So excited!! We just booked our tickets to North Africa!!

[FaithManor]

I can't say exactly where for security reasons. This isn't a pleasure trip although we are taking two days to see some important historical sites in the country before we leave. We have friends with an organization similar to "Doctor's Without Borders". I will be  doing science labs with the children of the staff of the hospital, tutoring the middle and high school students in algebra, and providing a music appreciation class as well. Christmas Day is the only time the children will be off while I am there. Due to the nature of what their parents do, and the remote location, all of the children are homeschooled. Dh will be doing IT work for a hospital that is desperate for a working computer system and a custom programmed database that will meet their needs. Their current method of dealing with patient records is bizarrely inefficient and time wasting, but they haven't had anyone to help them institute anything better.

 

We will be there 3.5 weeks. Dh can't get more time off than that, and we are going over the holidays because he gets Christmas Eve and Day, New Years Eve and Day off without taking from his paid vacation days which meant we could be there four days longer. The boys will be home here, C's last college exam won't be until the 19th or 20th of Dec., and so my mom and MIL are making special Christmas plans for them. We will celebrate family Christmas before we leave.

 

So, North Africa in December? How hot and humid should I expect it to be? I have read some expat and tourist sites in which the shoe recommendation seems rather evenly split between open toe sandals with a thick sole no socks, sandals with thin cotton socks, and walking shoes with cotton socks. Suggestions? I will have access to laundry facilities so I won't be taking a lot of clothing. Dh and I's bags will be filled with books for the homeschoolers and IT supplies. We will each have a decent size backpack/carry-on, and two checked bags with plans to only use half of one checked bag for clothing and shoes so we have plenty of room for the other items. I need to dress "conservatively" which I am told means nothing sleeveless, preferably longer short sleeves or three quarter length sleeves, longer skirts, or loose trousers, and non "flashy" colors. I have a lightweight ankle length knit skirt in light grey that I am going to take, but the vast majority of my summer wear does not conform...I like pink, lavender, purple, coral, and light green.  Therefore, I will have to shop. I've been told linen is lovely, but it is also a wrinkling nightmare, and I prefer not to waste time ironing so I don't look like a slob. If anyone knows of some sort of magic, no wrinkle linen women's clothing, I'd appreciate the link!!!

[vonfirmath]

*lucky*  We support a school in Liberia and I'd LOVE To get out there one day to meet the people. (I don't know if any of our skills would be helpful or not.)

[Aiden]

I used to live in Cairo, Egypt. There, it was good to wear slip off shoes with socks--open or closed toe etc didn't matter so much, as it simply was important to be able to easily take shoes off and on for entry into certain sites. If you may need closed toe shoes, though, you can get comfortable walking shoes that are slip ons--I have some great Danskos that are great for city walking or walking on semi smooth country paths. If you'll be on rougher terrain, you'll want sneakers or hiking boots. I also found it useful to carry a large scarf in my bag to cover my hair if I unexpectedly chose to enter a religious site. I preferred elbow length or longer sleeves. I could have worn shorter, but by showing respect for local modesty standards, I also received more respect and friendliness from those who recognized that I was trying.

 

I preferred cotton clothes. They wrinkled but not as badly as linen, and they were cooler than synthetic materials. Very loose, very thin long sleeve tunics were a godsend in summer, and I was able to buy some lovely ones locally. In winter, the weather was surprisingly comfortable, and occasionally even a little cool. It felt like early to mid fall in the southeastern US.

 

Without knowing more specifically where you're going, it will be difficult to offer more specific advice. Maybe you'll get lucky and one of us will just happen to have experience in the right area :)

[MercyA]

From Deva: circle skirt, bias cut skirt, villager skirt, or Samantha skirt

From TravelSmith: crinkled tencel skirt

From Orvis: travel midi skirt

[FaithManor]

Mercy, thanks for those links!!

 

Let's say we will be in Egypt...so how bad is the dust. I've read from several sources that socks tend to be ruined after a single days' use and many travelers just take one pair per day and then throw them away. I am kind of hoping to not be that wasteful, but maybe it really is that bad and won't be worth trying to launder them. I don't want to fill the hospital washing machine with sand!

[Cindy in FL.]

Wow, how exciting! I hope all of your planning and preparation goes smoothly!

[Luckymama]

OMG how exciting! Dd15 would be so jealous lol

[Aiden]

My experience in Egypt is almost exclusively in Cairo, so it may not apply to other areas. In Cairo, my socks survived without too much problem. If there's a dust storm or if you take off shoes to go into any mosques or churches or if you wear socks with open shoes like sandals, all bets are off. When worn with closed shoes, my socks were usually fine. When worn with open shoes or when taken off to go into holy sites, they got very dirty and stained. However, they were still perfect for the next time I visited the amazing cave churches of St Samaan (Simon) Monastery in Muqattum, so I kept them for the next time I knew a pair would be irreparably stained.

