My African Shopping List....

Some of the stuff I've bought in the past week or so to "stay safe" in Africa (for my parents' peace of mind more than anything else):

- Cheap office clothes that you wouldn't mind getting ruined from rough handwashing ($100)
- 6 months' supply of doxycycline hyclate, the anti-malarial medication. ($30)
- Two types of antibiotics to treat traveler's diarrhea ($15)
- Insect repellent... one for clothes and one for skin ($18)
- Eyedrops in case I get an infection ($5)
- mosquito bed netting and mosquito head netting... don't want to get dengue fever, malaria, or any other mosquito-carried diseases ($55)
- Lots of immunizations: yellow fever, typhoid, polio, hepatitis A, tetanus, meningitis. (~$500... half of that was to the special "travel doctor" fee.. I'm going to see if my EmpireBlue health insurance will cover it... )
- Tilley Hat from Paragon Sporting Goods, supposedly the best hat out there. It's insured against loss [woo hoo!...] and is "indestructible"... they promise to replace the hat if it wears out. (many travel guides warn that the African sun will be brutal... especially when I'm taking doxycycline hyclate, the anti-malarial medication prescribed to me)
- an "inside" fannie pack that you wear under your pants... reinforced with wire to prevent pickpockets from cutting it off. though, the way I see it, if there' s someone trying to cut off a fannie pack from under your pants, you're probably got a lot more to worry about than someone getting at your passport... ($16)
- Patagonia rain jacket for the "monsoon" (or rather, really rainy) season ($100)
- San Disk USB Flash Drive, 1 GB ($40)
- A 100 GB external hard drive ($140)