I have officially served one year as a Peace Corps volunteer! 

Being here in the Gambia 14 months now, I have a pretty good idea about what I packed that was life changing.

Do you remember when I posted a color-coded excel sheet on my blog a year ago listing what all I packed? I read as many blogs as I could find at the time and I tried my best. ☠️ You just don’t know what you don’t know. 

But now I would say I do know what has helped me most during my year of service and I want to share in case anyone else is packing for a similar experience. It’s noteworthy to mention that I didn’t initially come with most of these things and some things were sent to me by my fiancé and mom.

For the most part this list is in no particular order. Again, this list is just what works really well for me and what I would recommend. 

• PROPEL

  A lot of volunteers here in the gambia drink the unfiltered, local water. I am not as cool as them and I really care about not getting sick still so I not only filter all of my drinking water with the Berkey water filter provided to me by Peace Corps but I still bleach my drinking water as well. I also try really hard not to drink or eat any of the local juices or foods that have unfiltered water in them. A tangent, but I did just yesterday eat a Baobab Ice (think homemade frozen popsicle made of unfiltered water and baobab bits in a plastic bag that you rip off the corner of and eat). I usually avoid the Baobab ones and stick to the Wonjo ones (made with boiled water) however my counterpart bought me a Baobab one while we were doing language class at the school. I figured that I had been in country for well over a year and my stomach would probably do fine. It indeed was not fine. Instantly my stomach hurt and I had to end class early, almost pooping my pants on the long bike-ride home. Now, back on topic; when I first started filtering my water in my training village during Pre-Service Training I hated the taste of the water. Experiencing the wettest, dampest, wet-blanket type heat of my entire life and sweating so much that the first 2 months of being in country my hair was never dry, it was a huge problem for me to increase my water intake. My mom ended up sending me a care package in the mail with a few boxes of propel electrolyte drink mixes and it changed my whole service! Picking out the flavor each day ended up giving me something to look forward to and I drank a lot more water. There are drink mixes you can get in country at most bitikos (corner stores) in every village but they are made of mostly sugar and they end up making me more thirsty. The propel are yummy and have electrolytes to help you stay hydrated when sweating so much. I know some volunteers swear by Liquid IV flavor packets, and while I did come with a pack of them, I didn’t like them as much. At one point my fiancé also sent me a huge tub of the Gatorade ice blue powder drink mix (the light blue one which is the best Gatorade flavor) and that was my favorite for a long time because it was so yummy and it was the best value for the money. However, after only a few weeks the powder began to get gummy because of the humidity and I realized that my climate is just too wet for a huge tub of powder to stay good for long enough. That’s why the individual Propel flavor packets are the tried and true best. I highly recommend the flavor variety packs and take them out of the cardboard box packages and pack them all in one huge ziplock bag. Roaches are everywhere. Bonus suggestion: pack lots of ziplock bags in all sizes!! That could tie as my recommendation number one. 

• Rinse free bath sponges

  My mom is a QVC woman and has always been a QVC woman. And thank God! Because she saw these sponge things on QVC and bought me a pack which I originally packed in my suitcase. They are meant for many things such as camping and travel. Another tangent, the summer before I left for The Gambia my dad had multiple surgeries and ICU admissions. He ended up having a hard time showering with his injuries and incisions after getting released from the hospital. I gave him the original pack my mom got me and they really helped him upkeep his hygiene. I thought they were cool and I thought they would be nice to have but I didn’t realize that they would be a necessity. I’m telling you every volunteer NEEDS them. They come in packs of 25 soft fluffy sheets like a dryer-lint material. All you need is a small splash of water and instantly they foam up. They are unscented but there is a slight nice soap smell. Basically you can wash your whole body and not have to rinse off. After scrubbing your body down with bubbles you just wipe off with your towel and the bubbles disappear. You don’t feel sticky or soapy, you just feel clean! You can wash your body with one but to wash your feet properly I use another one for my feet. The reason these are such a huge lifesaver for me is for a lot of reasons. I do not have a shower nor a bathroom. To shower I take a bucket of water and a cup outside in my private backyard and bucket bathe in the sun. Because it feels best to stand butt naked and pour water on yourself outside while the sun is highest in the sky, I usually take my bath after lunch around 3pm. Also, if you wait any later you risk being eaten alive naked by mosquitos the closer you get to dusk. Since I bathe so early, the problem is that there is still an entire half of the day left where I get into clean clothes to go outside and still do activities. Now, for a lot of volunteers hygiene is not a huge deal. But for me it is. First, I cannot get into my bed unless I am freshly bathed and clean and secondly I cannot wear my outside clothes in my bed. Therefore, these suds sheets have been a life saver for me because when I come inside to sleep at night I am able to feel clean by wiping off the second half of my day and get into clean jammies. Also, I use these all the time just to clean my feet. One thing I didn’t realize was how dirty my feet were going to get. There are no paved roads and everywhere you walk is just dirt and sand. When you step out the door there are all kinds of animal droppings and trash on the ground. When you fetch water, your feet get wet and then you accumulate mud from all the sand you walk through on the way home. Feet never stay clean! Not to mention, on the rare occasion that there is no water at the tap or you didn’t fetch enough that day, you can upkeep your hygiene because these only require a tiny bit of water. For Peace Corps Volunteers, especially those who have to fetch water and have no running water, these are a must have. Therefore, these bad boys are so high up on my recommendation list. 

