The infamous packing list

My overall advice for packing
Pack as little as possible - you'd be surprised what you can find in country. However, pack what you need; things that you use on a regular basis and wouldn't want to leave behind for 2 yrs. Include items that are you. I wish I had brought a few more of my favorite rare DVDs and books that other PCVs are unlikely to have brought. Some PCV packing lists separate items based on varying degrees of necessity; the best advice I recieved was to pack the absolutely necessary and the luxury items while leaving out much of the items in the middle (namely clothes). You can buy most of the day to day items here cheaper (sometimes substitutes to what you're used to). Electronics are expensive and hard to find as is your favorite

Essentials
18 passport photos
$200 traveler’s checks (having some US$ to exchange can also be really useful; $20 bills work well)

copies of passport, credit cared, etc. (also left a copy with Mom)

Clothing
Note: you can find a lot of cheap used clothing (good pants/capris can be difficult) and you can get clothes made, so pack light in this area. Bring clothes you are comfortable wearing. They say ‘business casual’ for training; it’s not really necessary unless you are a business volunteer living in a city – a couple nice outfits (i.e. skirt/pants, button up shirt) are good (remember, you can always get clothes made locally). Some PCVs really appreciate a shirt or two for wearing to clubs in Dakar and/or regional parties – it’s nice to dress up after wearing village clothes for a long time. My favorite clothing item is a pair of light, durable pants that I wear both in the village and traveling. I feel more comfortable and can do more things in pants than skirts, but many female PCVs like to wear skirts, especially in the hot season.
Bandanas (2)
Dress
Hat
Jeans (1pr)
Light pants (3prs)
Light sleeping pants
Rain jacket
Running shorts
Shirts (a few nice shirts, tank-tops, t-shirts are easy and cheap to buy here)
Skirts (2 comfortable, long skirts)
Socks (3pr; wish I had brought more for running)
Sweatshirt (it gets cold here at night during the cool season & I loved having my fav. Sweatshirt) Swimsuit
Cotton underwear (I brought 16 pr; glad I did b/c the elastic wears out fast)
Bras (4 – they wear out fast; I’m having another 2 sent)

Shoes
Chacos (1 old; 1 new pr – note: PCVs can get a discount; drop me an email and I can send you the order form)
Running shoes
Note: you can buy cheap flip-flops just about anywhere

Kitchen
Candy that I will miss
Gatorade pouches
Camel pouch that fits in my backpack (glad I brought it; but haven’t used it that often yet)
Nalgene bottles (2)
Spice packets
Spices
Tupperware
Ziploc bags (nice ones that can be reused)

Books/journals
Nat. Audubon Soc. African Wildlife (I looked everywhere for a more detailed field guide for West Africa or Senegal; let me know if you find one - this guide offers a rough idea of some of the animals you might encounter)
Birds of Western Africa (This guide is alright; but if you are going anywhere near Senegal or The Gambia the paperback of A Field Guide to Birds of The Gambia and Senegal just came out and is a great reference)
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing the Harmonica
French dictionary
Behavioral Endocrinology textbook (yes, I’m a geek, but oh so happy that I can feed that side of my brain)
Picture album to share
Picture album for me
2 journals, 2 pocket notebooks (moleskin)
Planner (2005-2007)
A couple good novels

Electronics
Note: I found a great flexible solar panel with the same 12V adaptor that you would find in your car. I then found the car accessory for charging my ipod, an adaptor that converts the 12V to an US outlet for my battery charger, and bought a car cellphone charger in country. There is rarely a shortage of sun here, so I can listen to all of the radio and ipod I can handle… while reading with my headlamp at night. I spent copious amounts of time finding electronics that all worked together. It is worth obtaining these items a ways in advance of your departure so that you can test them out (especially the solar panels)... I spent the last few days scrambling to find a battery charger that would reliably charge batteries with my solar panel.
Blank cd-r’s for saving digital photos and mailing back to the states
Battery charger (Lenmar NiMH/NiCd Charger)

