Regarding duct tape....

I have long been a big fan of duct tape. I use it for all sorts of stuff. If you have something that needs to be stuck in place, I will recommend duct tape almost every time. My enthusiasm is strong enough that my father pokes fun at me every year by leaving a roll in my Christmas stocking.

Here in the Peace Corps I am discovering hundreds of new uses for the stuff. Here are some examples.

• Duct tape can be used to put anything up on a cement block wall. Posters, maps, newspaper clippings, photos of family, and even mirrors.
• It can be combined with old mosquito netting to make a window covering. This keeps visitors (mosquitoes, fire flies, rats) from entering in the night.
  
• When combined with a piece of sterile gauze, duct tape makes a very durable bandaid to help alleviate the many cuts and scrapes that are a part of life here.
• I used a few pieces of wood and some duct tape to make a roller on which to hang my toilet paper next to the toilet.
• My head phones were starting to come apart, so I used small strips of duct tape to keep them together.  They should last a while now.
• I use it to block off holes in the wall that ants like to crawl in through.  There are a lot of holes, so there is starting to be an awful lot of duct tape put up.

I will let you know if I come up with more creative uses.