Yellow Fever Vaccine (2 of 2)

Less than 4 hours after Ben posted of my hardship with Yellow Fever he was neck deep around the toilet himself.  Hopefully this is not a precursor to our travels.:)

Yellow Fever Vaccine

According to the CDC when you receive a Yellow Fever Vaccine, you have a 1 in 20 chance of any negative side effects. However, according to Lizzy that percent is one in two. Five days after receiving the Yellow Fever vaccination, Lizzy found herself puking uncontrollably, fortunately it only lasted 24 hours and we are all very glad it didn't last one second longer!

"Suggested" Packing List

Here is the suggested packing list, please let us know what additions and deletions you recommend:

Also, please keep in mind that we are only allowed 2 bags each with a combined weight of 80 pounds.

General Clothing

• A good raincoat.
• A fleece or light jacket (it does get cold)
• A couple of long sleeved shirts of choice.
• A sweater
• 3–4 good-quality T-shirts.
• 2-year supply of cotton underwear and socks
• 1 bathing suit
• Lots of bras (especially sports bras)
• Sweat pants/shirt for warmth, running, sleeping.
• 2–3 shorts for athletics or in your house (these can be bicycle shorts, but no short running shorts)
• 2–3 pairs of jeans, zip-off, or other comfortable pants.
• A couple pairs of dressy, easy-care, trousers (khaki is good) and dressy shirts
• Hat (baseball or safari-type to shade you from the sun)

Men should bring nice pants and a button-up shirt and at least one jacket and tie for meeting government officials or to attend important meetings or functions. Women should bring shirts with collars and short sleeves, 1–2 dresses and 3–4 skirts of cotton/polyester at or below the knee (not sleeveless, low-cut or revealing) and an outfit for meetings or official functions.

Shoes

• 2 pairs of good sandals (e.g., Tevas or Birkenstocks)
• 1 pair of boots
• 1 pair of sneakers/low-top hiking shoes.
• A pair of shoes that can be worn when trying to look nice (male Volunteers suggest bucs or loafers); female Volunteers suggest nice sandals/flats)

Note: Volunteers with large feet may have a hard time finding shoes that fit in Zambia.

Personal Hygiene and Toiletry Items

Unless you have favorite brands you can’t do without, you should be able to buy what you need in Lusaka and provincial capitals. These include cosmetics, soap, toothpaste, general cleaning products and deodorants, hair conditioner, good razors and razor blades, Q-tips, and hair-care products. Bring only enough to get you through training. Peace Corps provides brand-name tampons; bring only enough for training.

Kitchen

• Spices
• Can opener
• Basic cookbook
• Ziploc storage bags (although ants and roaches can eat through them)
• Packaged mixes for rice, pasta, sauces, and drinks (e.g., Kool Aid), etc. Miscellaneous

The following are general items you may wish to have but you will need to prioritize and choose for yourself. Remember that it is a composite list; for each person perhaps only a few items will be critical:

Highly Recommended

• Umbrella
• Headlamp
• Flashlight
• Sleeping bag
• Tent
• Leatherman or Swiss army knife
• Music (CDs, tapes, I-Pod, etc.) (Note that CDs tend to get scratched up easily)
• CD player or Walkman
• Mini-speakers
• Shortwave radio (3–7 band)
• Games (cards, chess, Scrabble, etc.)
• Hair elastics
• Two good water bottles
• Good-quality sunglasses
• Camera with accessories
• Travel alarm clock
• Small backpack/bag
• Money belt
• Journal
• Bicycle saddlebags
• At least eight color photos of you (photo booth-type is okay) for visas, work permits, and ID cards. You can purchase photos here if necessary Optional (depending on your interest)
• Camel back canteen
• Bed sheets (since bed sizes vary, double-size flat sheets are the best choice)
• Binoculars
• Small sewing kit
• Pictures or posters for hut decoration
• Bandana
• Guitar (bring lots of extra strings and picks)
• Sports equipment (football, volleyball, basketball, Frisbees, etc.)
• Fishing equipment
• Batteries (you can buy them here, but they are expensive)
• Film (you can buy this here, but it’s cheaper in the U.S.)
• Sleeping pad
• Bicycle handlebar extensions
• U.S. stamps (letters may be mailed in the States by people traveling home from post)
• Maps of the United States and the world (good teaching aids and wall-hangings).
• Art supplies, sketch book
• Film mailers

Staging Update

We received official word that staging will take place in Philadelphia on July 18th. Since we are unable to leave Portland on Monday and arrive on-time for the orientation at 12:00 on the 18th, we will be leaving Sunday morning, July 17th. Our schedule is now as follows:

Depart: July, 17th  6:00 AM Portland, OR

Arrive: July 17th 5:00 PM Philadelphia, PA


Monday, July 18, 2011

12:30 PM
Registration

Official registration as Peace Corps
trainee

2:00 - 4:25 PM

Who We Are

What's Expected of You

4:25 - 7:00 PM

What You Expect

What's Next

Closing

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

2:30 AM
Check out of hotel

3:00 AM
Bus arrives for loading and
departure to New York JFK Airport

Flight departs for Zambia