Out with the Old, in with the New

Thinking back to when I started this crazy journey, I remember setting up my blog. I used the example of writing 50 things about myself for the About Me page. Recalling that moment, as I sat on my couch in my cozy apartment half watching the night’s sitcom I spent two hours coming up with interesting facts about myself. It turned out to be much harder than I thought. What about me do people really want to know? Once again I find my laptop in my lap as I sit on a tarp in the middle of the preschool yard a few feet from our cooking fire. Reminiscing on these last 10 months I realize that some of the items I listed are different and some are the same, but there are certainly a number of things that are new about me. There are also a few things that I never knew about myself until I experienced this crazy journey.

 

50 New things or new to me about Carly:

1. I can go an entire day without speaking.
2. I’m not a big ice cream eater; at least compared to my teammates.
3. Coming on the race will NOT curb your shopping addiction.
4. If I worked out regularly I could lose all the weight I wanted.
5. I’ve become more introverted than extroverted from living alone.
6. I enjoy elementary aged kids more than I thought.
7. Teaching English to foreigners is a lot different than teaching English to English speakers.
8. I’ve become very good at painting walls, especially trim.
9. I can make rebar from scratch.
10. I can sleep in a full sized bed with two other girls.
11. I now know how to make concrete.
12. I am all right with hitchhiking.
13. I can be the calm during chaos.
14. Swimming with dolphins was as fun as I thought.
15. My words come out softer than they used to.
16. I no longer need to be in charge, I can empower people to do that.
17. I now know all the Christian kid songs the Catholics don’t teach.
18. I can go 8 days without a shower.
19. I’m a picky eater.
20. I’ve lost my taste for spicy foods. : (
21. I no longer find the need to be belted in when riding in a vehicle.
22. I love to set brush fires!
23. The coolest thing I did this year was seeing Psy in concert. Especially considering I heard his song, on repeat, everywhere!
24. I’m more of a girly-girl than I ever thought. I enjoy wearing make-up, jewelry, matching outfits and getting mani-pedis.
25. I enjoy the man time activities better than girl time.
26. Coffee is no longer a morning necessity, but that’s because it’s usually instant. Yuck!
27. I fell in love with the ministry in Thailand and got my hope tattoo to commemorate it.
28. I still hate doing dishes!
29. I still bite my nails, although I did stop for one month.
30. Going to bed early has become my new norm, and by early I mean 7:00 pm.
31. Having short hair was not necessarily easier.
32. Carrying your own toilet paper is necessary.
33. Flushing a toilet is a luxury.
34. Where ever we go I ask if they have free WiFi.
35. Taking a cold shower is not so bad when the temperature outside is 100 degrees.
36. I don’t get along with Asia. They don’t use yellow mustard.
37. I can say hello and thank you in several languages.
38. It fills me up to be crafty. I missed my sewing machine this year.
39. I’ve read less on the race than I expected.
40. I’ve never talked about bodily functions more than being on this race; and I grew up with 3 boys!
41. Killing dinner is totally normal.
42. Material things are exactly that, material. They can all be replaced.
43. I’m not a “high feeler.”
44. When someone gives you a time it really means about an hour after that.
45. I’ve never enjoyed cold Coke as much as this year.
46. Celine Dion follows us everywhere.
47. Double Stuffed Oreoes are a great comfort food.
48. If there is only one outlet we will find a way to plug in 60 phones.
49. I prefer hearing sermons in English. Did you know they have podcasts for that?
50. It’s frigid in Africa.

 

So if I happen to say something strange or do something weird remember I’ve been out of the U.S. for the last 11 months.