Four hours to go....

We are in Philadelphia, having finished staging, learned that we cannot date spies and that we cannot post the locations of other volunteers on our blogs. Apparently Peace Corps is full of state secrets. In a little less than 4 hours we will be leaving the hotel on a bus, traveling a few hours north to JFK airport in New York, and finally taking off for Lilongwe (via Johannesburg). It is very strange that this is happening at all, much less in the middle of the night. Luckily everyone in our group of 21 seems pretty flexible so hopefully it will all go well.

I probably won't be able to post for another 3 months after tonight, but when I do, I can promise lots of information about training and all that stuff. Write me a letter!

Things I Didn't Know About Malawi

Sydney Bristow probably compiled these all by herself: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mi.html

Life expectancy at birth: 43.82 years
(Malawi is ranked 216 out of 224 in terms of life expectancy. The U.S. is ranked at 50, behind Bosnia-Herzegovnia, Israel, pretty much all of western Europe, and Macau at the #1 spot. The nations that have lower life expectancy, in descending order: Djibouti, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Lesotho, Zambia, Angola, Swaziland.) But back to the country at hand --
HIV adult prevalence: 11.9%
Literacy: 62.7%
Population: 14,268,711
Area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Population below the poverty line: 53%, or 7,562,417 people (I did math!)

80 lbs., 107" and a possible hernia

Packing list! If anybody's interested. The Peace Corps restricts us to 80 lbs. and 107 inches (height + width + length), so obviously it's all subject to change, probably until the moment that I actually depart. Comments and advice always welcome!

Clothing and OMG SHOEZ
Northface rain jacket
Zip-up fleece
2 calf-length skirts
1 ankle-length skirt
2 calf-length dresses
2 edging on not-quite-long-enough dresses
liberal interpretation of the packing guidelines
1 ankle-length dress
1 pair jeans
1 pair water-resistant zippy pants
4 tank tops (various colors)
3 short-sleeve t-shirts
2 long-sleeve t-shirts
3 blouses
1 pair Bermuda shorts
1 pair athletic shorts
long underwear
1 pair pajama pants
1 cotton slip
2 sports bras
4 regular bras
SO MUCH UNDERWEAR
5 pair socks
2 swimsuits
black tights
scarf & mittens
baseball cap
running shoes
Chacos
Rainbows
Teva flip-flops
frumpy orthopedic teaching shoes
gray ballet flats

Now that I typed that out, it seems like really a lot, but it's all squeezed together in those vacuum-packed thingies.

Machines, aka things which will become useless probably very soon
netbook & accoutrements
DVD reader (since the netbook doesn't have a CD drive)
DVDs
solar charger & attachments
wind-up alarm clock
headlamp
small LED flashlight
spare AAA and AA batteries (lithium)
spare headphones
iPod & accoutrements
1 wattage converter
3 plug adapters
Steripen

Food-Related Items
chef's knife
paring knife
small cutting board
whisk
kitchen shears
spatula
salt & pepper grinders
travel French press
2 boxes Clif bars
1 small jar creamy Jif (I hear moms love it)
1 medium tupperware
6 packs Annie's cheese mix
Propel vitamin water powder
2 Nalgenes

Things Made of or Related to Paper
3 folders
lesson planner
grade book
small spiral
journal
comfort reading: Wives and Daughters, I Capture the Castle, James Herriot's Dog Stories, The Horse and His Boy
crossword book
Sudoku book
Lonely Planet Southern Africa
ballpoint pens, mechanical pencils
4 Sharpies
craft scissors
Scotch tape

Toiletries (the Peace Corps provides us with some stuff, also)
small bottle of shampoo
Dr. Brommer's all-purpose soap
1 tube toothpaste
4 toothbrushes
floss
1 tube moisturizer
2 deodorants
razor and spare razor blades
small Cetaphil facewash
small Aveeno sunscreen
Off bugspray
1.5 oz baby powder
makeup, very basic
1 large hand sanitizer, 2 little ones
2 bottles contact solution
8 boxes spare contacts
2 contact cases
2 pairs glasses
1 pair prescription sunglasses
1 pair regular sunglasses
baby wipes
Medical kit: Dramamine, Midol, small pack band-aids, small Tylenol, Lunesta, Orajel, Afterbite, various things -- PC gives us anti-malarials, cross your fingers for Malarone
fingernail clipper
travel toilet paper (6 packs)
3 cherry Chapsticks

Entertainment & Gifts
ukulele
ukulele music: Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills & Nash, Dar Williams, the Dixie Chicks, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton
extra strings
picks
pitchpipe
embroidery threads (for friendship bracelets)
cards (1 regular, 1 UNO)
4 boxes crayons
beach ball
bananagrams
sparkly stickers
2 UT baseball caps
cheepy earrings

Things that Don't Really Fit in Another Category and yet Don't Have Enough in Common to be Their Own Category
REI 2-person tent
lightweight sleeping bag
camping chair
1 roll duct tape
eyeglass repair kit
sewing kit
safety pins
jewelry
bobby pins, rubber bands, headbands
3 bandannas
twin sheet set & 2 pillowcases
Camp towel, washcloth
pillow

Things that I am Mailing to Myself
More Clif bars
Reese's mini peanut butter cups (I don't care if they melt - I'll drink them out of the package)
Spices: vanilla extract, seasoning salt, Italian seasoning, chile powder, dried rosemary, cinnamon
birthday candles
non-stick frying pan
deck of cards
powdered drink mixes
mini speakers
binder clips
construction paper
markers
more deodorant: always super, never superfluous

Still in consideration (besides all the above, some of which will probably have to be 86ed): dish towels, travel Scrabble, frisbees.

17 Days to Go

Here I am with 17 days before my departure for Malawi via Philadelphia (knock on wood). Today I stuffed the vast majority of the junk I'd planned on taking into my two bags, and weighed them. My stuff weighs as much a third grader: 62 pounds. Leaving 18 lbs. for clothes, shoes, and all the business I hadn't yet put in (a couple of books, parmesan cheese, random toys to give as gifts, etc.). Of course, that's 62 lbs. including my tent and camping chair, which may turn out to be unnecessary. Or maybe I'll just toss out my two UNO decks.