Traveler Necessities

Countdown: I leave in T-minus 12 days!

I have been doing a lot of research lately on traveling supplies and necessities and I am happy to say that it is paying off.  Granted, one of my "necessities" is a DSLR, but I digress.... I ordered some things and bought some things and am in the process of picking a few more things out.  I hope these ideas, suggestions, reviews, etc. come in handy for you as well if you find yourself traveling.  These are just my own personal opinions on a few products I have found so far.

1.  WATER: If you are worried much about the safety for the water that you will be drinking while abroad, consider buying one of these.  It was very tough to find actually since I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but a man I work for found this at cheaperthandirt.com and referred me to it.  It is a Katadyn MyBottle Purifier.  It holds 24 ounces of water (with the cartridge inside) and it is the only EPA registered bottle purification system on the market currently.  Katadyn's advanced 3-stage Virustat filtration system removes all viruses, bacteria, and cysts from water while the integral activated carbon filter removes chemicals and enhances taste.  AND NO.... I am not a spokeswoman for the company or anything!  I just want to pass along a great product that is difficult to find.  It is a little pricey.... approx. $50 plus S&H from Cheaperthandirt, but I got mine on Amazon cheaper with no S&H.  What makes this thing even better?  It comes in a few different colors (I just love blue) AND when you have safe drinking water available?  Just pop out the purifier cartridge and insert the long straw that comes with it and it will double as a regular top-notch water bottle!

2.  SHOES: What does the savvy, fashion-conscience lady do about shoe attire in a place like Rwanda, or Africa in general?  She buys TOMS (obviously).  Don't have any idea what that is?  Check it out.  Seriously they are sensible, awesome, and durable shoes that are fun, cute, and they help those in need.  One for One!  For every pair you buy, TOMS will donate one pair to a child in need.  How cool is that?  Go to YouTube and check out the drop they did in Rwanda in 2010.  They have helped so many people!  It took forever for me to break down and buy a pair, but I am so happy that I finally did it!  They should be arriving in the mail any day now... I chose the Classics, in Black & Red.  I couldn't choose between the two!! I also decided to get a cutesy little blue tie-dye pair of Tiny Toms for my best friend who is having a baby boy.  Guess what?  I have helped three in need.  Yay me!         

3.  CAMERA:  I did it.... I finally bought a camera!  I seriously have been researching for months and examining prices like it's my job.  I found a top of the line camera that had pretty great reviews and it is a very reputable brand.  I had seen the Nikon D3100 when I first began my search at $600.... I didn't realize that was a great deal until I saw it go back up to its original price of $700.  I kept searching and I tried out a few different ones while in stores shopping, but none had that right "feel" for me except the Nikon D3100.  Imagine how bummed I was when every single store was either $650 or $700!  I couldn't believe that I had missed my chance at saving between $50-$100!  I didn't give up though and eventually I found it again for $600.... but it was at a club store that I didn't have membership to.  Paying the temp. member fee would put me at the same price as the other stores so I kept looking.... then I got a great idea.  I have a Sears card (to help build credit... I don't believe in debt so I pay off what I put onto the card within 48 hours) and a rewards card that lets me get money back for each purchase I make.  I checked out their price match rules and found out that they could match it!  The sales associate was so incredibly helpful and I saved $100 (when they matched it) plus and extra 10% simply because they like to reward their customers when they price match.  I walked out of there with a $700 camera for only $594!  Plus, I get about $7.50 off of my next purchase at Sears.  Pretty great, right?  The camera is amazing by the way....    

4. MEDICINE:  Ugh.  Medicine and vaccines are the worst, but when you know they will help to save your life you deal with it.  Everyone knows the Yellow Fever vaccine is a requirement.  Other things are recommended, like the Hep A shot I got.  Also, malaria is a threat so preventative medicine is necessary.  Typhoid is recommended as well.... luckily for me the doctor said the pill vaccine tends to be more effective than the shot so I started with my first dose of that last night.  I hear it tends to make you sick, but so far I am doing well.  As far as malaria drugs go, check out the CDC website and check for what is needed.  Since I have had a couple seizures in my lifetime (stupid fear of needles) I was told that Mefloquine was out.  The only other choices that are effective in Rwanda are Doxy & Malarone.  I heard Doxy isn't always as effective, but it is cheaper.  However, I urge EVERYONE to call their insurance and find out prices and what is covered because I found out that Malarone (the better one) is covered and I only have a co-pay on it!  It was well worth the 20 minutes I spent on hold to find that out. 

5. LANGUAGE:  Before traveling, it is best to try and grasp at least a small portion of the language.  For a place like Rwanda, finding books that help you learn Kinyarwanda is tough.  However I have found two great resources to share:  Morgan in Africa is a pretty awesome blog that has a fairly extensive list of words and phrases for various daily activities.  I love it because it has pronunciations so I can tell if I am saying it correctly.  Also, this dictionary is very helpful!  No pronunciations really, but it covers quite a bit of ground. 

Muraho Rwanda!  Nitwa Mary Brittany.  Nkaforero Global Youth Connect.

Hello Rwanda!  My name is Mary Brittany.  I work for Global Youth Connect.