Thursday, January 29, 2015

What to pack?

"Do all Europeans dress like they're going to work on a farm?", asked Ken, a Kenyan volunteer, whom I became friends with during my last trip to Kenya. All of the Westerns, including myself, looked like they had Googled "safari outfit" and packed accordingly. After the 3-week workcamp we returned to Nairobi and I went to the nearest second-hand shop and bought a pair of jeans. 

That was 8 years ago.

This time I'm going to do an internship at an office. Instead of safari shorts, I'm packing pencil skirts, blouses, comfortable heels and pantyhoses. I expect I'll be dining out and going for drinks in the weekends, like I do in Helsinki, as well as going to art galleries, museums, cultural experiences of all kind, networking events with other expatriates - like a normal person living in a big city. So I basically need my basic summer wardrobe with me. Sure, there are shops in Nairobi, but I heard that the second-hand shops don't really carry any quality items and the quality stores are really expensive, so I have to be prepared to have everything I need with me.

The challenge for this evening is to make it all fit in my luggage...

Luckily L will stay and guard the rest of my possessions - I can only imagine how stressful it would have been to have to empty an apartment now, phew. Also, the apartment I'm renting in Nairobi is furnished and all-inclusive, so I don't have to worry about basic necessities at home.

In addition to clothes, my travel pharmacy and hygiene products, I'm bringing a couple of books, my laptop, Fazer's chocolate and my selfiestick (thank you, ex-colleagues for the fun gift!).

Am I forgetting something?

No comments:

Post a Comment