bars of soap, deodorant, and bath towel. That's it.

1 year down, 14.5 Months To Go!!