1. Everyone uses a washing machine to wash clothes. No, in fact, we have become very good at handwashing our clothes in almost any place- rivers, sinks, showers. I’ve only seen two washing machines the nine months I’ve been gone. And surprisingly, the people who handwash are excellent at it.. their clothes look so clean! 3. Do I wear shoes inside the house, or take the off outside- the question since leaving Asia where shoes are strictly left outside always. 4. In Kenya, we found that Christians NEVER drink alcohol or smoke, and rarely listen to music other than Christian music. 5. It’s rude to be late. Not so much in places outside the States. Often when someone says they’ll be somewhere at a certain time, it is at least an hour or two later that they show up. At our orientation we were told in Africa morning is when the sun is low in the sky, noon is when the sun is near overhead, and evening is when the sun is lower on the other side of the sky. That is time. Expect people to show up at any time and have PATIENCE. One good thing I have found, is that time spent with people seem to matter more in these countries. People really take the time to visit with you, even if they are late for something else. And they seem much less stressed too. 6. Everywhere children go to school for free. We have found many children not in school this year. Visiting public schools around the world make me much more thankful for public schools in the States. In Kenya, Kindergarten and First grade classes had 100 students to one teacher. Can you imagine?! Plus, many countries charge fees for school, along with uniforms and school supplies that many families cannot afford. Take a look at some of the schools we have seen- no doors, cracks in the walls, dirt floors, and little privacy from what’s going on in the class next door. 7. Most people own a car. No. In fact, based on our contacts 4 out of 9 of our contacts have had cars, and one of those people was from the States and another from the UK. Really, there are many options of transportation i was never aware of: camels, tuk-tuks, backs of bicycles, backs of motorcycles (seen families of 4 on motorcycles in Cambodia). And then there are buses, taxis, backs of trucks, and the cheapest and most common… walking. In the Philippines, our contacts wife road 45 minutes each way on a tuk-tuk (see below picture) to get us groceries for each day. 8. Eight to five is the normal workday. Based on the amount of people we have seen sitting on the side of the street and women at home during the day, there is either a lot more unemployment, or working hours are different everywhere. I know many shops have taken time in the afternoon to nap, or simply open when they feel like it. I have come to realize Americans lives revolve around work and are much more on-the-go than I ever realized before. I’m a little nervous how I’ll take re-entry with the hustle and bustle of things. 9. I will not forget to enjoy a hot shower. It’s been a LONG time since I have had a hot shower. Almost guranteed each month to have a cold shower, but it’s wonderful to have a place to get clean. Sometimes it’s been a river and other months a bucket shower, which apparently is a common form of bathing… who would have thought? 10. On the bathroom topic, I never thought I’d have to carry toilet paper and say a prayer for a Western toilet before entering a bathroom. Most common are squatty pottys (holes in the ground, sometimes porcelain, sometimes just a hole in the ground.) Then in Asia there was the sprayer option. Almost always a guarantee you have to bring your own tp. I began taking napkins from restaurants and saving them in my purse… I don’t want this to sound like I am complaining.. I actually have really enjoyed getting to see and become a part of these different cultures for a period of time. Don’t get me wrong, some days it is not as enjoyable, but then I remember that the things I considered a normal part of life before the Race, are actually huge blessings that many people in the world will never be able to experience. Next time you do a load of laundry, think of the woman in Africa who has to go to the well to pump water, then do the family’s laundy by hand and hang it to air dry. Or when you are too tired to go to the grocery store, think of the mother who had to go buy a chicken, slaughter it, and then prepare it for the night’s meal. Oh, and there is no refrigerator at home, so you have to go to the store every day. And hopefully your husband will come home with enough money today to help pay the children’s tuition, because it’s a new term, and they will be refused otherwise. This year, and especially this month in Uganda, has really opened my eyes up to the fact that there are many luxuries I have taken for granted. We have so much to be thankful for! “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thess. 5:18
Nine months in nine different countries and various cultures. I am beginning to realize I don’t even know what is “normal” anymore. I think it is a good thing; my perspectives are changing. Here are some things I thought were normal before this year, and things that have been proved as not-so-normal since life on the Race.
2. Never again will I take a certified butcher in the supermarket for granted. I would like my meat and not have to know how it got to the state it is now in. We pass women carrying live chickens home to cook for dinner, see chickens being beheaded, de-feathered, gutted, and sliced, by the side of the road on a fly-infested table. I have also seen cow stomach and intestines, and other carcasses hanging in the windows in the sun. Really makes you question the meat served at lunch…
Better hope you have good aim!
Our church bathroom (left)
11. Having a garbage service. Whether it’s driving to the dump in the truck with my dad, or having the garbage truck come, it is nice to know that the garbage is being placed in one location far from the sight and smell of home. And that items are being recylced. I asked a man where I could put my recycling (aren’t you proud, dad!) and he mentioned, “Just throw it in the trash. The street boys will come through and pick it out.” I was NOT expecting that response. I have been disgusted by how much trash I see everywhere we go. It is on the side of the street, in the playground, clogging the water drains. And people just toss trash on the ground without a care. I once watched someone throw a water bottle out the window as we were driving because they simply didn’t want it in the car anymore. Does this seem wrong to anyone else?! (or is it just the Californian in me?) It breaks my heart when I see families out picking through the trash for items they can eat or make money with. One of our contacts told us he grew up going to the dump looking for food.. I asked him and he said he never really got sick from it. It actually happens, guys. I don’t know that I believed it until I saw it. And I have seen it a lot this year.
Yes, this is someone’s home.
