Ten months. Half a bottle of balsamic vinegar. One large bottle of Advil. Two bottles of sunscreen. Three bottles of olive oil. Four tanks of gas for my stove. Five notebooks. Six batteries for my flashlight. Seven Uniball pens. Eight lightbulbs.
These are some of the things that I used throughout the year that can be counted. There are many other things I use everyday that I could never hope to measure, such as the number of bottles of water, pounds of coffee, or cans of chickpeas consumed.
When I live in the United States, I never keep track of how much of things I use. I simply buy what I need and forget about it. Yet living abroad forces me to plan and monitor what I need, since I carried most of these things with me from home.
This year as I was planning in my head what I needed to bring, I thought that I would barely need anything. A seasoned traveler knows that nearly anything can be bought locally anywhere in the world. I like to think of myself as a simple person who is content to live a simple life with the basic things. Yet when it came time to actually fill my suitcases, I found them stuffed with non-essential things, such as bags of dried black beans, cornmeal, pecans, and chocolate bars. Of course, I don't NEED these things to survive. They simply make me happy to have.
I am back in Nouakchott with refreshed supplies for another year. I can now stop counting what I use and just enjoy my remaining time in this city that is slowly becoming my home.
These are some of the things that I used throughout the year that can be counted. There are many other things I use everyday that I could never hope to measure, such as the number of bottles of water, pounds of coffee, or cans of chickpeas consumed.
When I live in the United States, I never keep track of how much of things I use. I simply buy what I need and forget about it. Yet living abroad forces me to plan and monitor what I need, since I carried most of these things with me from home.
This year as I was planning in my head what I needed to bring, I thought that I would barely need anything. A seasoned traveler knows that nearly anything can be bought locally anywhere in the world. I like to think of myself as a simple person who is content to live a simple life with the basic things. Yet when it came time to actually fill my suitcases, I found them stuffed with non-essential things, such as bags of dried black beans, cornmeal, pecans, and chocolate bars. Of course, I don't NEED these things to survive. They simply make me happy to have.
I am back in Nouakchott with refreshed supplies for another year. I can now stop counting what I use and just enjoy my remaining time in this city that is slowly becoming my home.
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