Peace Corps Volunteers: We are ideal guinea pigs

Before Peace Corps, soon-to-be volunteers often purchase safari-like attire and equipment such as solar chargers, Swiss Army knives and heavy-duty travel packs for whatever adventure lay ahead. And no matter how well volunteers take care of that which they bring for the two-year service, some items last but many do not.

In West Africa, we become experts on items that persevere the African sun and unpredictable climates. For this post, I gathered incite from several Northern-Togo volunteers for their opinion on products: good vs. bad.

Additionally, I include some toiletries to both lists as we receive and test many products within two years.

So here goes:

GOOD LIST

Backpacks

Patagonia

Kelty 6000

Osprey

Two Patagonia bags I brought to Togo--still in excellent condition.

Computers and electronics

Macs (others do not survive electrical outages and reboots)

Kindles are nice, but not the knock-off brands

iPods are great, though buy a protective case

Bras and underwear

American Apparel

Victoria Secret

Shoes

Teva

KEEN

Birkenstock (lives up to the hype)

Chaco*

Clothes

Patagonia blue jeans

Skirts from Eastern Mountain Sports or Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI)

Colombia outerwear

Foot Locker T-shirts

Lightweight pants from Eastern Mountain Sports (easily washable and still no holes after almost two years!)

Foot Locker Women's t-shirts. 

ENVIROSAX foldable, reusable bags (one of the best items I brought to Togo)

Gaiam Yoga mats

Camelbak water pack

Female feminine products

Diva Cup (no wrapping, no fuss)

O.b. (I stocked up on whatever O.b. tampons I could find in department stores since they are no longer manufactured, but there are other products similar to O.b. that work just the same.)

Bathroom supplies

Soleil razors (razors are terrible here)

US toothbrushes

Coppertone Ultraguard sunscreen

American pens!!!

BAD LIST

Clothes

Fruit of the Loom underwear (cannot stand hand washing)

Cheap T-shirts from H&M

Computers and electronics

Touch-screen cameras

$200 notebook computers

Inexpensive solar chargers (spend money on better quality)

Apple earbuds do not last, on my third pair (but climate is a factor)

Batteries found in Africa are terrible, rechargeable batteries are great

My second pair of earbuds. Notice the electrical tape!

Shoes

*Although I have been very lucky with my Chaco sandles, almost every volunteer who owns a pair in Togo has complained about the soles completely falling apart—this happened twice for a friend of mine. Perhaps they just can’t stand the heat. Sad.

Bathroom supplies

Vanicream Sunscreen

PACKTOWL PERSONAL (microfiber towels start to smell bad quickly no matter how many times they are washed)

Regular Band-Aids (they don’t stick in extreme humidity)

I hope readers find this post useful. This is merely a mini list to help future volunteers or even people who intend to backpack in Nevada or make a trip to Kenya. No doubt, more can be added to this list, so feel free to comment for interested readers.

Thank you.

Until next time… 

What Are You Wearing?

Women and men spend years experimenting with many fashion styles (e.g. preppy, sporty, goth, emu, classy, classy-chic, hipster, etc) and many even spend years wishing they could erase certain trends from their memory. I, for instance, like to imagine I never wore bell-bottoms or neon colors. Neon with pale skin never seems to work for me.

In New York City, I found a style that suited me: classy-chic. I felt comfortable in the clothes I wore. I felt beautiful, sophisticated and confident. Then two years later, I moved to West Africa.

Pre-Peace Corps

Undoubtedly with Peace Corps set in stone, the classy-chic clothes I loved so much were metaphorically tossed out of the window. But really, even if they were dated upon my return, there’s no way I’d throw some clothes out. And no doubt my big sister, Kathrine, still profits from a few items. But what did it leave me? The clothes I bought for the Peace Corps remind me of young adults going to camp. Have I been in camp for almost two years?! No, but how there is no way to know for sure until the very moment comes when the plane has landed. Needless to say, pre-volunteers pack their African safari-like clothes in their suitcases and wear them throughout pre-service training until they arrive at post. And from that moment…there are no rules. And for many...western clothes are history.

Most volunteers wear what locals want/like us to wear: pagne. Pagne is fabric with innumerable patterns, bright colors and different qualities. Only the experienced know good versus bad quality pagne. After volunteers buy pagne, they then take it to a tailor or a seamstress for the next work of art.

There really are no rules. Former northern volunteers attend a farewell party for a COSing volunteer.

Me as a counselor for Camp Eco-Action 2012.

Me again in Datcha for Camp Eco-Action.

Along with bagels and cream cheese, fresh mozzarella pizza and pre-made smoothies, I miss clothing stores. You know, those remarkable stores you can enter, browse latest trends, try clothes on, buy, and boom...you're done. There are perhaps two stores in Dapaong that have ready-to-wear clothes, but no dressing rooms. Thus trying on clothes in a community where it is respectful for females to have their knees covered makes it difficult to de-dress and test clothes.

In regards to pagne, I’ve had several items made in Dapaong. Some designs are great accomplishments, but most are disasters. Togolese do know how to sew…they just don’t understand what we [Westerners] want.

One benefit to pagne is the pagne wrap. This pagne style is comfortable and people often wear it as a skirt, as a bathroom towel, and/or as a harness for babies. I love to use it as a bathroom towel and will continue once stateside. I am addicted. It is lighter than a towel, yet more fashionable. At least in West Africa, it is perfectly acceptable to answer the door wearing this pagne wrap—that is of course if the pagne has a hem. If not, shame on her.

Me wearing a pagne-wrap skirt at Club Espoir in Dapaong.

Although I look forward to having more 15 outfits from which to choose over the course of a year, I am quite concerned that I have lost my classy-chic style and it will take a bit of time to get it back again. Shamefully there are fabrics I never thought were beautiful at the beginning of my service, which now I find to be the most beautiful in all of Togo. Have I completely lost it?! Perhaps this is the re-culture shock people often warn me about. Oh my dear siblings and friends in NYC, be kind to me. It may take me a while to veer back into the fashionable lane.

Until next time…J

The US is Calling

The countdown to stateside has official begun. 

Dick Day, regional director of Peace Corps West Africa, approved my request to leave Togo June 25, 2013. 

In these last couple of months, I have and will continue to tie up loose ends (work-related), eat as much Togolese food as possible, and enjoy the company of my closest friends in Dapaong.

I intend to leave Dapaong on June 18. Administration requires three full days in Lomé to complete official paperwork, do a final physical examination, and return government property (i.e. bike, water filter, medical kit, etc).

Once I return to the U.S., I will spend roughly four days in New York City until I head to Florida for a family reunion (and a great welcome home!) around Independence Day. Then…it is NEW YORK CITY again, Baby!

Look forward to seeing friends and family soon!! It has been too long.

Lots of love!