As I will be staying in Cameroon for two years, I will need multiples of many things. Some things they have in Cameroon- such as peanut butter and linens- and other things they do not have there- like brown sugar and Pantene ProV.
A fun way to do this is to get a group of people together and tackle a section of this list. Ladies- love looking through the kitchen isles in Target? Get a group together and hit a few things in the Kitchen Supplies section. Men- seriously, I need a multi tool, cement screws, and a tool kit. Check the Miscellaneous section at the end of the list.
Some places you that may think of looking for these items are Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon, Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Radio Shack.
Kitchen Supplies:
The place I will be living in does have a kitchen, but there are not many supplies there and I cook all the time. So here’s a basic list of basic supplies so I can basically not go out of my mind.
- Set of sharp knives, including a bread knife
- A good can opener, potato peeler, pizza cutter and whisk.
- Set of durable dishes
- A couple a sets of Silverware
- Tupperware or other well-sealing containers
- Set of pots & pans
- Ziploc bags – some of all sizes. Be sure to get the freezer bags because they are thicker and you will wash and reuse your bags many times.
- 9” X 13” Pyrex dish
- Cookie sheet / muffin pan
- Oven thermometer (important!!!)
Cooking Supplies:
I will be cooking everything from scratch there. There are no helpful packets, canned soup or frozen dinners available and no fast food restaurants in town… how different from California!!! I thought of a few things that might help me ease into my transition:
- Taco Seasoning- lots of it!!!
- Chili Powder
- Nutmeg
- All purpose seasoning
- Brown sugar
- Kool-aid packets
Office Supplies:
All of these mini-sized please so they don’t take up too much space
- Scissors
- small stapler
- scotch tape
- pens
- pencils
- calculator
Medicines:
This part of Cameroon kind of scares me- not knowing what kind of medicines they have and what medicines does what. I would love to have a stash of all of these- at least until I get to know the meds here!
- Ibuprofen
- Tylenol
- Imodium
- Sun-screen lotion
- Aloe vera
- Tums
- Muscle Rub, IcyHot, whatever
- Anti-itch medication
- Triple antibiotic ointment
- band-aids
- multi-vitamins
- water purification tablets
- Insect repellent
Holidays (Especially Christmas):
This is going to be one of the hardest times for me. I’ll be away from family and friends and they don’t celebrate Christmas in Cameroon, so no trees, no lights, no caroling, no Christmas music, no figgy pudding, etc. And add this on top of it- it’s the hottest time of the year in December!!!
- A mixed CD of your favorite Christmas songs… I’ll think of you as I listen to it J
- Some strands of Christmas lights
Miscellaneous Items:
To me, this is all the really fun stuff! Or at least the Multi-tool is...
- Multi tool
- Flashlight
- Batteries
- Flip flops
- Mosquito Net
- Cement screws for hanging things on the cement walls
- Small basic tool kit – screwdriver, slip-joint pliers (to change gas bottle)
- Calendar
- Clothes pin bag and clothes pins
- Converter / adapter kit for any electronic items you bring along. Check Radio Shack as they may be able to give you information on these
My typical day of training @ the JAARS Center :)I am usually an early riser, and while I was at the JAARS Center in Waxhaw, North Carolina, I soaked in all the nature I could get! Going from Southern California to North Carolina was quite a weather change, but I enjoyed it tremendously! I would walk early in the morning and one day I thought tobring along my camera. Here are a few photos I captured of the beautiful walk I took every morning and the gorgeous sunrises God sent my way :)
