I have, at times, been intimidated by the fact that we are opening Comoros for Peace Corps service. There will be extra challenges and difficulties but as time has gone by I've come to see it as exciting and a potential advantage. I have completed nearly all of the pre-departure tasks, some huge and some barely worth remembering, but the last, and seemingly biggest, is still ahead. Packing. I'm completely dreading it.
Since I will be spending the next week in Seattle I am trying to get most of it done now but every time I see the giant pile of clothing and stuff to sort through I chicken out. I have also been known to be a chronic under-packer. I am worried that I will over-correct this time. I am trying to tell myself that I really don't need much of anything anyway. I can buy most of what I need just like the locals do. And yet I am still obsessively making and editing lists of what I should pack or buy. I spend half the time thinking I should load up on culture appropriate clothings (think calf-length skirts, long sleeved shirts, ect) and the rest of the time I am convinced that I will buy all of that there and I should bring all of the clothing I will miss even if I can't wear it often (tank tops, shorts, ect.). Will my Peace Corps service be ruined if I don't bring rain boots? Am I going to get to my site and think "why on Earth did I think I would want to knit in the dark on this hot, damp island"? Asking other PCVs for advice generally ends in them telling me that I should bring peanut butter and a hard drive full of movies. I'm worried that by the end of all of this I will show up on Comoros with a purse full of saltine crackers and a ball of yarn.
*A more specific packing list for Comoros can be found here: Packing List.*
