Here are a few observations and pieces of advice I
would give an upcoming world racer. Of
course the disclaimer here is these are my opinions and every race route is
different, so maybe these might apply to some but not others.
-If you have an Ipod touch or Iphone, bring it on
the race. Very convenient when it comes
to getting internet, and the game applications can make long bus trips much
more bearable. All of this is coming
from someone who didn’t have one, but had to observe the fun of others.
-Bring a phone unlocked for international
calls. Phone minutes around the world
are incredibly cheap, many times you won’t be able to skype but can “top up” on
minutes and call home for less than a dollar.
-Bring at least 3 pairs of athletic shorts.
-Bring a good bit of underwear, your call, but I
would’ve been able to go much longer without doing laundry if it wasn’t for
dirty underwear. Shirts and shorts can
be worn multiple times, underwear not so much.
-The lower weight and bulk of a netbook is well
worth it if you have the opportunity to bring one instead of a big laptop.
-If you have an opportunity, bring an external hard
drive on the race. Racers love movies
and TV shows and an external hard drive will increase the amount of borrowing
you can do.
-Fiction books are generally more enjoyable on the
race than your deep Christian books.
-Load up your Ipod or computer with podcasts, help
make travel days or hard labor work days more enjoyable. (Stuff you should know and Tedtalks are 2
great podcasts).
-Learn how to play Spades or any other card game for
that matter.
-Don’t get a sleeping pad that is less than 2 inches
thick, seriously.
-Bring a light blanket instead of a sleeping bag
liner, it always seems to be either too hot for a liner, or a sleeping bag
unzipped works just as well when it is not too hot or cold.
-Budget personal spending money if possible. There are so many things to do in each
country and it’s a bummer to miss out on something because of no money, I
really think $100 every month would’ve covered everything I wanted to do, plus
ice cream and snicker bar runs.
-Blog, it’s really not hard. You don’t have to come up with thought
provoking posts, just talk about what’s going on. So many people talk themselves out of
blogging by making it too big of a deal.
-Master opening many tabs and saving web pages to
your desktop as a way to increase internet time, I probably went through all of
Africa never reading an article until I was out of the internet café.
-If you are going to Africa bring enough deodorant
to last through Africa. African
deodorant simply does not work, all other toiletries are replaceable.
-Don’t bring a water bottle. I lost 2, others lost even more. You don’t have a lot of opportunities to wash
a bottle, so it worked out better for me to just buy a large disposable water
bottle and replace it every 2 weeks or so once it started to smell (not the
most environmentally conscious way of going about things).
-Bring a study bible. With all the sermons you will be preaching, you’ll want one.
-Prepare a few sample English lessons. You will teach English at some point during the year.
-And most importantly, choose abandonment. I know this kind of seems like it goes against everything listed before this, but its because I spend a good bit of time thinking abandonment would just come. I thought, oh I’ll get to Africa and be forced into abandonment. Even if you’re in the middle of nowhere you can still hold on to your own selfish thoughts and desires. From the beginning of the race, it is best to choose abandonment.
So if you have any specific questions, but don’t know anyone to talk to, you can e-mail me at [email protected]
