When people say ‘This trip is preparing you to be a great wife someday’, I laugh and respond…
‘Yea… OR to be single the rest of my life.’
I’ve always considered myself a pretty low maintenance girl, but this year has put a whole new perspective on what it means to ‘Rough it‘. We live out of backpacks, sometimes sleep in public places, wear the same clothes for days, rarely shower, and take anything free we can get.
For the past 11 months, my DAILY budget has looked like this:
$3.75 for food – $4 for Lodging – $1.50 for Local Transportation
Ummmm. Yeah. =) … Promise, I never stole anything more than sugar packets, napkins, and extra complimentary bags from the airplanes! I may or may not have ate food left over from people, and we have a whole list of ‘You know you’re on the World Race when…’
This being said, I figured a good visual into my life over the past year could be captured best by a compiled a list of the…
12 Most under
appreciated things in America…
appreciated things in America…
Beds.
Thank goodness for sleeping pads! I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to sleep on the floor this year. Turning the lights off entails putting your eye mask on, and there’s no ‘making your bed’… just picking it up.
Drinking Water
I drink ALOT of water, and in most other countries you cannot drink ANYthing not bought in a bottle. For some reason we’d always be dying of thirst when Vietnam Airport security would make us dump out our water in an airport, or the tank would run out in Africa.
…. Running Water
So if it’s not enough that we had to filter and boil our water, most people on the coasts of South Africa have to walk MILES to get water from wells. We helped pump and carry water all one day… notice I didn’t say two days. That’s hard work!
Walls.
Alot of the schools in Asia are so poor that they have numerous classes in one room. It’s extremely loud, but they make it work by having each class face a different direction. In Nepal, we lived for a month in a ‘treehouse’ room with paper thin floors and walls that didn’t even reach the ceiling. If you stood up in the squatty potty bathroom all the way, you could see right into our bedroom.
Furniture.
I’ve lived almost en entire year with my pack serving as my ‘closet’. I’ve managed just fine using bags for ‘drawers’. Nightstand? Unheard of this past year… And possibly the piece of furniture I miss most.
Mugs.
Vendors in Asia have this thing with putting your drinks in baggies. It makes sense I guess… until you want to put it down for a second. I burnt my hand numerous times with hott coffee BAGS. Nothing beats good mug handle.
Seats.
You name it… We’ve probably ridden on it this year. Pretty sure America is the only nation with transportation and occupancy laws. Seat belts & Personal space? What’s that?
Ladders.
For some reason, I did alot of painting this year… and alot of chair stacking. Only fell once. =)
Garbage Cans.
Asia throws they’re trash on the ground… especially in India. Done with your water? Throw it out the train window. Done with your candy bar? Throw the wrapper over ur shoulder.
Tools.
So we were given some big tasks this year, and NO equipment. Where’s a Home Depot when you need one!? We improvised when we whacked down jungles of vines in Thailand, installed flooring with safety scissors in India, and swung shovels to cut bushes in Africa.
Hot showers. Any Shower.
True Story. I was d-i-r-t-y this year. dumping cold water on your head with a cup doesn’t exactly count as a legit clean.
Air conditioning.
Definition of Uncomfortable: Northern India in May and Southern Nepal in June.
Truth: will never complain that I am hot again. I hope these two months we’re ‘character building’ at least because they were miserable. I was never NOT sweating, and we would take hikes to the creeks just to be in water.
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DEEPER than these lighthearted ‘Western World’ amenities that, to be honest, we can all live without, I’ve been exposed to a lack of 3 main things around the world that I will truely never take for granted again…
Parents.
ALOT of the children in this world are orphans. I know because I met them, invested in their lives, and left a piece of my heart every time I had to say goodbye.
A place to call Home.
I was raised in a safe home. Until this trip, I’ve never had any real conception of what it would feel like to be ‘homeless’, but I also realize this trip was short term. I knew after living out of a backpack for a year, that I would be returning to America… To concrete walls, and the comforts I’ve known my whole life. Some people in the world have ‘homes’ made of piles of trash… and not just for 1 year.
Education.
Kids in America are required to go to school and more often than not, complain about it. Kids in other countries are excited for ANY opportunity to learn and appreciate anything from a new chalk stick to having a blonde foreign girl teach them English and Math.
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Things are only ‘under appreciated’ if we allow them to be. We say “We take too many things for granted”. There is nothing wrong with being blessed, the real problem lies when we simply do not live a Life of gratitude. Weather it be the comfortable bed to sleep in, or the loving family we’re surrounded by, be THANKFUL. Invest in others. Seek Truth. Think outside Yourself.
Live your life with an abundance of Gratitude… You’d be surprised how many more blessings will be revealed to you when you take true note of the little ones.
After 11 months of backpacking around the World, I’m finally headed home this month! … I will never decline a coffee date to talk about my life changing trip, and hear about what you’ve experienced this past year… see ya in a couple weeks!
