Forward Progress- Packing for the Peace Corps!

The past few days, Adam and I have been what we like to call "Mock Packing." We wanted to be sure that we had room for what we wanted based on the restriction of how much I could reasonably carry if we were to walk several miles with them. We weren't sure if we were going to be able to pack everything we wanted, so we had our "Must Haves", our "We Would Really Like to Have" and our "If We Have Room" lists. For your enjoyment, this is what Adam and I have packed for 2 years- and our stuff is pretty much mixed in each others' bags.

This is just some of the stuff we packed!

Bag Count for Emily: 3-4...you decide!
REI Grand Tour (it's kind of 2 bags since it has a zip-on/off daypack)- 25 lbs
Small Suitcase- 26 lbs
Camera Backpack- 10 lbs


Bag Count for Adam: 3-4...you decide!
REI Grand Tour (again, 2 bags in one)- 25 lbs
Black Diamond Backpack (with the Black Diamond Winter Pack inside)- 25 lbs
Duffel Bag- 20 lbs



What Emily Packed

(Little tastes of home)

2 pairs of dress slacks
2 pairs of jeans
1 pair of quick dry pants
2 pairs of capris
2 pairs of shorts
1 long-sleeved shirt
3 quarter length shirts
4 short sleeve shirts
4 tank tops
1 sweater shirt
1 dress
1 cardigan
1 hoodie
1 rain jacket
1 fleece jacket
2 workout/sleep capris
1 workout/sleep shorts
2 workout/sleep shirts
1 set of thermal pants/long sleeved shirt
1 beanie
1 baseball cap
2 pairs of gloves
16 pairs of underwear
6 bras & garment bag
2 sports bras
7 pairs of socks
2 bracelets & a necklace
Asics tennis shoes
Keen sandals
Rainbow flip flops
Black flats
Brown dress shoes
Posture brace
Camp towel
2 wash cloths
Head lamp
Canon Digital Camera & accessories
Canon SLR Camera & accessories
Medication for 3 months
2 sets of extra glasses and 3rd glasses case
Sunglasses
Citronella Bracelets (Thanks Natalie!)
Off Clip On Canister and Refills (Thanks Susan, Betty and Jennifer!)
Aveeno Anti-itch cream
After-Bite
Organic Insect Repellent...notice a trend yet?
Water bottle
Canvas tote with pens, stationary paper, cards, stickers for kids
Pocketknife
Belt
Jump rope
Tooth brush
5 boxes of tampons (I know, TMI)
Contact lenses
2 bottles of contact solution
Razors
Deodorant
Oil of Olay Face Lotion
Lip balm
Chinese Medicine (clear potent stuff)
Face makeup
Hair rubber bands
the Chi (because everyone knows how much I used it in California!)
Coffee french press
Coffee beans coarsely ground (to make it through until I can buy some in Ecuador!)
Instant Coffee & Instant Creamer
Sugar
1 set of chopsticks
4 packages of Jack Links Peppered Beef Jerky
Kellogg Fruit Snacks
Cool Mint Chocolate Clif Bars
Paper cutter, adhesive, patterned paper, cardstock and alpha letters. That is right...I fit in a few scrapbooking supplies!

What Adam Packed

(Gotta have good teeth!)

1 pair of slacks
1 pair of khakis
2 pairs of jeans
2 pairs of quick dry pants
2 pairs of cargo shorts
1 pair of quick dry shorts
2 pairs of board shorts
2 button up shirts
1 tie
5 collared shirts
7 t-shirts
1 rain jacket
1 thermal top
1 pair of sweatpants
2 pairs of work out/sleep pants
5 undershirts
1 beanie
1 pair of gloves
16 pairs of underwear
12 pairs of socks
Salomon waterproof shoes
Rainbow flip flops
Sanuk flip flops
Black dress shoes
Camp towel
2 wash cloths
Head lamp
Travel alarm clock
Sunglasses
Water bottle
Wristwatch
Belt
Leatherman
Razor
Hair clippers
Ginger Trip pills (for motion sickness)
Laptop & tons of cables & surge protector
Sriracha sauce

What We Share
Bag of change- quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies (since Ecuador uses US currency)
Travel sewing kit
Books- 501 Spanish Verbs, Barrons Spanish Grammar, Barrons Spanish Vocabulary, Spanish Dictionary, Lonely Planet Ecuador, Peace Corps Volunteer Booklet
Toothpaste
6 packages of dental floss (we love our Crest Glide floss)
4 bottles of Neutrogena SPF 70 Sun Block & 2 travel sizes
3 bars of Neutrogena face soap
3 bars of Irish Spring body soap
Hydrocortisone
Travel Size Shampoo & conditioner
Tweezers
Nail Clippers
Mini first aid (they provide us with a kit after the first few days...so this is just provisions for the first few days....lol)- bandaids & Neosporin, Ibuprofen, Cough drops
Ear plugs
Hand Sanitizer
Tea Bags
2 boxes of curry mix
1 container of pepper
Kitchen Utensils including- spatula, spoon, silicone brush, 2 knives, veggie peeler
Space saver bags (tons and tons of them)
Ziplock bags (gallon and quart)
Pineapple Cakes (for our host families)
One set of sheets
Duct Tape
Photo Albums of Family, Friends, Home Life, etc.
Map of United States
Map of World
iPod
Turkish evil eye- just because
3 thumb drives
DVD copies of some movie favorites- Zoolander, Anchorman, Love Actually, Office Space...
Paperwork...lots of paperwork

Things That We Still Need to Get
Peptobismol Capsules- it wasn't listed on the Ecuador first aid kit list
Immodium

Things that Peace Corps Ecuador Suggested that we will not be bringing
Sleeping bag. I hope we don't regret this one!

So are you shocked yet that we managed to fit it all in? I am!! And yes...I am the one that packs a lot of extra stuff that is not necessary but I figured it might be nice sometime during our service. This list also will hopefully help other volunteers in the future as they research what others actually packed. We'll come back to this in a few months to share what was worth bringing along and what should've been left behind! =D