Stereotypes

I saw this video today and decided it was worth a share. A lot of people have been jokingly (or perhaps somewhat seriously) telling me to not get shot or kidnapped or get my head chopped off. When you think about it, despite the fact that they are kidding (and I am not innocent of jokes, here), all of these ideas come from stereotypes that people have about African people. Thus, I think this video is a great and funny reminder that we might want to watch how we think. :)

Adventures in Packing

Ah yes, adventures in packing. I just now spread [nearly] everything I planned to pack around the floor of the spare bedroom and feebly attempted to fit it all into a tiny backpack. If you've ever seen Brokedown Palace (with Clare Danes), there's this Thai lady who is investigating their crime and she says, in her Thai accent, "all that narcotic in that little backpack...I don't think so" - well, that kept going through my head - minus the narcotics part, obviously. No room for nonsense when you're trying to fit 6-weeks worth of stuff into what might as well be a tissue box.

Anyway, here's a bit of my packing list for kicks:

• 4 quick-dry type shirts + an AIESEC shirt/gift
• 2 pants
• 2 skirts
• 4 pairs of socks
• 3 of those quick-dry underwears
• Flip flops, Croc flats and tennis-shoes
• 2 bras
• mosquito net (w/ repellent)
• super compact sleeping bag liner
• super compact blow-up travel pillow
• 2 quick dry (super compact) towels
• multi-purpose shower gel, tiny little laundry wash sheets - like paper
• every toiletry one can think of, including hand wipes and toilet paper and all that
• partridge in a pear tree
• mosquito repellent for dayssssss - spray cans and wipes and an incense type thing
• medicines!

There's way more, but I got tired of listing it. It seems the key is to figure out how to roll things into the tiniest little roll possible (you know, like Little Debbie's Swiss Rolls.....mmmm chocolate). How I will get this stuff to stay that way or get anything back in the bag when it's time to come home is beyond me - I'll have to cross that bridge when I come to it. I will likely have to buy another bag of some sort to carry back all the giftys and trinkets I will inevitably buy - alas, my shopping addiction does not stop just because I am abroad or in the middle of nowhere Africa. Addictions always find a way.

Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure...I tried to clean up a bit so as not to shock anyone with too much chaos. I put the Amazon shipping box next to the backpack for scale - so you can see what I'm dealing with here. I think I will be able to CRAM all the toiletries and other small nonsense into the top part of the bag. Cross your fingers for me.

I sure am going to miss my electric toothbrush.