You know you are in East Africa when…

  • Everyone screams mzungu at you
  • You get excited that you have electricity
  • Toddlers run around with no pants or diapers on
  • A bus is not considered full until people are hanging out the doors and windows
  • Buses do not leave at a specific time, they just leave when they are full
  • Not having running water for a few days or not having running water at all is completely normal
  • Your ears feel like they are bleeding the entire time you are at church because the speakers are on full blast .
  • It is normal for a church service to last 5 hours
  • You eat the exact same meal everyday
  • You are asked if you are strong or powerful every morning
  • All you eat are carbs
  • You think you are getting tan but then you realize its just dirt
  • Not bathing for 3 days becomes completely acceptable
  • Soda becomes the drink of choice just because it is cold
  • You get used to instant coffee
  • You realize you haven’t ridden in a car for over a month
  • Everything completely shuts down when it rains
  • Children either run up to hug you or burst in to tears at the sight of you
  • The term clean clothes takes on a whole new meaning
  • You go a whole month and only wash your underwear because it takes too long to hand wash everything
  • At least one person is always dealing with a stomach issue
  • Using a western style toilet instead of squatty potty is more exciting than your birthday
  • Eating meat becomes a mystery game
  • You can literally walk up hill both ways
  • Avocados are the size of an infant
  • Shampoo for white girl hair is impossible to find
  • Deodorant is nonexistent
  • you drive over speed bumps every two minutes
  • there are no rules of the road it is just a free for all
  • bicycles are actually taxies
  • people talk so soft you can barely hear them but when they are handed a mic they only know how to scream
  • everyone tells you to "be free"