As I’m preparing to leave on Sept 20th for Nigeria, I find myself torn about what I should take with me and what I should leave behind. Do I need another bottle of shampoo? Am I bringing enough mosquito repellent? Is that second bottle of SPF 85 too much? How much soap will I really use in 7 months? Do I bring makeup? Jewelry? A travel guitar? My workout DVDs and exercise ball?
I’ve had to completely overhaul my wardrobe, as I’ve discovered that in Nigeria, women are expected to dress very modestly. No low necklines, no sleeveless blouses, and even trousers are not widely accepted. Women are expected to wear skirts, but they have to be below the knee. Since I’ll be in a rural village area that consists of Christians and Muslims alike, my standards of dress will have to be much more conservative than if I was in a big city like Lagos. Plus, the temperature averages about 80F, which means light cotton or linen is preferable to denim or polyester. So I’m leaving behind most of my clothes and bringing stuff I bought from Old Navy.
I bought maybe 5 or 6 of these shirts in different colors. The material is so light and comfortable; I love it.
These blouson shirts are also awesome, but given the low neckline, I’ll probably have to wear a cami underneath.
I also ended up ordering some beautiful long skirts from Overstock.com. Who would have guessed that a company devoted to buying inventory that businesses couldn’t sell would end up having such gorgeous items? Which is why T.J. Maxx and Filene’s Basement have been so successful, I suppose. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
That’s the nice thing about being forced to buy a whole new wardrobe. It gives you a chance to clean out your closet and change your overall look drastically. No more preppy Ann Taylor Loft and Banana Republic. My friends used to mock me for my monochromatic color schemes, my “minimalist” style (which I took to mean “boring”), and my fondness for beige. I have never been a person on the cutting edge of style. Nor did I ever use clothes to “express myself,” as words sufficed for me, thank you very much. If something fit me okay and wasn’t too crazy-looking, I bought it. But now, thanks to my upcoming trip, I’ve transformed into a person who wears loose, flowing clothes. Like an ultra-granola hippie. Co-op and organic farming, here I come.
So much more to write about my trip, but I’ve got to save some material for later posts. Yes, I will be writing in this blog more consistently, if only so I can look back and remember something of my experiences abroad. Like an amnestic patient, my episodic memory has really gone down the tubes since medical school started. This blog will be my version of Memento, a way of trying to record what happened for future posterity.
