Packing

I am about to take off on my crazy journey. I leave January 3, so just one day away and one thing I want to address is packing. Have you ever tried to pack for a long trip, knowing there was not a Target or a Wal-Mart near by? Well it really makes you think extra hard about what you are going to really need while being there! AND not to mention, the inevitable one thing you forgot that you will just pick up when you get there item…yeah, that just cant happen with me, so this is all about packing!

What am I going to pack you ask? What is the weather like there? Is there a dress code? These are the questions that I had while packing. Basically my suitcase is full of summer dresses, skirts, shorts and tank tops.  There are two seasons in Africa, Rainy Season and Hot Season, and I will be there during the HOT season. I think I chose the best of the two J So in talking to my cousin Betsy about what to pack, She said that is too hot for even shorts over there. She said, and these are her words,

“Shorts make you sweat and you need to wear things that are breezy”. I totally catch your drift..skirts and dresses it is! Gotta lets things…breathe. Thanks Betsy!

As far as the dress code goes, I am going to stick out like a sore thumb anyways so why follow a dress code!?? Kidding, there really is not a dress code for women in Dar Es Salaam, the only place I will have to dress a certain way will be in Zanzibar. Women are not allowed to show their knees, so I will have to wear long dresses or skirts that cover them. I can show all I want up top, but those knees tend to make men stumble, because in the” Zanzibarian” culture, knees are considered to be very sexual. Go figure.

I will also be packing things like bug spray, gum, meal bars, crackers, drink powder mixes (Thanks Claire!!) all my hair products, cus in Africa, you always have to be stylin, hair dryer, medicine, all my gear for hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro, ill tell you about that later, toiletries, bathing suits, towels, sunscreen, a sweatshirt, a long sleeve shirt, cameras, etc etc, the list goes on and on! Hopefully I wont forget anything since I have very a strategic packing skills, but if I do, I will just have learn to live with out it, or find the closest thing Africa has to a Wal-Mart, but either way, its all part of my adventure!

Ill leave you with these pictures of me packing. Enjoy.

              This is all I am taking over there for 4 months. I may have over packed a tad.... oh well!