Blog Moving

Wanted to let my few followers here know that my blog has moved to: http://www.amyton.com/blog.

Snow Days!

Looks like we're having a snow day tomorrow and so I should have a little time to post about another region. I definitely enjoy the research and think it will be really helpful to me.

As a side note, I interviewed for a temporary position that would involve developing an AP French course before 06/30. I definitely might be crazy, but it would be a really good in with Virtual Virginia and could lead to a full-time telecommuting position. Telecommuting would be fantastic as then I could actually attend grad school!

Paid Up!

The check is in the mail and my trip is completely paid for! It wasn't really very expensive since the scholarship covered everything but the orientation and college's administration costs. The only thing left to pay for is my flight home from Chicago when we return.

Bags

I've been doing a lot of thinking today about what kind of baggage that I'll be bringing. We're not checking any luggage, so we can have two bags: one is our actual luggage, but must fit in the overhead compartment, the second is our travelpack, the bag we'll carry around with us all day during our time in Cameroon.

Monsieur Arachide, a friend on a message board, introduced me to OneBag and I have to give a serious shout-out. What a great resource! I feel pretty confident that I can pare myself down to the bare necessities as far as clothing and toiletries, but I can't decide what to put them in.

That same friend also sang the praises of eBags' Weekender pack and now I really want one. Now, it isn't that I don't have a backpack. I do. I have a nice L.L. Bean bag, but I can't ever find anything in it! It's deep and padded and I always feel like I'm shoulder deep, rummaging for my water bottle or wallet or whatever I was trying to get to. I really like that these unzip like a suitcase so that the contents of my bag stand a chance of seeing the light of day.

Then there are these things called "Packing Cubes." The way that travel bloggers and travellers go on about these, I feel like they need a religion or infomercial of both. Apparently if I buy a few, my life will be changed. Now, I'm not entirely convinced of their transformative powers, but I may see if I can find a few somewhere. They appear pretty cheap on eBay and if I can avoid the dreaded packing slide, maybe I will see the light.

So now the question arises. If I get a Weekender bag, do I use that as my real luggage or do I use that as my backpack? Ideally, I'd like this to be my main bag and to have a smaller daypack, but that might really be pushing it on the small scale and I'm not sure what I'd do with my laptop. Maybe my father will let me borrow his netbook. :)

Excellent News!

I thought I'd share some excellent news that came down the pipe last week.

1. I get to go to my friend's wedding. It turns out that it's on June 19 instead of later in June as I originally thought. Her wedding is in Grand Rapids, so it's not too far out of the way to Chicago.

2. My boss approved the time off as professional leave for the week or so that I'll be missing at the end of work. Granted, he might be willing to do this because he knows that I probably won't have a job afterwards, but at least I get to keep my sick days.

3. My boss also offered to loan me equipment and software for the trip. This is so fantastic because even though I probably won't borrow the equipment, I will have an awesome software package.

Info Lesson 1: Extrême-Nord

Province de l'Extrême-Nord:

Weather Today: High: 98 degrees, Calm and Sunny

The Extreme North province is the fourth most inhabited in Cameroon. It is mostly savannah, although the majority of native animals currently reside in the national parks. The most famous being Waza National Park.

This area is generally dry, and currently in the dry season. Human inhabitation has increased the desert-ness of the region, but Operation Green Sahel is aiming to plant more than one million trees this year to stop the encroaching desert.

The Far North lacks industrialization and most inhabitants subsist through sustenance farming or handicrafts. This lack of industrialization makes it a popular destination for adventure tourists interested in wildlife.

The Fulani are the major ethnic group here and the captital, Maroua, is mainly a Fulani settlement. When Germany took control in 1884, they met with great resistance from this group.

France took control of the territory after World War I and allowed the Fulani leaders or "lamidos" to essentially control the region. In the 1950's as European colonial rule in Africa was drawing to a close and André-Marie Mbida, a Cameroon native, became prime minister, the Far North province attempted to secede to Chad as the lamidos feared democratization. A Northerner, Amadou Ahidjo, used this issue to win the position of prime minister from Mbida.

