YOU
KNOW YOU’VE BEEN OFF THE RACE FOR 1 MONTH WHEN…
Every
time you get in the shower you thank God for hot running water.
It’s weird waking up to silence
You still carry deodorant and a head
lamp in your purse and its normal.
The majority of the time you ignore
phone calls because you’re still getting over the fact that everyone
has a direct line to talk to you whenever, wherever.
You don’t go a day without being
asked… “oh, what are you going to do now?”
Your world race backpack is still not
quite unpacked yet and you don’t plan on doing it anytime soon.
Even though it’s cold, you still go
around in your barefeet so your feet can be on carpet.
You get excited when your mom makes a
homecooked meal, but if you get to the table to find rice, potatoes
and/or chicken you’d prefer just not eat.
Although before leaving for the race
you craved sweets, now you crave fruits and vegetables because they’re
somewhat uncommon on the race.
You can sit anywhere for prolonged
amount of time without even breaking a sweat.
Although your family has a dishwasher you still tend to hand wash your own dishes and volunteer to do everyone else’s as well.
You see an unknown object on the floor
or on your clothes and freak out because you think it’s a rat or a
large bug.
chores left for you daily on the kitchen table.
You no longer use skype to talk to
people from home, but instead only to talk to The World Race family.
Your facebook wall is full of
messages from world racers.
You’re still getting over the fact that
you could potentially be ‘stuck’ in the same country for over 5
weeks.
You cannot go a day without talking to
another racer.
When driving you have to think twice
about which side of the road you’re supposed to be on and sometimes
even attempt to get in the passenger seat when getting in the car.
Although you have an entire closet full
of clothing you still tend to wear the same few outfits over and
over again.
No matter what the topic of
conversation it always reminds you of a story from the race.
You have yet to wear any of the
clothing that actually made it home with you at the end of the year.
Sometimes you think about sleeping on your thermarest outside in your tent to feel like you’re at home.
You no longer get excited about
McDonalds since there are better options (well maybe unless your name
is Rusty Jackson)…nor see Ramen Noodles as luxery (Rubie and Nate!) or carry peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches in your cargo pockets (Kelton! ha)
You no longer talk about deucing with
everyone around you, in fact you really don’t talk about it at all.
You get excited bout drinking water
because you can get it directly from the tap…with iCE!
When going to the bathroom you still
hesitate almost putting your toilet paper in the trash can, and as
you throw it in the toilet remember all the places you had to put it
in the trash and think, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.
You realize you can live with so little
and are ready to get rid of the extra clothes and little things.
Shopping stressful because
there are set prices and no bargaining. And $10 for a shirt or food
is no longer expensive. Yet at the same time it’s so overwhelming because you know how simply you can live.
Hand sanitizer is STILL your best
friend.
Regardless of how dirty a public
restroom is, it’s clean in your eyes (comparing it to all the filthy
bathrooms we were in this year). But if it’s really bad you prefer to just be outside or at a squatty potty.
Some days you just don’t shower.
You plan absolutely nothing. Others
can’t stand it, but for you it works perfectly fine.
When most of your sentences begin with,
“yeah, when I was on the race…”
…no one seems to understand.
It’s never been more fun to wear
sweaters, coats, JEANS, a 2 piece bathing suit, and to get dressed
up.
You start crying or breakdown at the
most random, unpredictable moments.
You’re trying to figure out how to save
enough money to get back to your favorite place as soon as possible.
You still don’t know what’s next and
are okay with it.
You look at your watch and think
about what time it is in each country you’ve been in.
people you have met and are always wonder how they are doing and
when or if you’ll ever get to see them again.
You’re often unsure of what day it is,
let alone have any sense of time.
You don’t really care about much of
anything, because in the grand perspective of the world it all seems
so small.
Lastly, you remember you’re just in another country and GOD REMAINS THE SAME and is with you every step of the way.
