What I would have done differently...

If I had known then what I know now, I would have:

1. packed that second suitcase anyways, but with food items, and paid the extra 30 dollars to bring it (we went to the store the first day I was here to get supplies, and I quickly found out just how expensive the cost of living over here is. I ended up spending about 111 dollars for things that I would have spent about a fourth of that in the USA. :grin: it's a good thing I like rice!
   
2. brought paper, and pens. post it notes!
   
3. brought 2 shampoos and just left the conditioner at home! it's so humid that there really isn't a need for it here.
   
4. started earlier with the money raising... and budgeted more for food and stuff.
5. Brought clothes with pockets! I left my denim stuff at home mostly, and totally didn't think about the fact that nothing I had packed had a single pocket on it. oops! (which is really bad, because I am having a really really hard time keeping up with my phone... instead of leaving it in my room)
   
6. Brought a crockpot.
   
7. NOT forgotten my brush... especially in a country who doesn't have natives with hair like mine. There is no such thing as a brush here that I have found so far. oops! (GOOD NEWS! I just found mine after 8 days! woohoo! I am ever so glad that I didn't really leave this at home!)
8. Went ahead and either replaced my External HD, or gotten another one, and put my full music collection on it to bring.
   
9. brought my recipes. I am really missing these!
10. Hydrocortisone cream, or some other type of anti-itch cream for all these bites!
    
11. brought those Wisps things... the little one use and then throw away toothbrushes! They would be so very handy for someone not staying long term down here!
    

and that's about it for now... I am sure that there will be more added to this list as the days go by... because you wont really learn everything you did wrong until you are completely done right? :grin:

~ Chelbertina