When you live with a host family, you think everything will be provided, but there are always some non-obvious things to pack when living with a host family.

Hey, hey, hey!

What’s the crack?! (Meaning- “what’s going on”-learned that from my Irish friends in Peru)  What do you say we make that into a thing, here in the U.S?  Okay.

So during my time in Peru, there were quite a few things that I wish I had packed, but didn’t think would be necessary or didn’t pack them because they weren’t on the handy dandy packing list.  I actually ended up missing these things quite often, so thought it might be helpful for me to make a list of a few of the things that would have made my life that much easier when it came to living with a host family.

Living with a host family is a lot of fun, and if the family is anything like mine was, they make you feel right at home.  Except it’s not possible to feel 100% at home because, of course, it’s not actually home.  Here are the things that would have made it homier for me:

• Slippers:  I wear slippers all the time at home (my real home) and even have fuzzy flip flop slippers that I wear in the summer.  You see, slippers are a must.  At my RH (real home), we don’t wear shoes in the house, and it feels weird just to wear socks, so slippers are a must.  In a host family home, you may not want to wear sneakers all the time, and there is nothing better than coming home from a long day of exploring, kicking off your shoes, and putting on comfy slippers.  You’ll be glad you have them.
• A face/ hand towel (or 2):  My packing list said to bring a towel, so I brought a bath towel, and that’s it.  I didn’t think to bring a face towel because at home, I just use whatever towel is hanging in the bathroom and don’t think twice about it.  When living with other volunteers and a family, a lot of people may use one bathroom, which means that a) the towel is always kind of wet, and b) you don’t really know who is wiping what, where.  Know what I mean?
• Portable snack bars and snacks: Ohhhh, how I found my stomach growling often.  It really took some time for me to get used to eat 3 square meals a day with limited snacking.  I was constantly hungry, so I bought food on the street, or waited for my next meal.  Many of my roommates brought snack bars or protein bars that are easily portable, and I thought it was a great idea.
• A photo-importer cable:  I used to use a photo importer, but most new computers have an SD card slot, making the importers obsolete.  Don’t assume every computer has the SD card slot, because the one’s in Peru certainly did not.  I was lucky enough to be able to use my family’s computer at times, but without that option, all photos would have been uploaded once I returned home.
• More cash than you think you’ll need:  I think this goes without saying, but don’t bring an enormous amount of money, but also, don’t bring such a small amount that you will constantly need to use the ATM.  Those fees add up, I promise.
• Normal sized toiletries AND travel size:  When you stay with a host family, you will inevitably do some traveling.  Bring regular sized toiletries, like shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, deodorant, but also bring the same items in travel sized.  Use the travel sized items on your excursions so that your walking pack can be as light as possible.  I was just planning NOT to shower for 4 days on our Machu Picchu trek since I had big bottles of everything.  Good thing there were kind people on our trek that offered to share their travel sized containers.
• Your student ID!:  Don’t make the same mistake I did.  Maybe this is an obvious one, but your student ID will give you deals and discounts on excursions and entry to various tourists sites.  I went through hoops to get some discounts with just a copy, but it would have been 1000x easier had I just brought the actual ID.  And if you have an ID with an expiration date, bring that one!
• Headphones: Not just for listening to music, but for FaceTiming, Skyping, etc.  It’s hard enough to drown out one person on the phone, but when you need to drown them out PLUS their conversation, it’s almost impossible.  You’ll be glad you brought ’em.

There are probably more, but these are the top ones that come to mind!  Hope this helps someone out there!