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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Packing Lists continued!

As Mama (Colette) has previously posted modifications to her packing list, I thought I would share a few of mine as well.

Here are the things I am really glad I brought
  • Rechargeable beard trimmer and hair clipper combination (my first one was destroyed by a power surge, but one was sent to me and I couldn't be more thankful for it. I cut my own hair in village)
  • Small rectangle travel pillow (Click here for Example pillow) the common pillows here are not comfortable, so if you like to sleep bring your own. 
  • Decent dental floss (Oral B, etc). 
  • A flash drive (8GB minimum)
  • Quality underwear like this: (Click here to see Exofficio underwear) They are expensive but last a really long time and are very comfortable in the Gambian heat. Also, they don't lose their fit with multiple washings.
  • Comfortable lightweight pants that adjust at the waist (Click here to see Prana pants) because most likely you will be losing weight.
  • Two water bottles
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Crossword puzzle book
  • Multiple bandanas/handkerchiefs
  • MasterLock padlock (Bring two, you'll use one at the Peace Corps house and one for your door)
  • Duct tape

Wish I brought:
  • More AfterBite bug bite relief
  • An external hard-drive for picture, movie, music storage
  • Games like scrabble, bananagrams, etc.
  • Favorite books! (For some reason I didn't bring any, but the Peace Corps house has tons anyway)

Glad I didn't bring:
  • Cell phone 
  • Jeans
  • A whole bunch of fancy gadgets 

Would just as soon have not brought:
  • Hammock (we don't have any trees around our home to hang it from, nor is their shade to sit under)
  • Umbrella 
  • A watch and travel alarm clock (cell phone is good enough)
  • Flashlight (cell phones here have flashlights on them and headlamps are good enough)
  • Dress shoes (Worst case scenario you buy them here for reasonable prices, the ones I brought now smell like mold from the rainy season and I hardly ever wear them)
Hope this helps my future Gambian PCV's!

Fo natoo-Until later,
Kawsu (Darrin)


Obligatory cute kid picture with Awa, Senabu, Mami, Binta, and Muhammed