The recent thread on study abroad in UK prompted me to reach out for tips and tricks for my D while she is in Kenya June-July.
The program provides some guidelines. Based on that she plans to buy a phone when she arrives… the program coordinators assist the students and, in fact, the program requires all students have a local smart phone for ease of communication. We will add a limited international plan to her phone for emergencies but plan to try Skype/WhatsApp for texting and limited calls based on her availability.
She will have a Discover and Visa linked to her ApplePay. She will also open a local account (program assists the students) as stipends are paid electronically and use a payment app linked to that account.
She is cognizant of the accepted dress code and will pack conservative/modest, business-casual type clothing that will handle handwashing and drip-dry. Any specific suggestions? She is thinking cotton, linen, and some midi/maxi dri-fit options with a shirt or cardigan to cover her shoulders. She is dreading the ironing as it sounds like having a neat and pressed appearance is important… so maybe we need to look more at wrinkle-free options.
She has already seen a doctor about her immunizations and malaria meds. Fingers crossed she does not contract malaria.
We are open to all advice.
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Bumping this thread in the hope of more input. I’ve pasted below information received from another poster in a message discussing another topic.
I will put a plug in for wool clothing…we picked up several tops that have been wonderful and don’t have the issues with drying/wrinkling that cotton and linen do.
We tried our best to avoid cotton as it takes forever to dry, no jeans for the same reason. We did send them with a couple of linen button down shirts to layer.
Some stores we found very helpful to getting items:
Eddie Bauer - (specifically their ‘departure’ line). We were able to pick up a couple pair of trousers that are smart, professional, easy to wash, quick dry and sun protective. They also had ok linen button downs, we bought one there.
Smartwool - great tops.
REI - lots of good options for travel.
Ex-Officio - great underwear selection for travel. Also great button downs.
Bloomingdales had good selection of pretty, comfy and appropriately conservative/modest dresses that were easy to care for.
You are smart with the immunizations.
I’d also suggest that you and she research the exact areas in Kenya where she will be at each part of her trip. Malaria can be highly localized. If I recall correctly, there are at least two types of malaria medication on the market. She might want to start on it before she leaves to ensure that she is on the one that she can tolerate the best. Some cause side effects that can be very difficult to cope with while traveling and all medications are tolerated differently by different people.
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Thank you! I will pass that along to her.
Hello I live in Kenya and I would say it depends on the area and what she will be doing … Nairobi is not very conservative…
Also I agree about the malaria … not all places are malaria prone but right now it’s raining so
mosquitoes everywhere… nuisance more than anything else but yes please start on the medicine
I live in Nairobi so you can DM me with any questions
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My son went to Rwanda last year including a few national parks. He sprayed all of his clothes with some insect repellent from REI before he left. He had a wonderful trip with no problems. Enjoy.
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