After four months on the Race, daily life starts to look just a little bit, kinda, maybe, sorta different than life back in the States and the things that used to seem so weird start to become your new normal.
You know you’re on the Race when…
- You’re reassured by the sound of geckos in your room because, where there’s a gecko, there are no spiders.
- You think your feet are getting the all so famous Chaco tan but when you take a shower, you realize it was just all of the dirt you’ve collected since your last shower… four days ago.
- You see a twin bed and think, “Sweet! Room for two!”
- You judge a good shower by how cold it is (i.e. “Not as cold as Costa Rica but colder than Panama.”)
- Your conversations consist of “Man, I stink!” and “I just wanna post this blog!!!” all within 30 seconds.
- You’re constantly asking, “How sick will I get if I drink this water?”
- Mystery Poopers and Mystery Toilet Cloggers are a thing.
- You ask your teammates if your outfit is “World Race cute” or “Real World cute.”
- You have to actually give real thought to when your last shower was.
- Someone doesn’t claim a pair of underwear, you say, “Eh, I’ll take ‘em.”
- Your squad leader uses your tent to hang-dry her underwear on laundry days.
- You talk about underwear more than ever before.
- You get really excited when you see that your bathroom for the month has one small shelf for 4 girls to share.
- You have an irrational fear that every meal will be your last.
- You get overly excited when someone offers you their leftovers or the cook says there’s leftovers.
- You don’t pick out your outfit by what matches, but by what doesn’t stink too bad.
- You think “There’s no point in showering today if I’m just gonna sweat again tomorrow.”
- You live your life out of Ziplocs.
- Your nightly routine is to brush your teeth, put on your least stinky pajamas, and check for spiders in your sheets.
- You stay in the bathroom just a little longer to get some alone time.
- You ask a teammate, “Whatcha eatin’? Is that good?” just so they’ll offer you a bite (usually of a Snickers bar or an Oreo).
- Three fans in your bedroom is a luxury.
- Hot showers sound as mythical as the Lochness Monster or Bigfoot.
- You eat peanut butter like it’s going out of style.
- You carry packs of baby wipes around everywhere like Americans carry Starbucks cups.
- You start saying things like, “The Gringos are getting here today.” And you aren’t talking about yourselves.
- You use Febreeze as perfume.
- You stop wondering where all of the different stains on your clothes are coming from (hint: they’re a mixture of dirt, baby spit-up, squished bug, and that weird drink someone spilled on you on the bus).
Yep. Completely normal. You guys have these thoughts and situations all the time, right? Yea, thought so. 🙂
