5 Days to Staging, Packing List (edited with comments 4 months later)

So I have been home in Arizona for a few days now after my road-trip. I have seen friends, family, etc, and generally had a good time. I also have finished the last of my shopping and gathering for my bags. The Peace Corps limits me to 2 checked bags with an 80 lbs total weight limit, with no bag weighing more than 50 lbs. I got a suggested packing list from the PC, and also spent lots of time online browsing other people's lists in blogs, websites and books. I took bits from several lists and sort of came up with my own list of stuff that I thought I could use. This list was modified as time went on but this is a list of the stuff that is actually in the suitcases I'm taking. I'm posting it in case any of my friends care, or if any future volunteers want yet another list to go over.

Two "Olympia" wheeled suitcases: one large, one medium. (handy, especially the wheels, but I wish they were less flashy)
A small duffel bag (absolutely necessary, you will take several short trips, bring some sort of overnight pack)
A backpack (also handy)
"Blowfish" Camelbak Pack (I bike a lot (chances are you will too), this is very very handy)
One light rope (stupid, of course they have rope here, and it's cheaper)
Several carabiners (handy, especially the two climbing grade ones I (will) use for my hammock)
Gel bike seat cover (eh, sorta nice, but I wish I'd brought one of those bike seats designed not to cut off the circulation in your groin, 40km bike rides in the bush sorta suck on a regular bike seat)
Bike rearview mirror (kinda useless, and makes my bike even more flashy)
Camping towel (sorta nice, but molds easily, getting a swatch of cloth here is easier)
Regular full size pillow and case (possibly the best thing I brought, even good pillows here suck - try to bring a mold resistant one though)
Hand-crank flashlight (I gave it to my host family in Forecariah, I never used it)
LED headlamp (Most useful item, I wish I'd brought 2, in case I break or lose the first one)
Keychain LED flashlight (Never really use it, the cell phone I got here (Nokia 1200 RH-99) has a built in flashlight)
Keychain compass (don't really use it, I just ask Guineans for directions)
Solar calculator (handy)
Grundig S350DLB shortwave radio (BIGGEST REGRET, expensive, heavy, flashy - you can get shortwave radios in the markets here really easily and cheaply, they work well enough, and (most importantly) you can carry them around in your village/ask for help finding stations, a lot of people have them - an American radio just sticks out and makes you seem that much wealthier)
Portable ipod speakers (they were broken and I didn't notice this when I brought them - check your electronics before packing them, however I'm perfectly happy listening to music using headphones so I haven't looked to replace them)
60 GB video ipod with 15 GB of music, and as many movies as I can burn before Sunday (useful, I already had the iPod, and I don't know that I would recommend buying one just for Peace Corps, but I'm really glad to have lots of music choices, a decent battery life, and the ability to watch movies in my village)
Battery powered ipod charger (it broke, but the one time it worked, it was nice to have)
AAA and AA rechargable batteries (eh, I never really recharge batteries since I don't have electricity. You can get D-cells and AAs anywhere here, I brought a bunch of regular AAAs from the states, but I think you can get them in Conakry or have them shipped to you later)
Solar powered battery charger (ecotrends) (kidna useless, I sort of wish I'd brought a Solio so I could charge my phone and iPod, I don't really use this charger because it only charges AAA and AA batteries)
AC power battery charger (see previous two)
Cell phone that works on Guinea networks (Motorola Motofone F3) (useless, flashy and broke quickly in country and nobody could fix it. Phones here are way cheap (~$20 for the Nokia Torch, which has an integrated flashlight) and if you have a locally bought phone, you can easily get parts, get it fixed, and nobody will think it's flashy since it's just like all the phones they see everyday)
Travel alarm clock (kinda handy, but my watch has an alarm too, and between mefloquine and the roosters, I never oversleep)
Digital Camera (Canon 7MP digital ELPH) (very handy, I especially like that it's small and easily concealed)
3 2-GB SD memory cards (one would have been fine, It's not full yet, and I've been backing up all my pictures (I'm at almost 500 now) to my flash-drive, if it gets lost/broken/stolen, you can buy a replacement in Conakry)
2 4-GB flash drives (I've only used one so far, but I'm glad I have the second one since I use my flash drive as a secondary storage for photos)
Leatherman Wave multi-tool (gift from my dad) (handy, but too bulky to carry with me)
3" folding pocket knife (was handy until I lost it, you can get sharp pocket knives for cheap in the markets here, and then you won't be sad you lost a $30 knife)
Small swiss-army style tool (VERY USEFUL! It's kinda nasty from being used too much (I used it to cut open batteries to remove the zinc for chemistry demos - so it got kidna gross), I wish I'd brought two)
Razor blade scraping-tool (handy, but so not necessary)
3 kitchen knives (chef, paring and cleaver) (very handy, but I like to cook)
Knife sharpener (very handy, though you can get knives sharpened in the market on a rock....)
Maps (political World, illustrated World, Guinea, NW Africa) (they have tons of maps here, but I'm still kidna glad I brought some)
Arizona license plate and Aztec calender plaque (for decoration) (good to have at site)
Photos (very nice to have to show your host family - bring pictures of buildigns and stuff in your hometown, pictures of your entire family, etc)
