This is the third (or fourth, depends on my point of view) trip to Zambia, and the caution I have now is taking not too much katundu (ciBemba for, politely, "stuff"). It's really a matter of good socks and underwear, with a few odds and ends that are difficult to acquire on the Continent, such as sewing kits or GPS units (I take the most basic, the Garmin Etrex H). The rest is sort of extraneous, because too much American katundu can separate you from your community, not to mention reduce the empathy you might feel or lessons you might learn from trying to improvise a solution in the field.
I am taking a GPS, which in combination with some great shareware from the MN-DNR, allows me to create shapefiles (for ARCGIS) or .kml/kmz files (for Google Earth); it makes mapping a relative breeze, which might help as a visual tool. Also taking a couple of rain gauges, line levels, soil thermometer, and possibly some fishing rods ... I'd be a fool to pass up the opportunity for tigerfishing on the Zambezi.
Lists of to-do and have done ... at least the pin-cushion (inoculation) part is over.
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