What is your favorite thing about your team?
Oh, my team…I could never describe how much love I have for my team. I have never been part of a community or friend group that has made me feel as seen, heard and loved as they do. It’s our norm that we never interrupt or talk over each other, and make sure everyone’s voice is always heard. My team is a team of phenomenal listeners and encouragers, and I think that’s my favorite thing about them. It creates such a safe place, where you know you will always be accepted and loved no matter what.
If you could give your World Race experience one word, what would it be?
Freedom.
What have your worst experiences with bugs been?
Well, this is a pointed question. First, the four girls on my team had an appearance of BED BUGS in Colombia. It was a literal nightmare dealing with them, and would take a lot of context explanation to accurately describe to you just how nightmarish the situation was. It got worse when after fumigating everything we owned we had a reappearance of that evil little bug, and carried them into Ecuador. We dealt with them all over again and thankfully we were able to put it all in our past (though the fear of them coming back never really left). The saying “sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite” has a real, weighted meaning to us now.
Another awful experience with bugs was LICE infestation. My head was infested twice, it could be again at this very moment, I don’t want to talk about it. They are pure evil, and as much research we have put into it, we still don’t quite understand how they work. In the same way as the bed bugs saying, we now have a deep understanding of the term “nit-pick.”
The final experience I’ll describe happened my first night in Cambodia. It was unbearably hot, so we slept with our windows open in our room. I woke up and counted over 200 mosquito just on my legs! I managed to not get malaria after that though, so I sort of count it as a win. Sort of.
How many times and where have you peed your pants?
Wow, this is another very pointed question. It hasn’t been as many times as people seem to think, and I only really remember the one distinct time. Other times have just been when I’m laughing too hard. But that one time was on an Ecuadorian fair ride called The Dragon. The Dragon is one of those boat rides that swing back in forth to where you’re perpendicular with the ground. Normally you sit in a bench with a lap belt but since we were not in America, you had the choice to free stand in a cage at either end. We obviously chose to stand in the cage. I can say that on that ride, I was probably the most scared I have ever been in my life. I was hyper aware of the fact that a seemingly weak cage door was the only thing keeping me from falling to my death. And to add to that, Jake had the genius idea during the ride to let go of the bars and jump when we were at the peak, receiving a zero gravity effect for a few seconds. After those glorious few seconds though, he was shot up through the dragon head, smashing his head at the top and then falling down hard on top of Harper. I had a full bladder going onto the Dragon, and I came off of it with jeans completely soaked through with pee. Jake was okay, my jeans eventually got washed, and we were left with one of our favorite memories of the Race.
How was adjusting from life in America to life on the World Race (sleeping, money, clothes, food, washing clothes, etc.) and how long until it felt like your normal?
Those sort of changes honestly weren’t hard for me. In general, I’m someone who loves change and hates routine. I’ve realized that I can survive very well on very little. The things like having only a select few outfit options, buying and cooking food for myself, hand washing/drying my clothes, and sleeping on a glorified pool float, have given my life a more simple and raw feel to it which I love (most the time). The things like changing currencies, food, languages, and culture are just fun for me. If there’s one thing you have to learn on the Race, it’s to have the ability to adapt. So since frequent, big changes have become a prominent part of my life, new things quickly become very normal to me. Hopefully this carries over to coming home to America, though I simply cannot comprehend anymore flushing toilet paper, wearing Nike shorts in public, no buddy rule, or driving myself to get whatever food I crave at the moment.
If you could change one thing and do it differently about your time on the World Race, what would it be?
Man, this is a hard thing to think about, because I hate realizing that I have regrets, but I would probably make myself be more intentional with my free time. There’s SO much space, time, and opportunity to grow in whatever you desire to grow in. You don’t have homework or jobs to stress about, and you have more free time than you might expect. So I wish I would’ve taken better advantage of that and really spent more time with the Lord and studied His Word more. There were times I did this well, but more times that I didn’t.
What are your plans for after the Race?
In Cambodia I fell in love with teaching, so my current plan is to go to school to get a teaching degree. I tend to live my life a day at a time, so I hold plans very loosely. But teaching is something I feel more sure of and passionate about than any other options I’ve explored in the last few years, so that’s exciting to me!
How often do you get sick?
A lot more than I do in America haha. I’ve had typhoid, a nasty bacterial infection, various colds & fevers, and several occasions of food poisoning. These are always the times it gets really hard being away from the comforts of home.
How do you feel about coming home so soon?
I’m really excited, but also really nervous. I CANNOT wait to hug my family and friends, and spend time with them this summer. But past that, I’m nervous I’ll get bored, nervous that I won’t find the kind of community I desire, nervous about how lost I’ll feel without my teammates I’ve spent every minute with for the last nine months. But I trust that God has a lot for me in this next season, and I’m excited to see what all it holds!!
