How to prolong the usage of your underwear during fieldwork

Ever had the problem of wanting to travel light but you always end up packing a ton? And not always having access to laundry facilities so that you find yourself lugging more "dirty" clothes in your backpack than clean ones? Well, here are some very important practical tips to help you prolong the usage of your underwear, resulting in your ability to go further with less (these tips can also be applied to shirts, but not to trousers as they're a bugger in the crotch when worn backwards--unless you're a gansta rapper, in which case you're too cool to care about comfort.)

The solution:

Usage 1: as normal
Usage 2: inside-out
Usage 3: back-to-front worn inside-out
Usage 4: back-to-front worn as normal (outside-in)

Some antiperspirant between the grits can also keep you and your knickers smelling fresh, longer. (You might want to buy a separate antiperspirant from the one you use for your armpits, though )

Yes, folks, this ingenious practical tip can help your underpants last for up to 4 weeks!--depending, of course, on whether being a social being remains important for you, and on whether you've been lucky enough to keep yourself from coming down with the trots (a.k.a. Montezuma's revenge, the Phnom Penh two-step, the Gulu hip-hop, the Seoul shuffle etc. etc.; for some, that would only be pose a problem regarding usages 3 and 4.

Just remember to de-programme yourself from this behaviour after you return to civilisation, for it will do nothing to boost your popularity--unless, of course, you've decided to adopt a solitary life.

LOL. but ladies (and I guess guys too) there is a much better and I think more hygenic solution to this problem. just use the lightesy version of tena lady everyday.

Good tip, Cameroonian. The tena lady can also double as a battle/field dressing for gunshot wounds (conflict studies, after all)

For guys, which side do you think it's more appropriate? The front or the back side of the underwear? If the front, I think most of us would need the kind with "wings"--to combat ball sweat, you know

talking about war zones. the lizards are chasing the cockroaches around the empty space between the ceiling and actual roof ( all night and day long). which makes more noise than a pissed off rattle snake.
I am completely ignoring the convention that says you cannot use poision gas in warfare (declared war on all bugs) but apparently they are resistant. Any ideas on how I can get some sleep?

PS I am completely supporting the lizard war effort. Go lizards!

If you feel safe enough where you sleep to lose your sense of hearing, then I'd suggest wearing ear plugs. As Alicia pointed out in class, ear plugs also have the added benefit of preventing bugs smaller than cockroaches from crawling into your ears while you sleep. And, of course, they'll block out the noise of the lizards chasing the cockroaches.

I dunno, the sound of lizards keeping the cockroaches at bay would be "music to my ears." Just as long as I have a mosquito net to shield me from any creepy crawlies getting into my bed, I'd probably eventually get used to the noise and will learn to sleep through it.

I hate bugs. I remember my first night in the Philippines back in 1994. I woke up in the middle of the night, and, with the moonlight beaming through my window, I thought I saw the entire floor moving. Nope. In fact it was an army of creepy crawlies doing their version of a rave on the floor.

Speaking of waking up in the middle of the night, one of the worst things is having to wake up at night to go to the toilet. You can't immediately see where you're going (hence my handy torch, which I always keep near or under my pillow), you could step on something creepy crawly, and as you open and close your mosquito net you could inadvertently let creatures into your bed. Obviously, not drinking anything in large quantities a couple of hours before going to sleep is a way to lessen the chance that you'll need to visit the toilet in the middle of the night (assuming that you would need to go to the toilet to urinate, rather than to do the Gulu shuffle). For men, there's even the option of keeping a peeing bottle in your bed with you so that you don't need to exit your bed to do your business. (Just don't get it mixed up in the middle of the night with your drinking-water bottle, if you keep one of those in your bed as well.) I suppose this is where a heavy tena lady might also come in handy for those too lazy to make the trip to the WC.

One last thing: if some of you put some of the candies or chocolate bars that you got on the plane into the pocket of your bag, backpack, or trousers, make sure to take them out as soon as you can. Otherwise you might have mice or rats (or other creatures) entering your pockets. And they might decide to shack up in there, or at least replace your chocolates with their own version of chocolate-covered raisins. Imagine a student getting a heart attack while doing fieldwork upon finding a mouse his or her bag pocket. Thank goodness I got all of my students to sign a waiver form before they left!

Another way to solve the "underwear problem" is going commando! That's right: let 'em hang free! According to Wikipedia, going commando also reduces the humidity and temperature around the pelvis, which brings this area of the body to a more natural state. For more benefits, consult the internet; it's loaded with handy tips and advice.

I am so going to try this tomorrow in a over-crowed, sweaty, steaming hot jeepney haha.

Same goes for socks!! inside out and upside down!

Or just loose the underwear altogether and use socks (at least for men). Kind of what those dudes in Papua New Guinea do, except you won't have an erect sheath, and you can still wear trousers over your under-sock.

Alternatively, you can buy a sarong for in the tropics, and go "commando" underneath. I have a sarong from Sri Lanka, and it's great to wear in hot weather. Better than trousers. I've never before gone "commando" with it, though. I'll have to try that sometime.

Niels wrote:Another way to solve the "underwear problem" is going commando!

This one is known as "going guerilla." All you need to pack is a couple of tubes, and you're good to go

Haha, epic... not sure if it will do wonders for my low profile though...

AWESOME! And I was gonna throw away all this scrap PVC!

PVC! Brilliant

I just noticed that if you have your hands full, these things could be handy for scratching an itchy nose.

I propose that you guys come to graduation some sort of similar PVC attire. Any takers? Who's got the "balls" to do that? (Probably not me.)

All very nice and hygienic suggestions. Another crazy option would be to just wash your underwear each night - that way you don’t have a pile of dirty undies and there’s always a fresh pair. But I guess that would take all the fun out of doing ‘field work’...

Once a week also good???

Hahhahaahah f'in hell Brocolli you crack me up. I was laughing my head off while reading this topic.

As for waking up in the middle of the night because you have to go toilet: I am sooo stupid. Just before you enter the toilet in my house, there is a big closet. And yes: every night I forget that freeking thing is there. It's because I'm so sleepy and I don't have a torch that I bang into that bloody thing almost every night.

So, you peeed in the closet? I guess that's why the loo is also referred to as a WC (water closet).

hahahaha. gives new meaning to the word!