• Microfiber towels

  Do not. I repeat. Do NOT pack regular cotton bath towels. buy at least 2 of the large size microfiber towels and at least 2 of the smaller sizes. These towels are incredibly thin and lightweight. They also dry very fast. They make travel a lot easier when you roll it up small and pack it in your bag to go spend a weekend with a friend. The only way to wash here is to wash by hand. It is a lot easier hand washing these than a heavy wet bath towel. The only way to dry clothes here is to hang them to dry in the sun. In the dry season this is not so big of a deal BUT in the rainy season having microfiber towels is essential. Sometimes it rains heavy for days and it feels like nothing ever dries. Having extra towels on hand is really convenient and I use the small ones to wash my feet with.

• Period underwear

  I bought these last minute and I’m so thankful that I did. This might be TMI, but I only use a certain brand of pads. I packed a package of the ones that I use and I thought I would be okay. I anticipated using the period underwear as a backup. However, once I got here it became evident just how awful having your cycle is here. I realized that I slept a lot more comfortably wearing the period underwear and wearing them helped me not go through my disposable pads as fast. I could even handwash them in the morning and hang them to dry in the sun all day so I could wear them that night. Packing at least a 3 pack is essential to manage an already very uncomfortable experience. 

• Plastic slides

  i have always worn the Meijer off-brand birkenstocks during summers. YOu know the ones that have the soft cork bottom and leather straps? Well, i packed some beat up old ones that I had worn for years thinking they would last. Let me tell you, your shoes go through so much wear and tear here. They only lasted through the first two months of PST. I realized very quickly that the sand and moisture don’t mix well with the suede and leather version. Also, I packed a pair of really cute Tevas that strap around the back of my feet. I thought I would wear them everyday and I have only worn them once or twice. The thing about it is, you see so many people and take your shoes off so often that having to unstrap and re-strap your shoes is a pain. Most OF MY volunteer FRIENDS THAT ONLY BROUGHT THE STRAP-UP KIND OF SANDALS ENDED UP MAKING THEM SLIDES. THE TRUTH IS, YOU NEED SLIDES THAT ARE A PLASTIC. SMOOTH MATERIAL. MY MOM ENDED UP SENDING ME MY ONE AND ONLY PAIR OF THE PLASTIC BIRKENSTOCK SLIDES AND THEY ARE PERFECT! I WASH my shoes every day with soap and water because of all the dirt and poop and mud they accumulate. I know target makes an off-brand version of the plastic birkenstocks that are only $10.

• Cotton hook-front bras

  I only packed the classic pull-over sports bras. I didn’t know just how hot and sweaty it is here and how hard even wrestling on and off a pull-over sports bra would be. you know when you are drenched in sweat and clothes stick to you? It’s awful pulling off a tight sports bra while sweaty. I dreaded putting on clothes every morning. Thankfully, my mom sent me a few packs of these soft hook-front bras and it made my mornings so much easier. They hook from the front so there is no pulling it off and on over your head and they are a soft cotton that washes and dries well.

