Three Inches Too Short

No. There is not a height requirement to serve in the Peace Corps.

Pretty sure "you must be x inches tall to ride this ride" is unheard of in Togo.

This blog post refers to how hard it has been to shop for clothing that meets the dress code I will have to adhere to while serving as PCV in Africa.

Here's an idea:

No shorts. The only exception is if it's appropriate to run and you can then wear knee-length basketball shorts.
No thin strap tank tops, spaghetti straps, halters, etc.
Pants are only appropriate in less traditional communities.
Skirts and dresses are preferred, but must cover the knees.

Other tips include:
Don't wear white because it gets dirty too easily.
Don't wear black because it gets too hot.
Anything you buy should be relatively durable because it's going to wear out quickly. It's not like you have a washer/dryer with a delicate setting... or a washer/dryer period.

I can't speak for most volunteers, but I grew up in southwest Texas. I live in shorts and thin strap tank tops. With the exception of one or two weeks out of the entire year where it gets below 80 degrees, my choice articles of clothing are pretty consistent.

Now, imagine going to live in a new place with a similar weather situation (hot and humid) and having to change everything about the clothes you wear to typically deal with said weather situation. Picture it being 110 degrees outside and all you want to do is strut around in a bikini and run through a sprinkler. Instead you have to dress very conservatively and don't have the option to retreat to a clean pool or air conditioned oasis. That's right, no air conditioning... or cold water... or refrigerated foods.

I've accepted this. I've also predicted I'm going to drop 20 pounds in water weight from sweating so much.

After getting over giving up shorts and tank tops for over two years, I was ready to create my packing list. I evaluated the items of clothing in my closet to determine everything I would need to purchase. Unfortunately, every skirt or dress I previously owned was about three inches too short. They barely hit the top of my knees. I realized I didn't own a single item of clothing I could take with me except for a pair of running tights. Really looking forward to breaking those out when the temperature gets below 90..

So the new reality was that I was going to have to buy pretty much everything. I spent several days wandering around camping stores, athletic stores, and boutique type stores with hardly any luck. Every dress I found that met the length requirements usually had holes cut out of it or spaghetti straps. Every long skirt I found was designed for that new trend thing of short in the front long in the back. They were also all made of materials I wouldn't waste money on to hand wash and hang dry in the middle of Africa.

I told my mom I was considering going to maternity stores because those are usually conservative, right? I determined, though, that everything probably wouldn't fit me in.. certain areas. I also didn't want to take the risk of being approached or congratulated on my new, nonexistent conception.

I did find some pants that I decided could work, but realized that now, I was three inches too short. I stepped on all of them and they got caught in my shoes. If there's a store with 5'2" people in mind, please let me know! shea_flynn@utexas.edu

At the end of several shopping ventures.. I had a couple pants and skirts that needed to be hemmed, one dress, and fingers and toes tightly crossed that I could find more stuff online.

Tops were relatively easy. I got a few sleeveless tops from REI (I learned there's a difference in sleeveless shirts and tank tops. Who knew?). I was going to purchase some neon colored shirts online because I figured they'd be a great pick me up for when I'm depressed. However, I quickly recalled the warnings I've received about  the inevitable surplus of unwanted attention. I decided I don't need to turn myself into a neon advertisement to highlight that I'm an American. I'll be a billboard enough on my own as it is.

After a lot of trial and error, I finally packed my bags. Well, it's the weekend before I leave and I'm still packing my bags.. but essentially I've bought all that I'm going to while still here in the United States. I know I will have forgotten something, but I'll deal with it when I get there.

If you're curious about what I ended up with, I will post it on a separate blog. It's a great read. Truly riveting.

Cheers to having clothes made overseas that accommodate my lack of inches,

-Shea