Gapers Block has ceased publication.

Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
 Thank you for your readership and contributions. 

TODAY

Monday, December 2

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Detour

[We got this rushed message from Jes late Tuesday night; by the time you read this, she'll have landed in Ghana. --Editors]

Because I said I'd have one more article for GB before I left for Ghana, and because I'm so effective at procrastinating, and because everybody loves lists: I present everything I am taking with me when I leave for Ghana. Tomorrow. Believe it or not, I should be able to carry this all with me on the plane. The large trunk of medical supplies, however, I will have to check through.

09042003_list1.jpg

And to answer the question I've been asked at least a hundred times this last week: yes, I am excited. (!)

  • 12 pens
  • a blank book I bound myself
  • The Satanic Verses (Rushdie)
  • Moby Dick (Melville)
  • The Autobiography of Red (Carson)
  • the flip flops I bought in Darwin
  • 2 scarves for covering my head
  • 4 long skirts (to be left behind)
  • 5 t-shirts (to be left behind)
  • a really ugly floral patterned set of twin sheets (to be left behind)
  • backup sunglasses (because no way am I bringing my best pair)
  • yellow Immunization card (cannot enter Ghana without it)
  • Plane tickets
  • eyepatch for sleeping on the plane
  • Malaria pills (Malarone)
  • Cipro (for possible dysentery)
  • Sodium Naproxin
  • Flexeral
  • Ortho Tri-Cyclen
  • Tylenol PM
  • Claritin
  • 15 Luna bars (Nutz over chocolate and S'mores)
  • 2 tubes of #30 sunblock because I am astoundingly pale
  • nice sandals
  • 400 + 20 dollars (in hundred dollar bills, because they get the best�exchange rate, and credit card machines and ATMs are nonexistent where�I'll be. 20 bucks should cover living expenses for two weeks, the rest is for souvenirs/emergency funds)

09042003_list2.jpg

  • a CD of Photoshop (ton install on a machine over there, so I can work�on pictures at night, since we can't go out after dark because that's when the Malaria mosquitos hunt)
  • coils of cat45 cable
  • crimper
  • Windows 2k Pro
  • earplugs
  • kleenex
  • Canon ZR MC 70 dvcam
  • 9 dv tapes
  • Canon Powershot G2
  • extra battery packs
  • one 128 and two 256 compact flash cards
  • Lomo Kompakt Automat
  • some Olympus 35mm automatic camera I bought in Sydney
  • 12 rolls of 100 speed film
  • passport with Ghana visa
  • nice long dress
  • tank top and shorts to sleep in
  • 7 pair of underwear
  • 7 pair of socks
  • swimsuit
  • wide brimmed soft hat
  • Nalgene water bottle
  • mini Maglite (purple)
  • clip-on lapel mic
  • leggings (to wear beneath long skirts to prevent mosquito bites)
  • visor
  • shampoo
  • conditioner
  • soap (Dr. Bronner's peppermint)
  • face stuff
  • tampons
  • band aids
  • toothpaste
  • toothbrush
  • chapstick (Burt's Bees)
  • floss
  • lotion
  • face lotion with sunblock
  • towel
  • agave washcloth

09042003_list3.jpg

  • tripod
  • discman
  • CDs
  • rechargeable batteries
  • headphones (earmuffs)
  • mosquito netting
  • mosquito repellant
  • laundry detergent
  • titanium spork
  • blowup neck pillow
  • poncho
  • money belt
  • fanny pack (yes, I own one, it was may grandma's; no it's not hot pink)
  • vitamins
  • Wellness pills
  • chargers for cameras
  • New Balance trainers

 

About the Author(s)

Jes Davis won't be posting to j3s.net for the next three weeks.

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