Here I will attempt to answer questions I have been asked frequently:
Q: "Are you going to grow your hair out?"
A: Anyone that knows what happens to my hair when it grows out should know the answer to this one, but we'll see. It would probably offend or disgust most people there and it will be hot and humid often. Refer to photo.
Q: "Are you going to grow a big beard?"
A: Refer to the above answer.
Q: "Aren't you like scared or anything?"
A: No, there haven't been too many boogie man sightings in the Gambia for quite some time.
Q: "How the hell are you going to work with computers when there's no reliable electricity?"
A: Most of the computer labs there run on diesel generators
Q: "What and how are you going to eat?"
A: From MassGeneral.org:
- Benechin is a dish of rice cooked in a fish and vegetable sauce, while plasas is meat or fish cooked with vegetable leaves in palm oil and served with fufu (mashed cassava).
- For the majority of Gambians afternoon lunch is the most important meal of the day.
- The main staple dish in The Gambia is rice with a choice of stew - made with fish, chicken, beef, lamb or goat - usually cooked with vegetables, spices and sometimes peanut butter.
- It is the height of bad manners in Gambian society to smell food in front of others. Always give and receive food with your right-hand.
- When eating with others around a communal bowl always take your shoes off
- Only eat within you own imaginary section of the bowl. It is not considered rude to belch when you have finished your meal, as it is a sign that you have enjoyed the food. Keep talking down to a minimum during a meal.
Q: "Are you going to have running water or eletricity?"
A: Probably not, but it depends on where they put me.
Q: "Where will you live?"
A: Possibly in a mud hut with a thatched roof located in a family compound. But I could live in a cement house with running water and electricity in a more urban area.
Q: "So, Evan, what are you going to be taking with you when you leave?"
A: Well.. Here's my packing list:
Clothing:
7 Button-up shirts
7 T-Shirts
4 Pairs of lightweight khakis
4 Pairs of shorts
1 Pair of jeans
1 Pair of swimming trunks
Quite a few boxers
1 Dress Shirt and Pants
2 Ties
Socks
3 Bandanas
2 Hats
Shoes:
Asics running shoes
Chaco sandals
Flip flops
Bjorn's
Kitchen:
Can opener
Swiss Army Knife
Collapsable Food Containers
Large Zip Lock bags
Packaged mixes
Various:
Flash Drive
Spire Gigapod II USB Harddrive Bay
80 Gigabite Harddrive
A really old and slow laptop (maybe)
Ipod Shuffle
CD Player
CD's/DVD's (maybe)
Shortwave Radio
Decks of cards
Shake-up LED Flashlight
Headlamp
3 Towels
Sheets
Journal
Baseball Glove (there's an annual West African softball tournament)
Alarm clock
Duct tape
Phone cards
2 Pairs of sunglasses
2 Combination padlocks
Nalgene Bottle
Digital Camera
Disposable Camera
Journal
Pictures
AAA Batteries
AA Batteries
Books:
Lonely Planet's Africa on a Shoestring
National Geographic World Atlas (Concise)
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Silent Bob Speaks by Kevin Smith
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Failed States by Noam Chomsky
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
*This list is subject to change because I haven't tried packing it all and have no idea if it will adhere to the 80 pound limit.