Unforuntately, the current news from the Far North is that a terrible fire has ravaged the village of Ngoumouldi, not far from the capital. Most of the village was at a nearby market and a poorly extinguished hearthfire was believed to be the cause. Two children were killed, thousands of sacs of grain, millions of Francs, and hundreds of goats were lost, as well as the homes of nearly all of the 590 residents.

First Packing Purchases

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been thinking a lot about what kind of clothes to bring on my trip.

Yesterday, mom, a friend, and I stopped by the DAV Thrift Store on our way to the grocery store and I hit the Jackpot.

I've also been pretty torn about what kind of shoes to get. I have a pair of Merrell sandals, but wanted something that I could wear with socks too. I found a brand new pair of L.L. Bean Summer Sneakers in my size for $4.98!

Other great finds? An Eddie Bauer light green button down in size L marked down to $1.98, and for $2.98, a pair of khaki pants that button up to convert to capris in short length. That never happens.

Total cost: $0.00. You gotta love shopping with your mom.

The Money Crunch - What to spend, Where to find it...

I know that I'm really lucky that this trip was mostly covered by the grant, but like most anything in life, the added expenses have started to pile up. The only required costs have been the $1200 program administration costs and my $300 flight to Chicago (where our flight originates), but I'll certainly need some supplies and will want some spending money.

As many of you know, I was told at my Christmas party that I'll almost certainly be laid off at the end of the school year. Looking at the packing lists, I figure there are a lot of things on there that can be obtained from my family's camping supplies or at thrift store, but as I look at my list, I feel like there are a few things that I definitely need to purchase:

• Laptop battery: I'm taking an old Gateway 200ARC that my husband Frankensteined, but the battery is shot. I think I can get mine refilled for about $70.
  
• Camera batteries: I've found some off-brand replacements cheap. $10.
• Hiking shoes: I'm thinking about a pair of nice trail shoes that are stylish enough to go anywhere. I have a pair of Merrell sandals that I love, but this brand has really cute stuff. If I'm only going to wear one pair of shoes for a month, they should be comfortable and cute, right? $80
• Mosquito net: Unless I can find someone to loan me one, I think I'll need to purchase one, but they're only about $30.

I'm sending out few letters to a few local groups that support educational causes and the like and hopefully, that'll help, but I'm definitely open to suggestions.

Bienvenue!

Finally 2009 is here and just over six months I'll be on a plane heading to Cameroon. We're starting to get a little more information from the professor who won the grant and is coordinating and the main thing on my mind is packing.

This is the information we've received so far:

"We have a minivan type of car that we rent for the month. Inside this car will be all of us (15 travelers) plus a chauffeur and a guide. So, we are each limited to one carry-on size suitcase (it needs to be the size that fits in the overhead compartments on planes) and a carry-on bag (past travelers suggest a backpack, and not a big camping one but a small school-sized one). THIS IS ALL! The suitcases must all fit on the roof rack of the van. The backpacks will go on your laps or under your feet inside the van."

What to bring for our Seminar to Cameroon:

1. water purification tablets

2. swiss army knife for peeling fruit

3. peanut butter / food (pack in an empty shoe box to create space in suitcase for purchases)

4. passport pouch

5. bug spray containing DEET

6. sun screen

7. sun glasses

8. anti-itch cream

9. extra sets of prescription medication

10. eye drops

11. flash light

12. peptobismal

13. camping towel

14. alarm clock

15. baby powder (sweaty areas...)

16. dramamine (motion sickness pills)

17. hand sanitizer

18. wet ones/baby wipes

19. camera!

20. extra batteries

21. extra film/extra memory card

22. power bars

23. vitamins

24. crystal light to go

25. toiletries (anything stowed in carry-on must meet TSA's 3-1-1 liquid guidelines: http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm )

26. hat

27. soap to wash clothes (travel size tide or other ideas???)

28. small mirror

29. ****PASSPORT**** and visa (we'll get the visas together as a group in the spring)

30. ****YELLOW CARD**** (with yellow fever documentation marked)

31. Visa/Mastercard

32. second pair of glasses for the visually impaired / extra contacts

33. mosquito net?

