Here’s some food for thought, I leave one month from today.
Here’s what’s already been cooking; there’s a bunch of stuff I still have to do. Seriously. I don’t know what most of it is. Some people have been talking about a TEFL test but unless the directions are in my packet and I haven’t dug that far yet, I don’t know why I don’t know anything about it. Tomorrow I will start digging for what I need to do still.
I haven’t made a packing list yet. Half of me thinks I don’t need one and half of me does. If I forget something, that’s life and I’ll have to deal with it then. But it’d be really nice not to forget anything. Here’s a quick rundown of what I know I need to bring:
- Dress pants/shirts (being tailored as I write)
- Fresh socks/underwear (nothing fancy because apparently the climate is slightly warmer than Wisconsin)
- Extra pair of shoes (Converse are light and pack nicely)
- Sleeping bag (I need to order one)
- Winter coat (I can’t bring my Army coat but I found an old one of mine that I never really wore and it should do the trick)
- Lighter coat (I need to find one, something other than my sweatshirt jackets too/might buy this when I get there)
- Sweaters (I think I have a few scattered, they’re hard to find in the Summer so I might buy there)
- Lounging clothes (t-shirts/jeans/shorts/etc.)
- A suit for special occasions (I might just bring a black sport coat to wear with black pants/dress shirt, but I’d really like to bring my good suit if space permits)
- Underarmour/long sleeve shirts (for extra warmth, though if the climate is warmer I won’t need them)
- Gloves/hat
- Laptop
- External hard-drive
- Camera
- Kindle
To be honest, that’s a short list compared to the other volunteers’ lists I’ve seen. Call me frugal? To be fair, I did groups some things together. I’d rather take less with me and figure out what I still need when I’m there. No sense bringing the sled if I’m not going to use it.
Another thing people seem to be bringing are ‘gifts’ and to be honest I’m not sure what these are used for. They seem to be little trinkets from the States to give to people. If anyone reads this and has a situation when I’d be giving gifts, let me know. Also, I’m not huge on giving/receiving gifts so coming up with gift ideas isn’t my strong suit. Please leave some Wisconsin related ideas in the comments.
One last note, I’m nearing done with my first of two, two day weeks. I haven’t worked more than three consecutive hours in several months. It isn’t fun sitting at a desk. I can’t wait to get into a classroom.
On the subject of gifts: maybe just bring a bag of little pins with a picture of a piece of cheese on it or cheese-shaped eraser tops. Or bookmarks with facts about Wisconsin. Or if you’re in Madison, you could go to Anthology and pick up a bunch of pins with pictures of terrace chairs.
The gifts are to give to your host families. Apparently its customary to give them all something when you get there, then youll get another host family at your site right around Christmas time.
Like Jordan said, gifts are for your host family. & I read they shouldn’t be gender specific, so like a calendar with pictures of the U.S. on it, something like that.
But I have a question for you: You are not the first person that has talked about bringing a sleeping bag. Do you know why we would need to bring one?? I’m just curious because it will take up a lot of space and if we don’t need one (or can buy one there) I don’t want to have to pack it if it’s not necessary.
Thanks,
Melissa
Thanks for the ideas Carolyn, I’ll have to do some shopping when I’m back next week.
Jordan, thanks for the clarification. I read the Welcome Book cover-to-cover and I don’t remember an explanation about gifts.
Melissa, the PC suggests you have one in case you want to visit fellow PCVs and that way you’ll have some sort of bedding with you. The one(s) I ordered say they pack down to 12″x7″ which is a bit of space but it could definitely be worse. Also, it only weighs 1.2lbs. Amanda has first claim on my second, but if she doesn’t want it I’d gladly sell it to you. I bought the two for $3o with shipping so $15 would be your price.
-Danny