"The · darkest · thing · about · Africa · has · always · been · our · ignorance · of · it"

For any wonderful people who might be interested in sending stuff while I’m gone, here is my wishlist of items.  Remember that USPS priority mail boxes may be less expensive for shipping if items are heavy.
(UPDATED July 15, 2008)
My wishlist:
**Notes:
- If you send any fragrant non-food items, please send food in a separate package...  I've discovered that otherwise the scent seeps into the food
- If you purchase a book or other expensive item, please post a note here or contact my mom so that she can remove it from the wishlist so that someone else doesn't buy it too.**
Food (that stuff I'll always use up!):
- Small things of spices like rosemary, oregano, thyme and parsley
- Pasta mixes (the kind where you just add milk, margarine and/or water) (I know of at least one brand, Lipton Pasta Sides, that makes whole grain versions, which would be awesome since I never get grains.)
- Protein Bars (Mom sent me a sampler to find ones I liked--the winners were: Pure Protein brand Strawberry Shortcake, Clif Builder's Bar brand Chocolate Mint or Chocolate, Power Bar brand Triple Threat Caramel Peanut Fusion or S'mores, Promax brand Cookies and Cream, and Luna brand Iced Oatmeal Raisin or Chocolate Pecan Pie. None of these have to be any sort of "diet" or "low fat" variety.)
- Boxes of macaroni and cheese (I have powdered milk and nonrefrigerated butter, so doesn't have to be Easy Mac, or you could even just send the cheese packet out of the box to lower the shipping weight, then I can get pasta locally)
- Cheerio's of any kind
- Chex Mix
- Peanut butter (the stuff here isn't sweet, and I haven't been able to doctor it up to fix it so it tastes American)
- Almond M&M's
- Club Crackers
- Packets of instant flavored oatmeal
- Chewy Chips Ahoy
- Jolly Ranchers
- Granola bars
- Dried fruit
- Trail Mix
- Fruit leathers
- Pudding mix and graham crackers (the two together are delicious!)
- Ritz crackers
Stuff for Minty: 
- Greenies (or other similar doggy dental bones)
Various other items:
- Glow in the Dark Star Stickers for my ceiling
- Copies of Women's Health magazine or similar (don't have to be new)
- Music tapes (to give to my family so they'll have something to blast besides Sean Paul, Akon, and screechy Gambian stuff)
- DVDs--Previously viewed copies are fine by me
          - The Office Season 3 DVDs
        -Smallville Season 3 DVDs
         - Veronica Mars Season 1 DVDs
- U.S. 42 cent stamps - for when I send letters back to the States for others to mail
- Raid Non-Aerosol Fumigators
- Interesting newspaper or magazine articles (if it wasn't in International Newsweek, I don't know that it happened)
- Snap to activate ice packs (for cooling down on scorching days or cross country bus rides, as well as in the event of burns, since I have no access to ice)
- Books (see list below)
- Letters!!!!!!!
- CDs of the Israeli Celebration Dancers' dance music (so far, I just have The Chevra)
- TP works well for padding envelopes (and will be something I can use, whereas bubble wrap and styrofoam will be hard to dispose of in a remote village)

Books:
Here’s the list of books I’d love to read while in The Gambia (and I do have plenty of free time to do so). My top ten are marked with asterisks. If you decide to purchase a book from this list, please leave a comment here so my mom (who maintains this site when I am out in the bush with no internet access) can take that book off the list and keep someone else from sending me the same book. Thanks!  Used copies are fine.

*Aid as Obstacle:  Twenty Questions about our Foreign Aid and the Hungry - Frances Moore Lappe, Joseph Collins & David Kinley
Forgiveness – Gary Inrig
More – Marilyn N. Anderes
Spirit Controlled Living – Clark Cothern
The Hidden Power of a Woman – Bonnie & Mahesh Chavda
The Hope Factor: Engaging the Church in the HIV/AIDS Crisis
*The Irresistable Revolution by Shane Claiborne (but don't send me this book unless you are willing to read it first--I want someone to discuss it with. I've actually already read it here but would really like a copy of my own to keep)
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
30 Days to Experiencing Spiritual Breakthroughs – Bruce Wilkinson
*Tired of To-Do List Christianity? – Scott Morton
Total Abandon – Gary Witherall
*What Every Church Member Should Know about Poverty – Bill Ehlig, Ruby K. Payne
*With Unveiled Faces – Keith Drury 
Founding Faith - Steven Waldman