Eagle Creek multi-function travel clock (REI)
Camera (Canon PowerShot A510 – takes AA batteries)
Dry bag (to store electronics; similar to this)
Extra wrist watch and alarm clock batteries (2 ea)
Headlamp with LED bulbs (one of the best items I brought)
Ipod (photo; 20GB; w/lilipod case I like this case b/c it is indestructable; if you have a newer ipod and want to drop a few more bucks, the otterbox is clearly superior – this ipod helps me keep my sanity!)
Mini mp3 player w/microphone (creative muvo; great for recording local music, oral diary, and listening to while running)
Rechargeable batteries (14 AA, 4 AAA, 4 9V – for speaker/NiMH are best and are environmentally friendly, for more info click here; NiCd are not. It's important to check for the capacity; I believe that the highest for AA right now is 2500mAh)
Shortwave radio (Grundig G1000A AM/FM)
Solar charger (6.5W; I found mine on Amazon, but they are no longer selling it; as far as I can tell its nearly identical to sunlinq. Even if you do end up at a site that has electricity - if its anything like Senegal - the power not only goes out often, but the voltage will fluctuate and can ruin some electronics; using the solar charger is one way to deal with that.)
Spare flashlight bulbs
Speakers (great for listening to music in the hut; I would recommend speakers that don’t need batteries or that take AA – mine take 9V which don’t recharge as well and are expensive to buy)

Favorite DVDs (most regional houses here have a TV/DVD player and many volunteers bring their laptops)
Laptop (I didn’t bring one, but they can be very useful for typing emails and other documents instead of spending precious time and money in a cyber café – you can hook up to most cyber cafes with an Ethernet cable. Even if you don’t have electricity, it’s generally fairly easy to charge in town – or use a solar charger.)

Tools, etc.
Binoculars
Flat sheet (sewn into bag)
Carabineers (always come in handy)
Combination locks (2)
Duct tape
Leatherman
Pocket knife
Stone to sharpen knifes
Thermarest
Thermarest chair sleeve (REI)

Office
Scotch tape
Sewing kit
Stamps (US for sending letters back w/visitors)
Mini stapler (and staples)
Accordian style folder (great for training)
Index cards (useful for learning language)
Maps (Senegal and World)
Poster of mountains and snow to decorate my hut
pencils, pens, etc. (even just bic pens are great to have here; most pens I've bought in Senegal die after 5 min)
plastic document/file folders (great for hanging photos and lists on my walls)

Toiletries
Burt’s shampoo bar, face soap, and body soap
Cortisone cream (useful, but supplied by PC)
Deodorant (it’s difficult to find solid stick deodorant here)
Ear plugs
Echinacea
Good pair of scissors
Hair-cutting scissors
Hand sanitizer
Loofah
Lotion
Nail clippers
Pack towel (I’ve found this essential – the towels here are the non-absorbent variety – but many PCVs use cotton fabric)
Pepto-bismol tablets
Razor/razor blades
Small bottle scented oils (nice for bucket baths)
Sunglasses (2pr)
Sunscreen (PC supplies this)
Tampons
The Keeper (excellent feminine product; for more info click here)
Toothbrush/toothpaste (easily found in country)

Miscellaneous
frisbee
games (deck of cards, UNO)
money belt
small star-gazing chart
soccer ball (plus needle)
travel pillow (thermarest brand; another of the best items I brought)
chromatic harmonica (what better time to learn than as a PCV?)
knitting needles

Gifts
Crème savers/jolly ranchers
Burt’s hand salve
Postcards
Nice smelling soaps

What I stuffed everything into (photo)
Arc'teryx Bora Pack with internal frame
School sized backpack with waist and chest straps and water camel pouch (Kelty)
Small messenger bag for personal items

my favorite sites for discount outdoor gear
Most of the gear I brought I either already owned or found at discounted prices at one of the many fabulous outdoor stores in Portland, OR, or found on these great websites. Either way, don't feel the need to go out and purchase a ton of expensive gear. Some is nice, but most you don't end up using anyways or it gets demolished by the environment; save your money for traveling or enjoying beers with your fellow volunteers.
www.reioutlet.com
www.sierratradingpost.com