 

If in doubt, take extra socks. If you do wash and reuse, you can always donate the unused ones. Nothing goes to waste there; they would be much appreciated. In fact, if you are in Cairo, I suggest putting cloth and dry paper trash in small separate bags before you throw them away. The zabbaleen sort and recycle, and keeping cloth clean and paper dry helps.

[poppy]

I spend a month in Morocco. It was absolutely amazing, one of the best experiences of my life.

 

Assuming it is an Arab nation, I would definitely plan to dress modestly. Don't worry about color.  Sleeve length is more important than the neckline, though I wouldn't do anything plunging. I think you would fit in well with tunics of this sort. Pants or long skirts are OK.

 

When I travelled, I was with a biracial woman. I am a blonde hair, blue eyes pale person.  I got a lot of stares (not rude, just curious) and compliments. My companion reported having a much more negative reaction to her dress and manner of walking..... she thought the difference was, I am clearly a foreigner and am not held to the same standard.  Just wanted to share that anecdote, it might be helpful if you look like me, or look more like my friend.

[Anne in CA]

I would really be careful to dress modestly anywhere in Africa. I would get a really good money belt and practice using it.

 

I LOVED Africa. We went to Tanzania and had a great time, I would absolutely do it again You are going to have a great time!

[Daria]

What a wonderful opportunity, both for your family and for the organization you will be supporting!  

 

 

[FaithManor]

Poppy, that tunic looks like a winner!

[Jann in TX]

Sounds like a great adventure... I've never been to North Africa-- but I've been to East Africa (Uganda and Kenya) several times including this past summer.

 

Have fun researching the weather and wardrobe...

 

I found that one pair of pants/capris and 2-3 skirts and some mix and match tops plenty for 2-4 weeks.  I pack so all of my clothes can fit in a carry on-- any more than that and I have too much!  Some years I have patterned shirts and solid skirts... this year I wore solid shirts and printed skirts...  My favorite skirts are 'crinkled' so no worries about wrinkles.

 

I also bring along a small garment steamer to freshen and to touch up items.   You should have no issue finding a low-cost laundry service (warning-- they are HARD on your clothes--especially if they wash by hand!).

 

I'd also suggest layers since you may be in one of the hotter regions.

 

I'm glad I had my jacket with me on my Uganda trip this summer-- some evenings/mornings were in the 60's!  Not all of the African continent is hot!

[FaithManor]

I just found out that in addition to teaching the staff's children, I will also be teaching three sessions of crafts and sewing at a community center. The goal is for the women who come to the classes to have finished projects that they can sell in the marketplace to help them buy food for their children. So, I need to start working on some ideas. They asked me about embroidery, but I found out that most of the women have done very little stitching or even none in this particular city - I am working with women in poverty who would have never had access to the supplies to make anything - so I think that's a pretty complicated thing to begin with and am thinking about simple cross stitch items.

 

I have asked about herbs, spices, and botanicals. Simple hand sewn sachets with a bit of lace or ribbon for adornment might work. The wealthy women on the other side of the city love to come to market and buy such things. The key is cost. I'll bring fabric, thread, and needles in my suitcase but will need to purchase the fillers there, and we need to keep that cost down so that when I'm gone, if they have sold some product, they will have made enough money to afford to buy the scented items from their sales and still have most of their money left for their families.

 

We each have two checked bags a piece and plan on packing in such a way that our 3 weeks of clothing and personal care only take up the space of our carry ons plus half of one suitcase leaving the other half and other full bag for supplies. Thankfully, for what dh is doing in I.T., apart from some software on cd's and a couple of mice as well as cords, he doesn't really need to bring anything with him. I, on the other hand, have the books and supplies for the students as well as the craft supplies to bring, so I need to keep the projects down to non-bulky supplies.

[J-rap]

My husband and I lived in Cairo 30 years ago.  I can't believe it was that long ago!  I honestly can't remember December weather.  I wore mostly longer skirts (below knee-length) and light-weight pants.  Most shirts were at least short sleeved (no really bare, sleeveless ones).  Cairo in those days was such a mix.  You did see very western clothes as well as very traditional clothes in the city, but once you left the city, you would probably feel uncomfortable in scanty clothes.  (And I, personally, felt uncomfortable in scanty clothes IN the city, even if other westerners wore them.)  For example, we went into a home once and sat around on the floor to take a meal, and the woman of the house came over to me with a blanket to cover my legs.  (And really, only my ankles were showing!)

 

I wore loafers with no socks every day.   I preferred loafers there to sandals.

 

I did feel that my clothes were too bright, even though they were pastel colors.  I learned that drab colors were better.  I just felt better not standing out so much.  Another thing I was not prepared for was how my hair attracted attention.  I learned to at least pull it back in a pony tail, or cover it with a small scarf (like a bandana). 

 

Cairo was very crowded and dirty but I loved it.  So fascinating. 

 

I just looked up Cairo weather in December, and it says it's typically between 55 and 66 degrees F that time of year.  So, you'll have some nice, cooler weather while you're there.

 

How very exciting!!!!  :)