Arrived!

Travel was over 30 hours with only a few minor hiccups! Fist African blackout happened in the Johannesburg airport and held us up for 3 hours, but other than that it was good. First week has been fantastic! Good people, already friends! I leave for Kasungu on Tuesday to stay with my host family for the rest of training. Will share stories with you all after we get done!!

Tiwonana!

Packing List!

Here is the packing list! This is what I settle upon based on items I deemed necessary after reading multiple packing lists from previous volunteers, and then extras after finding I have more room than expected.

This is now everything that I own!

Amazingly this all fits very well into the bags - Both of my carryon bags are fairly light when loaded.

Bags
1 checked large duffle bag w wheels (48lb loaded w gear and I have room for more if needed) - this is the only item I am not fond of, but it works and was free! - just happens to be a little unwieldy even though it fits into the travel restrictions.
1 Dakine backpack as carryon (can be used with water bladder)
1 Osprey 30LTransporter pack as carryon - I love this thing it fits an astounding amount of stuff! Loaded with enough clothes to have nice ones for staging/arrival in country, and a change of 'casual' stuff during travel - basically if my checked bag gets lost, this thing has me covered for a while.

1 Osprey 75L Transporter duffle bag/backpack for daytrips once in country (this is compressed amazingly small and being kept in my backpack during travel - That being said it is very durable, and will fit everything needed for camping)

Clothes
3 belts
-dress
-money belt
-work belt
1 pair black slacks
2 pairs black dress socks
1 pair black dress shoes
1 dark grey dress shirt
2 ties
10 pairs underwear
1 pair athletic shorts (sleeping in and double use as swim trunks)
3 pairs quick dry socks
6 pairs dark socks
7 light breathable t-shirts (mono color or with conservative designs - to be used as undershirts or when at home)
1 pair winter socks
1 knit hat
1 Underarmor long sleeve for winters or camping in the mountains
1 rain jacket
5 long sleeve collared button up shirts - quick dry and durable for field use
1 multipocketed vest
5 pairs pants (2 Kuhl Revolvr (love these), 1 pair jeans, 1 pair quick dry multipocketed pants, 1 pair light canvas work pants)
1 pair shoes (yep, that's it - these are comfy and durable, fairly conservative, and I will supplement with other shoes/boots in country as needed)
1 fedora hat (it was 9$, looks ok, and covers my ears from the sun - hey, I'm on a budget here)
1 Hoodie - That grey, ultralight one you all have seen me wearing constantly
Light jacket (Kuhl brand - canvas, durable, hand washable, several pockets)

Gear
Wallet
Passport
1 pair climbing shoes and chalk bag (These pack amazingly light and Malawi is covered in rocks and I plan on getting my bouldering in)
1 Camelback Mule w/ extra bladder
2 water bottles
1 magnesium fire starter (10000 uses and tiny!)
1 single person light tent + footprint to help prevent tears
1 ultralight sleeping bag (will double as cover for bed in winter
1 camping sleeping pad
1 set plastic camping utensils
2 Knorks (these rock!)
1 CRKT Eat'n tool
1 Gerber multitool
1 Baladeo 15g pocketknife (this is also awesome)
1 ultra compact, reusable water filtration system (several people have said they regretted bringing on, but I love camping and this thing was tiny)
- toothbrush+floss+toothpaste
- tweezers
- nail clippers
1 Quickdry, compact towel (basically a shammy for the body)
1 headlamp (4 AAA batteries - selected for water resistance and battery life on "low" setting)
1 watch (analogue, conservative, backlight, water resistant, basic functions)
- 8 each of extra AA and AAA batteries
1 tiny sewing kit
- several basic pens
- 2 composition books
- binder with extra envelopes, stamps, printouts of required PC paperwork
- some Aleve

Electronics
- basic laptop, something inexpensive with antivirus, word processing, loaded with Peace Corps documents, Wikipedia, music.
- Digital camera, again something incredibly basic and inexpensive.
- extra memory card
- 2 flash drives (love how cheap these are anymore!)
- Mp3 Player, ultra cheap
- ear buds
- external hard drive - already backed up everything on the comp

Extras that I had/made room for
Camping French Press and cup combo (compact and has several uses)
Compact and durable stainless steel/ceramic hand grinder for coffee
flat disk Frisbee
hacky-sack
pro homebrew kit (Rubber band, balloon, packet of Fleischman's yeast) - More on that to come
Books
-Catch-22
-Chichewa 101
-Bradt guide to Malawi
-Venomous snakes of Malawi (I am really excited about this one! Most of the info is current - some of the bite treatment is outdated even though it was just printed, but still a great resource!)

I am sure there are a few small things I am forgetting. I will get more living items once training is over and I know what my site will require.

Here We GO!

In late 2012 I began to start looking at what I wanted out of the next stage of my life – I was single, I knew I wanted to return to professional work in my field, and I knew I was ready for a change of scenery. I started applying to ecology jobs around the country and world, and looked into a few other possibilities. At one point I applied to a yearlong post in Guam working with invasive species management for the brown tree snake. Finally, one of the options I had considered at an earlier age was the Peace Corps.

I began looking into it again out of sheer curiosity. I thought about what I wanted to do and where I was in life. The fact that I was about to turn 30 in 2013, I was single, I wanted to see more of the world, I wanted to put my education to use again, and how I have always wanted to really get to know another culture. Basically all of the common reasons one joins the Peace Corps. The overall feel and mission of the Peace Corps fit with my personality and goals perfectly. I dove into research - reading blogs, interviewing returned volunteers, attending panel discussions, and generally devouring any info I could get my hands on (good or bad – not everyone loves their experience). The more I learned, the more the interest snowballed. I started my application in early January of 2013 and then waited. And waited. Through periodic correspondence from the Peace Corps and fulfilling further steps in the very lengthy application process I was eventually offered a spot 9 months later at the end of September.

The offer was for placement in Malawi in March of 2014 as part of an environment cohort – putting that ecology degree to work I hope! The email was accompanied with lots of information and the ability to think on it for 7 days. In spite of the drastic change that a commitment to 27 months in a completely foreign country entailed, and telling myself that I would think on it for the full 7 days, I sent my response in a mere 37 hours. That time felt like an eternity. I was so eager and excited that restraining myself from responding instantly with a huge YESYES was all that I could do. Without hesitation, I sought out information on the country, the program, the language (I am still quite rough at it), and the people. I immediately began pairing down my possessions to the minimum essentials All of the "things n stuff, stuff n things" that I now own fits on the top of a twin mattress. This process I found rewarding in its own right: With less "stuff" I had significantly more time for the people in my life and the activities I want to do. The last 5 months have been immensely rewarding in building and strengthening friendships (I am going to miss all of you and we will see each other soon, two years will go by so quickly).

I am excited and already humbled by this fantastic opportunity and I can’t wait to fill all of you in on my experiences.

I will post my final packing list shortly.

I leave for Philly in 2 days on Monday March 3rd. I am fortunate in that I get to spend the evening meeting my fellow volunteers (Health or Environment sectors). March 4th we have staging/orientation. Then we leave the hotel at 2am on March 5th to make it to JFK airport in New York City for a 1045 am flight to Johannesburg South Africa (15 Hours!). We connect from there before finally arriving in Malawi. Training will be the only thing on my mind for the first two months – Don’t expect to hear anything from me for this time (no news is good news!).

If anyone wants to write me the old fashioned way (Please do! There is something so much more exciting, genuine, and personal about real mail) you can send letters to me at the following address:

Andrew Ellis, PCT

Peace Corps

P.O. Box 208

Lilongwe, Malawi