Kenya: What I Packed, Staging, & Getting There
Where I Am Western Kenya
What I’m Doing Peace Corps Volunteer - Secondary STEM Educator
I have written about Kenya Pre-Departure as well as the Peace Corps Background & What I’ll be Doing in more depth in their respective links.
How Long I’m Gone 27 months (3 months training, 2 years service)
Packing
I was allowed to take two checked bags (weighing no more than 50 lbs each) in addition to one carry-on and one personal item.
6 pairs dress pants * 6 past the knee skirts * 12 blouses * 2 hiking pants (with zippers to turn them into shorts) * 2 work out tanks * 3 hiking button down shirts * 2 sun shirts * 1 rain jacket * 1 fleece jacket * 1 sweatshirt * 3 swim suits * lots of delicates * 2 pairs of dress shoes * 1 pair of running shoes * 1 pair of white walking shoes * 1 pair of hiking boots * 1 pair of rain boots * 1 pair of shower shoes * 1 pair of Teva sandals * 1 pair of jeans * 1 shawl * 1 sweater * camera * laptop * phone * Kindle * chargers for all electronics * 1 portable charger that can be solar charged * 1 portable charger that can charge a laptop * 1 compact portable charger * 1 extra duffle bag * 1 extra backpack * 2 dry bags * tent * Eno with straps * backpacking pillow * sleeping pad * sleeping bag * 1 Scrubba (portable wash bag) * 1 umbrella * 1 luggage scale * portable fan * life straw water bottle * life straw carbon filter cartridge replacements * rechargeable batteries * pencils & pens * 1 fork, spoon, & knife * back up glasses & sunglasses * TSA locks & normal locks * waterproof bag coverings * 1 makeup removing cloth * 1 washcloth * 2 quick-dry towels * body wipes * face wipes * clothing line * hair brush * 2 combs * gel nail UV light & nail polish * cotton balls * cotton swabs * variety of medicines * TSA-sized toiletries * regular-sized toiletries* personal documents * Peace Corps documents * journal
Staging
Staging occurred in Philadelphia, PA for all Peace Corps Kenya volunteers leaving at the same time I was. I flew from Atlanta to Philadelphia on a Friday, checked in to our hotel (we all had our own rooms, yay!), signed in with the Peace Corps, and had a two hour logistics meeting that night. We received a staging workbook to complete part of tonight and the rest during our training sessions the following day.
Staging consisted of the following sessions: sign-in, opening, global Peace Corps community, service, intercultural engagement, professionalism, responsibility, representation, resilience, commitment to service, closing, and group leaders meeting. I went in to staging expecting to get a lot more information about Pre-Service Training, but staging was mainly about getting to know the other Peace Corps Trainees going with me and getting to know Peace Corps expectations better as well.
The goals of staging are to welcome Peace Corps Trainees into the Peace Corps community, describe the expectations of the Peace Corps to these trainees, and to provide trainees an opportunity to reflect on their service commitment. The sessions definitely covered these goals and I found it a great way to prepare for departure.
It was important for us to cover The Peace Corps Act and Peace Corps Core Expectations through the lens of intercultural engagement, professionalism, responsibility, representation & resilience, and commitment to service. This was also a time for us to cover Peace Corps resources for us as well as explicit guidelines for us to maintain during our time of service.
The day and a half of training went extremely quick, but it was helpful to learn what was expected of us and to have time to get to know everyone that was embarking on this adventure with me. At the end of the last day of training, we received our four travel groups. Since there was a large group of us, it was easier to split us up into smaller groups of less than 10 people. Each group nominated a group leader and I was the group leader for group 4.
At the close of staging, the group leaders met to assign roles for helping get our entire group to our final destination. These roles were lobby (make sure everyone checks out, collects tips for people helping us get to the airport, hands out luggage labels, last one on the bus to ensure no left baggage), bus (greets bus drivers, ensures everyone gets on bus), document (carries everyone’s passports and visa papers until everyone is in line at the bag check-in), and airport (gets off the bus first to confirm terminal and check in area before everyone gets off the bus). Since I check my own passport about 50-times between the time I leave my house and the time I’m on an airplane, I was assigned the document group leader role for our travel day.
Getting to Kenya
We left the hotel in Philadelphia at 5:30 AM because we had to take our buses to the JFK airport in New York. Checking out of the hotel, loading the bus, getting to the airport, and getting in the airport went more than smoothly considering there were 33 of us. We had to wait around in the airport for a little under two hours because the bag check didn’t open until 10 AM. I successfully executed my role of document person :) while we were in line to check bags and everyone got through this smoothly. We went through TSA in our travel groups which again went well. Our flight left at 12:30 and we were to our gate around 11:15, so I quickly ate and then it was time to board.
My carry-on suitcase and my backpack both fit in their respective spots which was the biggest personal win for the day because they were definitely bursting at the seams. I also managed to keep my carry-on suitcase below 12 KG. If I hadn’t, I would’ve had to pay a fee to check it which wouldn’t have been expensive and not budget friendly. The flight from JFK to the Nairobi airport took about 13 and a half hours, the longest flight I’ve been on. It was quite a long time to be on the airplane, but I made sure to mix my activities of watching movies, reading, walking, sleeping, and snacking and this made it go by a lot quicker. I definitely didn’t get as much sleep as I would’ve liked, but that was the only negative thing about this flight.
When we arrived in Nairobi, all of us got off the plane, went through customs, and retrieved our checked bags without any issues. We were met by three members of the Peace Corps Kenya staff and we took our first group picture. We walked across the airport parking lot to the domestic terminal so that we could check our bags in for our next flight. In order to enter the terminal, we had to go through a security checkpoint before we could go to a check-in counter. We then exited the terminal to eat lunch and fill out our first round of documents.
Our layover was at least a couple hours, so we had plenty of time to take out some cash (Kenyan Shillings KSH), eat lunch (paid for by this cash), fill out our paperwork, and take a walk. About an hour before our flight departure time, we went back to the domestic airport and continued through flight security this time. This next flight took us to Western Kenya and was less than an hour, so the plane was much smaller. My carry-on suitcase barely fit, but once I squeezed it in the overhead compartment, I officially saved myself over $200 in baggage fees, so it was a big win.
When our flight landed, it was about 6:30 PM and the sky had the most amazing sunset I’ve ever seen. It was the perfect way to land in the region that I’ll be working in for over two years. After we collected our checked bags (again, everyone got all of theirs), we were met by more Peace Corps Kenya staff and some current Peace Corps Kenya Volunteers who helped us load ourselves and our stuff into a variety of vans.
The ride to our stay for the next week took about 30 minutes and was mainly on highway and then on unpaved roads the last mile or so. At our final destination, we met even more staff and they helped us unload and move into our rooms for the week. After moving into our rooms, we had a group meeting with the staff, ate dinner together, and finally went to sleep because it was over 24 hours since we departed at 5 AM in Philadelphia. We could also relax knowing that we had finally made it to our home for the next 27 months!
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.
