Packing for Guinea

I am numb about the Peace Corps invitation to Guinea, Africa. I am neither excited nor depressed about it. I am indifferent. The application process is a long one kind of like earning a PhD where your final defense is a bit anti-climatic.

I have led a simplistic, anti-materialistic life or so I believe. I do not feel stressed about the thought of how the hell am I going to fit all of my stuff into two bags. That is actually pretty simple. Clothes as they should be will take up the least space. The bigger questions are what comforts of home do I need to pack and what hobbies do I need to bring to occupy my free time?

For the past 7 months, I have been an unemployed nomad so I pretty much know what things are important to me: a pillow, writing and art materials, rubber bands and hair clips, craft materials like hooks, needles, and yarn, books and music. Yet these simple things exist in a place where I can buy anything else I want. I wonder what things will I miss in my new new home. What things do I take for granted? What do I need to pack?