An Unfinished List

Of things I'm going to take/need to buy aside from the obvious clothing items.

Hand-powered flashlight
Camera and lenses, tripod?
Laptop - old or new?
External hard drive
Books
Photo album
Solar powered alarm clock
Water filter
Good shoes
Good socks
Backpacking backpack
Therm-a-rest mattress pad
Ace bandages and athletic tape
Medical and immunization records

More to come soon

Dear Katherine, Congratulations!...

"Dear Katherine,

"Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that we invite you to begin training in Guatemala for Peace Corps service."

Et cetera

I have roughly 5 more weeks until January 4th when I will fly to Washington D.C. for one or two days, then head off to Guatemala where I will begin 3 months of language, cultural, and job training. After those 3 months I will be placed in a village or town where I will live with a host family for at least 3 months; these people who speak some Spanish and more likely will speak one or some of 22+ Amerindian indigenous languages. The program is "Sustainable Community Tourism" under which falls Environmental Education, Ecotourism, Conservation and Management, and a bunch of other job titles related to sustaining a healthy and natural environment both for the people and the ecosystem as a whole.

I can take 80lbs worth of stuff, and will have to be able to carry it all on my person at some times. I have to pack prepared for both cold cold, and humid, and warm, and rainy, and neutral. I won't know exactly where in the country I will be going to until I actually get there, pass their language proficiency exam, and wait for them to determine where my skills would be best used.