My First Post!
Vaccinations and Pills:
I hate to admit this, but one of the first things I thought about when I began thinking of volunteering abroad was how many shots I would have to get. If you know me, you know I hate shots. I believe I might have a slight phobia. However, I decided to push aside my selfish fears and face the music. Much to my pleasure, my location does not require any vaccinations although there are a few "recommended" vaccinations. I visited the travel clinic back in June and got my prescriptions for Anti-Malaria, Typhoid Fever, and Antibiotics. Thanks to my parents great health insurance, I paid a total of $9 for all my medication and vaccinations. I had the choice to get the Yellow Fever vaccination and I went back and got that shot on July 17th. It was a bit scary because my doctor warned me that 1 in 100,000 people die from it and well...with my luck lately I could very well be that 1 person! I was not thank goodness! I had to start my Typhoid Fever pills on the same day as I got the Yellow Fever shot and I took those every other day for 10 days. Thankfully, there is no chance of me getting Yellow Fever or Malaria in Lima. I only got the vaccination and pills in case I decided to travel a far distance while I'm there. The Yellow Fever shot hurt a little bit because it slowly goes in but other than that it was completely fine and I didn't cry/pass out! Yay! I'll also be bringing my migraine medicine, anti-diarrhea pills and other simple medications such as ibuprofen.
Packing:
Thankfully I am going to a place where almost everything is readily available and SUPER CHEAP. I went to Walmart yesterday and bought some toiletries and ended up spending $50...I think that's about as much as I'm going to buy because I could have got everything there for about $10. I have been talking to many of the volunteers that are currently in Lima and they have told me that they'll take me shopping when I get there and I can get nice alpaca sweaters and pants for about $10 US. I think I know what I'll be bringing back as gifts :) I also bought some air tight bags in hope of cramming as much as I can into my bag. I have decided to take a good sized suitcase and my North Face backpack for luggage. I'm trying to live by the saying "pack it and halve it, time it and double it". The last few things I need to get include: a raincoat, travel towel, new camera (mine broke!), and a gift for the family.
Random:
The goodbyes have started. Most of my friends are going off to college about a week before I leave for Peru. I've had two going away parties and they were both such amazing days. I am truly blessed to have such incredible people in my life. I've recently been considering extending my time in Peru. I want to get a full gap year experience and that would be one of my cheapest options. I can change my flight date, extend my health insurance, and pay an additional program fee for pretty cheap. However, I do really want to be home for Christmas. Ideally, I will come home for Christmas, see all my friends because they will be on break, live at home until the end of January, and then go to Costa Rica and get a paying job teaching English or do a work exchange on an organic farm. It's so nice to not be tied down to anything though and just go as I please--well and where my bank account will allow me. Decisions, decisions. I'm going to just let time tell and see how much money I have left. Right now however, thanks to the gap year scholarship I got , my budget is looking pretty swell. I also just got a credit card. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do about a cell phone but most likely I will have my current one with a Peruvian number. I'm getting beyond EXCITED and really hope I pick up a lot of Spanish and maybe get a cute accent? Sorry this post has been so boring! I promise, once I actually start moving it'll be less about shots and packing and more about me struggling with the language barrier and diarrhea. :p Just kidding...I hope. Also, sorry for all the grammatical errors--I could spend all day fixing them or I could take my well deserved nap before I babysit two of the cutest kids in the world.
Much love!
Mags
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