Getting Vaccinated for Northern Argentina

Oh my gosh!! I NEVER ever thought during the course of my lifetime I would ever be worrying about diseases such as Malaria, Yellow Fever or Typhoid!! However, since I'm stepping into some rural areas of Northern Argentina- this is the heartland of these diseases and that's alittle concerning!! What's even more annoying is how I have excellent insurance that covers 100% of all immunizations BUT- Do you want to know what the joke is though??? Regular Doctors & practice DON'T do these exotic travel vaccines because they're not cost effective and they usually get burned by the insurance companies!!! (Unless you live in Utah cause they're used to dealing with Mormon Missionaries) So instead you've got to go to Clinics where you pay an arm & a leg to protect your wellbeing.....I went to Passport Health Houston and had a really great experience. It a Doctors office that specializes in exotic vaccines you need to get when you travel abroad/ go on Safari etc. A Married older Doctor owns these clincs and has about 4 or 5 of them. His Wife runs many of the clinics and they travel around the world about twice a yr and are totally certified in giving shots & giving information. They had a total spiral bound itinerary with infor about EVERYTHING I need to know about traveling. They even gave me a perscription for Travelers diarrhea.....anyway I got my shots and now my arm feels like a horse stomped on it BUT luckily I haven't been sick at all!! For Malaria - it's all about prevention......and there are pills but I'm sure the church will be handing those out whe I go to those areas....interesting stuff!! I'm a pretty outgoing person but have ALWAYS been cautious about putting myself in risky situations....Argentina is the nicest country in South America though so wish me luck and pray I don't get Malaria ; ) & I'm feeling pretty brave & proud of myself for going!

Shopping for Missionary Clothes

So yes I'm not ashamed to admit that I do care about how I look and being a future Sister Missionary means I'll be sacrificing a certain level of cuteness & accessorizing. HOWEVER since serving a mission is NOT about me and about serving others I just have to suck it up!! In the space of 4 days I managed to find about 80% of my missionary wardrobe after figuring out where I could find great deals on good quality clothes and actually find clothes that follow the strict Missionary Guidelines!! For you non-mormons my wardrobe is pretty much Corporate America with longer hemlines ; ) I want to help any of you future Sister missionaries so I will be posting the places I went and the things I found!!

Keep in Mind- YOU MUST TAKE THE TIME to thumb through all the racks of clothes and you'll be AMAZED what great marked down designer stuff you can find at:

TJMAXX
Marshalls
Ross
Burlington Coat Factory


I found about 4 black mid calf length skirts/ 2 brown skirts/ 1 gray skirt/ 4 cute colorful skirts and some really cute blouses and designer sweaters. I also found 2 pairs of PERFECT missionary high quality shoes which were both half off!!!

Kohls is another great place with corporate clothing!! I found about 8 blouses all different colors long sleeve and short sleeves.

Also the outlets at Katy Mills have lots of fantastic places with marked down clothing! I went into Gap and bought about 6 different colored cardigans to throw over my blouses when the weather is cold in Argentina.

Another really fabulous place is STEINMART!!! They have some really amazing designer clothes from high-end retails & shops.....I found some gorgeous longer skirts there and they are higher quality for I know they'll last!!

I'm not done but I'm making serious progress!! Maybe this will help you future Sister Missionaries!!