2 Moleskine journals (One is almost full, but I write a lot, there's a lot of down time to write at site)
2 day planners (I never use them, but I never used planners in the states either)
Scotch tape, Masking tape, Duct tape (VERY USEFUL!)
Combination padlock, regular padlock (eh, you can get these here, but they're not very secure. I wish I'd brought a big paddlock for my front door, but I did eventually find a good one in the Conakry market)
Travel Sewing kit (handy, if only for the well organized container, you can get most of these things here from a tailor, or have him/her do all repairs for you (usually for free if it's minor))
Safety pins (handy)
Pushpins (walls here are solid concrete, or mud, pushpins don't work very well)
Lots of ballpoint pens (blue, black and red) (regular ballpoints freeze up here for some reason, I had some Pilot G-2 gel pens sent, they work great)
4 multi-color "med-school" pens (again, regular ballpoints freeze here, I think it's the dust and the humidity of the paper)
Small stapler (don't think I've used it once)
Sharpies (Very useful for flipcharts, but you can get markers here (they're not as good))
Playing cards (SO USEFUL during training when you will probably spend an hour or more a day playing cards with your family, bring 100% plastic cards that can be washed - the paper ones get destroyed by dirt/humidity/use/sauce/who knows what)
UNO cards (eh, not so useful, the most popular card game here is sorta like Crazy 8's, and so Uno is semi-irrelevant)
4 toothbrushes (I'm glad I brought more than one or two)
2 sticks deodorant (same as above)
Neosporin (you will get this in your medical kit on day 2)
Travel toothbrush and soap holder (the toothbrush holder was just a breeding ground for mold, the soap one is useful though)
Burts Bees lipbalm (I don't need it in my region because it's very humid, I'm gifting them to my friends in the dry part of the country)
Band-aids (you will get them in your med kid)
100% DEET insect repellant (very handy!)
Ammonia itch-relief pen (kinda handy, you get hydrocortizone cream in your med kit)
Ziploc bags (VERY USEUL, especially the gallon sized ones)
Tupperware (Also very useful, ones with a good seal keep humidity out of jolly ranchers (which will melt if left out in the normal climate))
Waterproof matches (They have matches here, believe it or not)
Zipties (very useful)
Superglue (you can buy it here really easily)
Frisbee (nice, but got stolen)
Candy (jolly ranchers, caramels, etc) (kept me sane during training)
3 Water bottles (Nalgene, filering, and metal) (I only use my nalgene, I had another one sent)
Lockbox (good to keep money in, remember money here is bulky)
Spices (like 2 lbs) (Wish I'd brought more - you can get them in conakry but they're expensive, and they make cooking for yourself/your family once in a while really nice)
Tea leaves (like 1 lbs) & reusable bags (also nice)
Seeds to grow some veggies and herbs (I'm pretty sure this is ok by customs, right?) (This is ok by customs, but I've been too lazy to get on this, herbs are a good easy bet though)
2 small stuffed animals (one a gift from Tim, another is a stuffed "giant microbe" malaria)
Passport/money belt (never use it)
Lots of boxers (washboards destroy undergarments, and you will probably crap your pants at least once while you're here, it's good to have replacements on hand)
Not so many socks (HA! I wear flip flips every day, haven't worn a sock once so far)
3 long-sleeve button up shirts (way too hot to ever wear these, though having one nice one is a good idea)
4 short-sleeve button up shirts (nice to have, you can always get more here, I usually teach in these)
3 regular t-shirts (rarely wear these since they're kinda warm for humid heat (cotton doesn't dry very fast), and it's sort of innappropriate for me since I'm a teacher)
2 sweat-wicking t-shirts (oh my god so comfortable, wish I'd brought sweat wicking button ups so I could teach in them)
2 "Reed" basketball-type athletic shorts (never wear them outside the house, but they're nice inside the house)
2 pair of shorts (don't wear them in my village, don't take them off outside my village)
4 dress pants (handy, especially lightweight dress pants that hide dirt well)
Swimsuit (DEFINITELY bring one, maybe 2 if you like to swim, sometimes they get caught on a rock...)
1 necktie (Ha! never worn it, when an occasion is important enough to call for "nice" clothes, Guinean nice clothes are usually more culturally "cool", and more comfortable.)
6 bandanas (very useful, though you can also just get a piece of cloth from the market and cut it up yourself into bandana-sized pieces, but I use them all the time)
Dress shoes (never worn them)
Chacos Sandals (wear them a lot)
Leather flip flops (wear them even more)
Plastic flip flops (wear them sometimes, especially around the house, in the "shower")
Casual belt (wear it all the time (guys, expect to lose weight, girls (sorry) expect to gain weight)).
Dressy belt (wear it sometimes)
Books (useful, but I only brough 3, and I quickly read them in Forecariah and then started borrowing from other people, you can even only just bring the book you read on the filght over, then start the borrowing process)

(Bring some US money if you plan on travelling, some airlines are cash only at the ticket office here, and getting money sent from the states via Western Union is expensive, I brought $500, wish I'd brought more since it's just going to sit in the Conakry safe until I go back if I don't need it anyway. I think it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and have to scramble to get it somehow).

Wow, looking at this list....forget what I said in my previous post about packing lightly. This is a pretty huge list.