So there are a number of things I'm super glad to have packed. First on that list is my gummi multivitamins, which my mom got me from Costco and which taste like candy. Unfortunately, unless I want to OD on Vitamins A-D, I really have to stop eating so many of them. (The first step, I am told, is admitting that I have a problem.)
I deeply regret not packing sandals. Today I broke down and purchased some from the Medina. Yes, they are leather. Yes, I feel awful. But my plastic flip-flops from the super market broke after 2 days and I needed shoes. Also, as my fellow vegetarian Kristi pointed out, at least I'm supporting a local industry rather than buying more cheap imported junk from China. Maybe the lesser evil? Maybe?
I'm also glad I packed my under armour clothes. (No, I'm not being sponsored by them, but you wouldn't know it the way I've been dressing.) Every UA shirt or pair of pants I brought has been key for keeping out the sun/heat and keeping me cool while also sufficiently covered up. But what is really great is UA underwear. Hell to the yes. Sorry if this is TMI but you try living in this heat in regular cotton panties. No thank you. I am never wearing any other kind of underwear ever again ever.
Extra sunglasses. I lost my favorite pair three days after arriving, and luckily I have a spare that my dear friend Casi left in my room when she was visiting for the Obama speech. (Sorry dude, they're totally mine now :)) I'll probably buy another pair while I'm here just because I don't trust myself not to lose Casi's if I'm wearing them every day.
Cloth shopping bag. Yes, I hear you laughing at me. Yes, it is kind of a cliche Seattle practice, but it is so handy to have a bag with me to carry supplies from the store or laundry to the bathroom.
Oh. Speaking of laundry, today I learned how to wash my clothes by hand and then hang-dry them. Rad. I feel so Little House on the Praire. Only cooler. Also, I am vowing at this moment to wash my clothes once a weeks so that I never have to wash all of them at once like today. (Yes, any one who has ever lived with me, I see your skeptical looks. SHUT IT.)
In other news I'm getting eaten alive my mosquitoes and have already busted out my ultra-bug spray that I purchased for Burkina Faso. Distressingly, it doesn't seem to be helping. My family doesn't shut windows at night and many of the windows don't seem to shut at all, so there's no preventing the mosquitoes I suppose.
Other major purchases for the trip so far: A sweet hat. It's a bit country for the states but here I feel like Indiana Jones. Also, it keeps the sun off of my face.
I deeply regret not packing sandals. Today I broke down and purchased some from the Medina. Yes, they are leather. Yes, I feel awful. But my plastic flip-flops from the super market broke after 2 days and I needed shoes. Also, as my fellow vegetarian Kristi pointed out, at least I'm supporting a local industry rather than buying more cheap imported junk from China. Maybe the lesser evil? Maybe?
I'm also glad I packed my under armour clothes. (No, I'm not being sponsored by them, but you wouldn't know it the way I've been dressing.) Every UA shirt or pair of pants I brought has been key for keeping out the sun/heat and keeping me cool while also sufficiently covered up. But what is really great is UA underwear. Hell to the yes. Sorry if this is TMI but you try living in this heat in regular cotton panties. No thank you. I am never wearing any other kind of underwear ever again ever.
Extra sunglasses. I lost my favorite pair three days after arriving, and luckily I have a spare that my dear friend Casi left in my room when she was visiting for the Obama speech. (Sorry dude, they're totally mine now :)) I'll probably buy another pair while I'm here just because I don't trust myself not to lose Casi's if I'm wearing them every day.
Cloth shopping bag. Yes, I hear you laughing at me. Yes, it is kind of a cliche Seattle practice, but it is so handy to have a bag with me to carry supplies from the store or laundry to the bathroom.
Oh. Speaking of laundry, today I learned how to wash my clothes by hand and then hang-dry them. Rad. I feel so Little House on the Praire. Only cooler. Also, I am vowing at this moment to wash my clothes once a weeks so that I never have to wash all of them at once like today. (Yes, any one who has ever lived with me, I see your skeptical looks. SHUT IT.)
In other news I'm getting eaten alive my mosquitoes and have already busted out my ultra-bug spray that I purchased for Burkina Faso. Distressingly, it doesn't seem to be helping. My family doesn't shut windows at night and many of the windows don't seem to shut at all, so there's no preventing the mosquitoes I suppose.
Other major purchases for the trip so far: A sweet hat. It's a bit country for the states but here I feel like Indiana Jones. Also, it keeps the sun off of my face.
I remember my friend in China showing me how to wring water out of clothes to get them to dry more quickly. It takes a lot more strength than you think it should. I still remember this when I have to wring out wet clothes.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know what you mean about the gummy vitamins. My mom got me some vitamin D ones and I really wanted to take more than one a day. They tasted great.