The Feel-at-home Top 5 for Volunteers is a great tool for all volunteers. However, if you plan on volunteering abroad for a longer period of time, then you will find the following tips very useful. When travelling by air you are usually only allowed between 20-30kg of luggage. It is therefore wise to pack as lightly as possible, even if you are volunteering for 2 years. When you are packing your suitcase or rucksack, think twice about what you can take with you that will ease the pain of feeling homesick. Whatever you decide to take, it should make you feel more at home in your new country.
Based on my personal experience I find that the following 5 items will help you feel more at ease while volunteering abroad:
1) A laptop:
If you have a laptop and you are volunteering somewhere where there is electricity, then it could be a wise thing to take your laptop with you. You can listen to music, watch your favourite pictures from home, watch movies and even use the internet in buildings that have WiFi-facilities.
2) Your favourite music:
While volunteering abroad you will probably want to listen to music. You can download all your favourite music onto your laptop and change them to mp3-files. Why? MP3-files take much less space on your computer, so you will use your computer memory space more efficiently. Even if you are not taking your laptop, you can still take along a mp3-player with your favourite music on it. Alternatively, you can take a couple of music cd's if you have a disc-man or planning to buy a cd-player there. A small compact speaker that can be plugged to your i-pod or disc-man (and your laptop) is great for sharing music with others.
3) Books:
Books are always great to take with you. Especially, if you are volunteering in a remote location where there isn't much to do after work. In some countries it is difficult to find a decent bookstore or library. Very often when you do find it, you will find out that they primarily sell books in the local language. If for example your native language is Spanish and you are volunteering in Thailand, then your chances of finding books in Spanish are close to zero. A native English speaker, volunteering in the Amazon jungle or in rural areas, will have great difficulties finding a novel in English unless they themselves bring the books along.
4) Real pictures:
Apart from taking some digital photos with you on your laptop, I recommend you take real pictures with you. The reason behind this is that you can glue these pictures on your walls in your new house and make it feel more like home.
5) Sleeping bag:
Depending where you are going and what type of accommodation has been arranged for you, you will find that a sleeping bag can be very useful and hygienic. For example, you arrive late afternoon at your new house; you are happy with your house, you even have a bed but then you realize that there are no bed sheets. If you have a sleeping bag, you can use that the first night and buy bed sheets the next day. If you intend to travel around while volunteering abroad, then you may also find yourself spending the night in places where you don't want to lie on their sheets. Imagine you are volunteering in Mongolia or in the Andes... You will be glad to have your sleeping bag to protect you against the bitter cold!
Your laptop, your favourite music, pictures, books and sleeping bag will certainly help you feel at home but you can add anything to the list that you feel really attached to AND which is small to take along. Nothing is crazy at this point; It's all about you feeling at home in your new temporary country. A thorough preparation will greatly improve your volunteering abroad experience.