Good morning, iPod in squat toilet. 

Some friends and I went to get Chinese food in Dakar the other day. We got a little lost, and spotted a couple Chinese ladies (surprisingly, not a rarity here) walking down the street. We stopped to ask them where the restaurant was and the conversation, in Chinese, sounded a little like this:

Us: We’re looking for the other Chinese restaurant here. Do you know where it is?
Ladies: Oh, yeah! It’s right over there. That street there. [Points to a street corner]. Do you see that street where that black person is coming out of? 

Of all the fabulous things to enjoy about Senegal, my favorite by far is getting to sleep underneath the stars at our regional house in Ndioum. Some volunteers have outdoor squat areas and set up beds/cots there at night, but my fancy western toilet and shower came with a price.

The roofs here are built like confused balconies, and drains, with insufficient piping, keep the rooftops semi-dry, if a huge rainstorm sporadically hits the night before.

During the endless summer nights here in Senegal, sleeping on the roof is a real treat. You would not believe how much heat mosquito nets trap in when you sleep indoors. If given the chance, set up camp outside! There is nothing like the crisp, cool breeze, moonlit sky, or a wave of sand slapping you in the face in the heat of the night every now and then. 

Europe, here I come!

Other than sleeping in puddles of my own sweat and listening to toads hop around on my floor in the dark, my biggest enemy during those wee hours at night is mosquitoes. There is nothing like waking up in the middle of the night to these fierce creepy crawlers buzzing in your ear or landing on your face. Thus, it is crucial for me to tie up a mosquito net or like my friend Vanna calls it, a “canopy bed,” every night.

I know you must be thinking, “How hard can it be to tie up a silly net?” When on the road, unbelievably more difficult than you might think. Thankfully, I’ve come up with this short and handy guide that includes some tips and examples that you might find resourceful when typing up your own net.

While some nets require 4 corners, my experience tells me that truly only 3 of those corners are really important. And if you’re really lucky, maybe 2 of those loops will do the trick. But if you don’t have nails in the walls or string to hook your loops on to, what do you do? 

1. Identify household items with corners.
Loop off of a refrigerator door? Why not? The refrigerator is grounded, heavy, and won’t even get in your way when you wake up for that late night drink of cold water to stay hydrated.

2. Lock your knotted loop into a drawer.
Open a drawer, drop your loop in, close a drawer. Simple.

3. Use floss.
The best substitute for string when tying your mosquito net is floss. Incredibly durable and cost-efficient. Thanks Peace Corps med!

4. Tuck the net under mattress tightly.
The secret to only needing 2-3 posts? Don’t leave any slack. 

Other possibilities include table legs, door handles, and many more. So if you’re tying your mosquito net up after a long 10 hr ride from your regional house or creating a canopy bed for your African adventure at home, remember to use the  most of your surroundings and get creative when fending off those skeeters. Malaria can be a real killer.