34. phone card

35. travel pillow for long plane/train rides

36. water bottle

37. oral rehydration salts (if you become dehydrated from TD)

38. earwear for plane (if you experience pain from the air pressure changes)

39. Immodium or a similar antidiarrheal medication

40. antimalarial drugs

41. 5 - 7 underwear

42. 4 pairs of socks

43. 2 - 3 pairs of pants (1 nicer) (students likes camping ones that zipped into shorts)

44. Raincoat / ponchon or small umbrella

45. 3 - 4 shirts (1 nicer, at least 1 or 2 long sleeves) (I bought camping ones, for men, treated for mosquitos and with air vents)

46. 1 " hoodie" or " running shirts" with long sleeves?

47. pyjamas

48. 1 pair of shoes (sturdy comfortable walking shoes. My one pair was Keen: http://www.keenfootwear.com/ The other was Earth Vegan. I like both now but the Keen was better for the trip (because of the style I chose). Be careful with pure hiking shoes that may not be comfortable. Some also brought sandals, not recommended by our travel clinic but they liked them.)

49. Eyeglass cleaner / Contacts stuff

50. Toiletries (may repeat some of above list). Also, get together and share! One person brings shampoo, etc.

A. Toothpaste / Floss

B. Toothbrush

C. Soap

D. Shampoo / Conditioner

E. Deodorant

F. Shaving materials

G. Comb / brush

H. Baby powder / lotion

I. Hand sanitizers (very important!)

J. Baby wipes / toilet paper / tissues (very important!)

K. Female products

L. Q-tips

M. Sunscreen

N. DEET / bug spray

O. Chapstick

P. Nail supplies

Q. Anti-itch cream

R. Anti-malaria pills

S. Chlorine Dioxide / Iodine pills

T. Immodium / Pepto Bismol

U. Pain killers (Tylenol, Advil)

V. Tide to Go / washing supplies for clothes / "Bounty" dryer sheet to put in suitcase and keep clothes fresh

W. Dramamine

X. First Aid Kit

Y. Prescriptions

Z. Crystal Light / Propel (Water flavoring stuff)

51. International Student ID card (We'll give this to you at the airport)

52. swimming suit?

53. Photos (very important! Your host families will want to see them: you, your family, your house, your school, etc.

54. Gifts (you'll need at least 3 gifts for different families (small things). Also, misc. gifts for kids.)

55. Silverware

56. Dictionary

57. Book to read

58. Journal?

59. Bandana

60. 2 bras / tank tops / undershirts The tanktops ended up being a lifesaver for me. My students recommended the "wife beater" ones (I HATE that name but don't know what else to call them, help!): I brought 4 of these men's undershirts / tank tops and wore them every day under my shirts. It was a wonderful idea!

61. Belt

62. Clothesline / bungee cord

63. Copies of all important documents

64. Notify bank about being abroad

65. Mini misting fan

A few things I brought that I found useful:

66. A sock-sized sleeping-bag sheet insert (sleeping pouch)

67. A pillow sheet cover with a photo of my son and I on it (he had one too that stayed here and he slept with)

68. SteriPen This was my favorite purchase (and most extravagant: cost about $100+). I highly recommend it! The water purification tablets leave a taste. This is a way to sterilize water that worked extremely well (at one point, we sterilized water for a car radiator that we needed to drink!). It lasted the entire trip and I ended up sharing it with anyone who wanted to use it too. A GREAT purchase that saved me!

Does that seem contradictory to anyone else? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? I'll be browsing eBay in the coming months for a Mary Poppins bag, I guess.

And of course, while all of the other women are probably worrying about how to pack their clothes and medicines and whatnot, I'm trying to figure out what kind of computer, camera, memory cards, backup batteries and chargers to bring.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have spent several hours browsing Zappos.com looking for the perfect pair of hiking shoes and/or sandals, but that's a post for another day.

So, seasoned travelers, send me your tips. Seasoned shoppers, lets see some shoes! Fellow techheads, what do I need that won't get me robbed blind?

A la prochaine!
Amanda