America is amazing. There I said it. In this political climate?! I still 100% think America is the greatest. We are lucky. Everyone living in America is lucky. “You don’t know what you are talking about Nicole.” Oh yes, I do my friends. I have lived in 8 different countries just in this one year alone and I still have 3 more countries to go. I took so much for granted back in the United States and I miss it every day.
Why did I call this blog rice and beans? I ate only that for about two months. I had some other stuff here and there on my dime, but the main meal was just rice and beans. No spices, no flavors, just rice, and beans. It fuels my body and provides protein so what more could I want? It may sound like a stupid thing to be upset over, but after a while, even the simplest thing like rice and beans makes you want to cry because you miss salt, you miss pepper, you miss any kind of thing that would make you feel something besides just blah. It is kind of like a metaphor for my entire life right now.
A couple of orphans I worked with in Kenya told my team their favorite food is pizza. We were shocked how they even got the pizza and they said they have never had it, but they could just tell they would love it. In America, we can literally get pizza whenever we wanted. In America, we don’t have to wonder how things are, what things taste like, or what life could be like. We usually just create it for ourselves, but being away from America makes me feel blah because I know how things are there even if I haven’t had it in awhile. Usually, missionaries come home mad at America for the way it is in comparison to other countries, but I’m coming home, kissing the ground itself, and looking at everything in a new perspective.
I used to get very impatient at home waiting 3 seconds on slow internet. Now, living in Africa, I could wait 20 minutes for a side of ketchup in a not busy restaurant and that is the new normal. Bumpy roads while driving would bother me because it would spill whatever drink I had with me but now, dirt and bumpy roads are all we travel on for hours and hours a day. You learn not to bring an open drink with you. You have to ask for your water without ice here and make sure it comes from a bottle. I fill up a bucket with water to shower then lug it to my room each night. A toilet, even a dirty one, becomes special and new for you. Instead of lip gloss, I make sure I always have a roll of toilet paper and hand sanitizer with me. Everything is changed and it is usually more difficult. Americans should be grateful.
You probably think I’m listing out the extremes, but I’m not. This has truly become my day to day. I am not complaining, nor am I looking for sympathy, but I just want people to finally appreciate all they have in America. I know I need to work on it too. We could work at any local coffee shop, front desk, etc. but out here, you’re lucky to be working in the fields or making money selling fruit on the street. There are many ways to earn a living in the states but when out here, it can literally be impossible to do so.
I know America has its pros and cons, but am I asking you to please reconsider what your home has to offer. Be thankful for your grocery stores, for your post offices, for your doctor’s offices (I have been in and out of hospitals for my friends and some are stuck in the 1950’s), for your schools, and your community. Also, be super thankful that you get to eat more than rice and beans.
