My Time as a Human

One of the things I’ve learned about both travel and film work is that I’m happiest when I’m completely self-contained and self-sufficient. If I have everything I need I won’t waste time or energy getting cranky when the producer forgets to arrange food, or only provides beef. When I’m knee deep in mud I don’t have to run back to a truck for anything. When the lights suddenly cut out while I’m half naked washing laundry, I don’t even notice the transition to a waterproof flashlight because the reflex is so fluid and automatic it’s already in my hand and lit. (I literally experienced this: looking down, startled, to realize I was already holding the lit flashlight. It was very cool.)

Here is what I had with me every minute of every day, strategically placed on my body (thanks to cargo pants) such that I could grab it without even thinking:

- Leatherman tool
- Waterproof flashlight
- Notebook
- Pen
- Extra camera batteries
- Extra Firestore batteries
- Nylon cord
- Twist ties
- Handkerchief
- Lens cleaning brush
- Lens cleaning fluid and wipes
- Rubber bands
- Tiny bottle of hand soap/body wash
- Expendable wallet with money and business cards
- More hidden travel wallet with:

- Real money
- Passport
- Immunity shot list
- Contact number for emergency evac
- Phone numbers for credit card cancellation
- Phone numbers and addresses of people in states and local
- Credit card (backup left elsewhere and uninitialized)

- Water
- Organic dried fruit and nuts mix
- Warm hat
- Wool scarf
- 300 weight fleece
- Brim hat (to swap with warm hat when the day heated up)

I’m back. Very slow, sleepy, floating, not sure I want to be here and very careful about who I talk to at the moment. I feel like I’ve been yanked out of a warm hot tub to the edge of a very cold swimming pool and forced to re-enter the water. So I’m shivering and poking at it with my toe and wishing I was somewhere else.

I’m sure that given some sleep I’ll be back to some American style behaviors I can’t even recall. Actually, I think I spent my time eating vegetarian food, drinking foreign beers and playing Go. So maybe it’s not too far off. I’ve just lost all patience for things and people petty and trite and gained much greater patience for sporadic electricity, dung, and bucket showers.