The 5Ls of Every Country (Installment 2)

I liked: Having free time and eating lots of ice cream.  Walking to the neighborhood every day. Drinking coffee out in the village

I loathed: Having the kids play with/pull my hair every day.  Getting stung by a jellyfish

I loved: Yelling in the field and watching the sun rise over the mountains

I learned: That I have a lot of things to express and work through

I laughed: When we had a dance party in the kitchen

Ecuador

I liked: The beautiful landscape, playing soccer at the cool outdoor fields, jumping in the puddles while it rained, pulverizing rocks with a sledge hammer in Higuerones.

I loathed: Not having any days off

I loved: Learning how to suture from David, the families we stayed with, and the people at the churches.

I learned: That I really can speak Spanish.  Being the weakest one is difficult and humbling (Higuerones). 

Peru

I liked: All the amazing food and juices our pastor’s wife made us.  The sweet mototaxis that were everywhere in Chepen   

I loathed: Dulce the yippy dog that pooped on the floor; working in the corn fields (for one day)

I loved: Brick making and having a mud fight

I learned: To have more confidence when interacting with people. 

I laughed: When Pastor Juan handed me my pink pretty pretty princess watch that had been obtained in place of my awesome white puma watch

Nicaragua x2

I liked: volcano surfing, zip lining, playing sports with the kids, playing on the church softball team, napping in hammocks

I loathed: going to the funeral of a 16 year old, activities starting an hour late all the time

I loved: camping behind a waterfall, falling asleep listening to the waves crash, playing banana grams

I learned: That growth comes through difficult times, to have more patience, that I can be a good communicator

I laughed: When all the girls got dressed up in Granada and then the guys met us at the restaurant dressed up in short jean shorts, tight shirts and trucker hats. When squealing pigs were loaded on to the top of a school bus for transport; when there was a thunderstorm while I was sleeping in a rancho (tiki hut) and got misted by the rain through my mosquito netting and the lightning and thunder crashed right overhead. 

Thailand

I liked: being a part of the encouragement cab (ensuring Kellen drove on the left side of the road), getting subs and Iberry smoothies at the mall, worship by the lake

I loathed: Going to bed late and getting up early, spicy food—curry and ginger, chugging Sprite at the bars, cleaning hair out of the shower drain, needing to use lice shampoo

I loved: watching the sunrise over the ocean (and falling asleep on the beach), tour of the Phi Phi Islands, talking with Lacey by the lake and getting pedicures

I learned: That simple things can make a huge difference in someone’s life (learning English, so you don’t have to be a prostitute), sometimes things are better than you expect them to be.

I laughed: When watching people’s reactions while they were eating bugs in the market, when we had a dance party and Bekah and I busted out our awesome cheerleading moves during intercession

Kenya

I liked: going to a school and playing with the kids and impromptu teaching about functions of body systems, the cool weather, going to the coffee shop, eating chapatti

I loathed: needing to be careful of bone fragments when eating meat, going room to room at a hospital shaking hands with people without any form of hand hygiene, craterous roads

I loved: the beautiful landscape, the chai tea

I learned: to have more patience, that words are powerful, that people eat a lot in Kenya

I laughed: When music would be turned on and 3yr old Vincent would dance like a crazy man and sing Shakira– waka waka this is Africa. 

Uganda

I liked: going to the mall and getting pizza and coffee, holding babies, sunset cruise on the Nile

I loathed: cramming into tiny little vans/taxis, 45 minute I mean 3 hour drives full of pot holes, the power going out basically every night

I loved: rafting the Nile, the view of the Nile from the hostel in Jinja

I learned: how to unplug a toilet using a stick, that brides and grooms don’t kiss at weddings, to have more patience

I laughed: watching one of the pastors dancing and singing along with the kids songs, when I gashed my toe open in the pitch black and Cadence used the light from her camera so I could see it, when the pastors got their faces painted at the zoo

Tanzania

I liked: the landscape- Lake Victoria, rocky cliffs, sitting on the roof at our house and listening to music, using the toilet at the hotel

I loathed: being awoken to yelling over music playing in your ears, zero privacy, squatty potties, falling into a sink hole

I loved: going on safari, staying at a hotel with a ceiling fan, going to Zanzibar- awesome beaches and snorkeling, cute shops and good restaurants

I learned: That there are a ton of people who are Muslim in Tanzania (and that there is a high-decibel call to prayer at 4am in Zanzibar) demon possession is real, that daily use of a squatty potty isn’t really too bad

I laughed: when I saw the boat we took out snorkeling (it looked like rotting planks held together with twine and a tarp for the sail, when stoic Pastor Celsus danced along with the kids songs at church, at how many times people got peed on while holding babies at church

SE Asia

I liked: painting and listening to music, going to an English speaking church, walking to go get smoothies (orange/dragon fruit/sweetened condensed milk), eating sticky rice at almost every meal, Pizza Company

I loathed: waking up with a live little cricket in my ear, peeling sheets back to find a small colony of ants, and in general how many times I found ants crawling on me

I loved: hanging out with kids and jumping on the trampoline, making and eating all kinds of American desserts—apple pie, brownies, birthday cake, staying at a hotel with beds and air conditioning, all the people we met, riding bikes downtown and getting a massage with Lacey and eating at Joma, eating at a Vietnamese restaurant on the Mekong River, taking the sleeper train.

I learned: It is common to eat while standing and using your fingers to grab what you want, that God has perfect timing, how to play settlers of catan, that fertilized duck egg is eatable

I laughed: Every time Akira said—what happened?, in her sweet high pitched 3 year old voice, All the goofy things Levi and Keon did—how much Keon loved being thrown around on the trampoline, when Keon sang Jesus loves me for a good five minutes, playing guess who with Keon (age 2).   

Cambodia

I liked: teaching English, going to the market, using tuk-tuks as our primary mode of transportation

I loathed: waking up drenched in sweat every morning

I loved: sitting by the river and listening to music, iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk, staying at a beach front resort for $7.50/night, riding elephants

I learned: that I understand the English language more than I thought I did

I laughed: when an 11-year old passed me a note that said I love you, when we did English improv during our conversation class. 

Overall

I liked: Bus rides in Latin American and Asia, discovering similarities and differences between countries and cultures

I loathed: ordering food at a restaurant only to find that they do not have your first, second, or third choices (really the only option is rice and beans), constantly needing to remember conversion rates to figure out how much money you are spending, African bus rides, needing to haggle for every item or taxi ride you purchase

I loved: watching sunrises and sunsets over the ocean, going to the beach in almost every country, seeing tons of beautiful landscape

I learned: to be patient, the art of improvising, how to effectively use a squatty potty, to always have water, toilet paper and hand sanitizer with you

I laughed: Every time I was in a tin roofed shack with a dirt floor and there was a microphone with huge speakers, seeing people wearing t-shirts that they clearly did not understand the meaning of—“If you’re rich I’m single� 70 yr old lady, “Red hot diva� 22 yr old motorcycle taxi driver, conga lines at church