• French press

  the gambia is definitely a tea place rather than a coffee place. Everyone drinks black tea in the mornings, usually with lots of sugar. but you can find instant coffee and Café Touba being sold in the cities out of little rusted blue carts and served in tiny paper cups. Café touba is like a local coffee blend that has spices in it and is an acquired taste. I think it tastes like burnt incense. Luckily, when my husband came to visit me in august he brought me a french press and a few bags of my favorite Tim horton’s ground coffee. when all of his friends travel back to gambia to visit they always pack a french press to make american coffee so he knew it would be really helpful. I had never used a french press before, but now it is the most priceless thing that I own. He had to show me how to use it and now i use it almost every morning. It has given me so much joy and just the smell alone of real coffee in the mornings is the dopamine hit i’ve been missing.

• Crossbody fanny pack

  this one might be obvious to most people and these are common to wear when hiking or traveling. but in my case, i had packed only purses and figured that i would be okay. last minute, i added a simple fanny pack to my amazon wish list that my fiancé’s brother bought me. and i am so relieved that he did! because i wear it every single day. in-country travel to my closest banking city, to the capital, to the training center or to visit another volunteer all includes using local transportation. this is a really safe country, however petty crime definitely exists. I was pickpocketed while on the ferry once and was devastated. during all of the chaos of the ferry, someone had reached into my book bag that i was wearing on my back and stole the first thing they touched which happened to be my glasses case housing my favorite prescription glasses and my only pair of cheap sunglasses. it is so important to have your bag on the front of you while traveling so that you can see it at all times. my fanny pack has all of my money, my bank card, my ID’s, my phone and headphones, etc., all of which are safely secured and worn on my chest where i can protect it and see it. having your important belongings safe on your chest and not swinging in a bag beside you or behind you is so important. Also, it is priceless to have access to money easily at my chest while in a packed gele where people are crammed ontop of one another. anything that makes your service more safe. more organized and more easy is worth it.

  
  

• Cotton high socks

  wearing socks in a hot and humid place feels illegal. i initially packed thinking that i would never really need to wear socks. and while you never wear socks during the day with your slides, socks have been a really important way for me to keep my feet healthy in the evenings. especially during the cold season, my feet get really dry. It became really helpful to wash my feet, moisturize and wear socks to keep my feet clean in the evening. when the sun goes down my family sits outside together until dinner and We usually eat around 8pm. I have started to wear my socks in the evenings to keep the dirt and sand from sticking to the lotion on my feet. socks also really help to protect against mosquitos in the evenings. I definitely recommend packing loose cotton high socks! although not a fashion statement, they really have helped me keep my feet moisturized.

• Cardigan

  i really underestimated how cold it could get here. november-February is the cold season but Living through the hot season makes it almost impossible to imagine what it feels like to be cold. but it does get surprisingly cold here, especially at night! The only blanket i’ve owned was the one provided on the plane and the only sweater I’ve owned was the one i wore on the airplane. i have ended up really needing them both. i really love this oversized chunky knit one that goes with everything. I just throw it on over my jammies and bundle up by the fire in the evenings. get something that is comfy and that is easy to layer.

Bonus food edition:

1. beef jerkey

   There isn’t a ton of protein here so getting to sneak into my one bag of jerkey that i brought back from the states every so often has been a real treat. I had rationed that one bag of jerkey like i was at war. if you eat meat and enjoy jerkey, definitely add it to your list of goodies for friends and family to send in care packages.

2. Fruit snacks

   Maybe it is a nostalgia thing, but always having some fruit snacks in my bag when i travel in case i get hungry or stranded has been a really good feeling. I only brought back one box of them, so i don’t snack on them freely, but they are easy to tuck away in your bag as you go about your day.

if you are packing for a peace corps service or missions trip that involves dedicated packing, i highly recommend setting up an amazon wish list for your trip so that family and friends can purchase you things that you need. Family and friends were able to buy me the things that i needed such as. my nice rain coat, my backup battery packs, my flashlights and my sunscreen to just name a few. it is important to only add the things that are essential and will help your service. I have listed the amazon links under each item mentioned so that adding items to your wish list might be easier.