Well, today I catch a plane to London and from there Bishkek! It has already been quite an experience, just trying to figure out what to take: what's a must and what's totally unnecessary. For those of you who may travel to Bishkek for an extended trip, here's a list of a few things I'm taking:
- small clothesline and clothespins (no electric dryers, so I'll be able to rig something in the apartment to get my clothes dry)
- anti-bacterial dish soap (I don't know how to spell "anti-bacterial" in Russian, so I'm taking some with me)
- Purell (clean hands wherever I go...)
- mosquito netting (for over the bed, just in case the malaria outbreak outside of Bishkek moves into the city)
- sunblock (I expect to do a lot of walking and have been told that sunblock isn't available in Bishkek; don't know if that's true)
- chocolate-covered espresso beans (gifts for the people I'll work with; yay!!!)
- small album with pics of my apartment and the city (to show people there; I've been told that people will want to see where I'm from)
- crisp, brand new U.S. dollars (this is very important, as the money changers will not accept or will offer a much lower exchange rate for bills that do not appear new)
That's not exhaustive, of course, but it's a few of the things that I expect to be really glad to have. As you can see in the pics below, once I started piling stuff up to pack, I realized that it's about 2/3 products and 1/3 clothing. That ratio should be good because I'll be taking the clothes home in 3 months, but the products will be gone or unnecessary, and I will have room for gifts! (very important....) Also, I have one suitcase full of clothes and products and one suitcase that's almost empty. Since I can take two big suitcases, I'm going to do so even if they're not full so I can maximize available gift space for the trip back home. :)
Well, I'll sign off now and finish the last of the packing (a few things in the washer need to dry and make their way into a suitcase). If you know me in real life, then let me say that I'll miss you but would love, love to email with you over the summer. Drop me a line!
3 comments:
We miss you already Rebecca!!!!!!!!!
WOW. You have a messy room. Just kidding. I hope you are well.
MAXIMIZE!
That's awesome, look at all those exciting American packaging examples! Such bright colors, such amazing photos, such detailed instructions... Be sure to compare those with the kind you'll have access to in Kyrgy.
I think it's terribly cool of you to be planning for the trip home before you even leave. I'm with Tony--I respond as things come up, by and large. Imagine how many exciting things you can fit into 2 mostly empty suitcases!
Good luck, we're praying for you.
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