One of the things I remember thinking about before the race was: Where do we stay? I knew a few basic things:
1. We bring tents with us.
2. We were told to get ready to hand wash clothes.
3. Bucket showers would be a must.
Beyond those 3 things, I really had know idea. The accommodations my team has had have truly been quite nice. However, being 7 months into the race now, I thought it to be an appropriate time to do some rankings. The first part being practical, the 2nd, even more practical. Without further ado, here are the World Race cribs by country:
Cambodia:
Living Area: Tent
Heat: Yes, extreme amounts of natural heat.
A/C: No…and NO!
Washing Machine: No
Dryer: No
Showers: Bucket
Bathrooms: Squatty Potty
Electricity: 1 battery powered light
Internet: No!
Ratings Portion on 1-10 scale:
View (How nice was the view/scenery around where we stayed?)
5 – Daytime was average but the stars at night were the best I have ever seen.
Host (How awesome where the people we stayed with)
10! Roger, Deb, Bunna, Yi, and Bonsoupan are amazing!
Bed (Was it comfortable?)
1- Deflated air mattress…not comfortable, basically slept on rock.
Food (How was it where we stayed?)
9 – We ate rice at EVERY meal and this is still a 9 because Deb is that good at cooking.
Jankiness (Nobody goes on the race to have normal things, was it funky in a good way?) 9 – frequent ant versus centipede wars outside the tent…pretty janky.
Thailand:
Living Area: Hostel
Heat: Lots
A/C: Yes but we were to cheap to pay for it
Bathrooms: wonderful
Washing Machine: Yes!
Dryer: A line on the roof
Shower: Western style with warm water 🙂
Electricity: Yes
Internet: Kind of not really
View: 9 – Incredible view of the mountain overlooking the city from the roof.
Host: 10 – Emmi is an amazingly faithful (and funny) woman of God.
Bed: 7 – Good,not great.
Food: 8 – Taste was amazing. Budget was not.
Jankiness: 3 – Nothing truly Janky.
Vietnam
Living Area: Western Style Apartment complete with an awesome outdoor kitchen
Heat: Natural heat
A/C: yes!!!!!
Bathrooms: multiple western toilets
Washing Machine: yes
Dryer: clothes line on deck (yes we had 2 decks!)
Shower: 3 of them!
Electricity: Yes
Internet: Inconsistent Internet
View: 5 – We were up on floor 7 but without to much to see.
Host: 10 – Tonya and Mai were our roomies all month
Bed: 4 – Tiny bunk beds, not much in Vietnam is Brady size
Food: 9 – Vietnamese food is soooooo good, plus their are many western options in Ho Chi Mihn for when you just need a burger or ice cream.
Jankiness: 6 Unique element such as the vietnamesse shower and outdoor kitchen were nice but overall the apartment was nicer than one in the states.
Uganda
Living Area: Boarding rooms
Heat: No
A/C: No
Bathrooms: squatty pottys with stank
Washing Machine: yourself or a gullible friend
Dryer: The sun
Shower: Bucket (when you could get water which was not always)
Electricity: One light – no outlets
Internet: No
View: 7 – Rolling Hills as far as the eye can see
Host: 10 – Aunt Favor took amazing care of us
Bed: 7 – Quite comfortable, could have been a 10 if not for the mosquito net.
Food: 7 – What it lacked in variety it made up for with great taste.
Jankiness: 10 – The bathroom options themselves make this a 10
Rwanda:
Living Area: Pastor Fred’s house
Heat: No
A/C: No but weather is perfect
Washing Machine: Fred’s daughters and hired help washed out clothes for us 10 times better than any machine ever could.
Dryer: Sun
Shower: Bucket BUT with running water in the shower area.
Bathroom: Outhouse style western toilet
Electricity: Yes
Internet: No
View: 5 – Kigali is beautiful but we were down in an area without a view.
Host: 10 – Fred, Mary, and family are incredible.
Bed: 6 – Not uncomfortable…just very squeaky.
Food: 10 – Incredible buffet style food for EVERY meal. I could have gained 15 lbs.
Jankiness: 7 – Watching mexican television shows on an old school TV in the living room was wonderful.
Ethiopia:
Living Area: Large house built to house mission teams.
Heat: No, and Ethiopia is surprising cold at night.
A/C:No
Washing Machine: Yes!
Dryer: Clothes line in the sun, only took about 40 min.
Shower: Western style with warm water.
Bathrooms: Clean and nice
Electricity: Depended on the day.
Internet: Internet? What’s internet?
View: 9 – Looked like the Black Hills all the way around.
Host: 10 – Amazing men and women of God.
Bed: 10 – So comfortable AND I fit in it.
Food: 7 – Meals were great but no snack places or grocery story within 50 miles.
Jankiness: 3 – The building was so new…a certain jankiness was lacking.
Montenegro
Living Area: Apartment
Heat: Yes – Wood burning stove
A/C: Yes – Not needed
Washing Machine: Yes
Dryer: Clothes Line
Shower: Sit down with a shower head.
Electricity: Yes
Internet: Yes!
View: 10 – See picture above
Host: 10 – Meti is our man!
Bed: 9 – Very comfortable
Food: 9 – Lots of great food options very close by
Jankiness: 6 – The wood burning stove is pretty great but the rest of the apartment is a little to nice to be called janky.
I hope you have enjoyed this World Race Cribs edition blog. I would like to add that we are eternally grateful for all of our hosts. They are willing to take us in for the month and every single one of them has treated us incredibly well. This is meant to be a fun way to tell about where we have been staying but in reality, we could care less how “nice” our living situation is by western standards. We are simply honored to be able to partner with amazing men and women of God every single month.
It is our aim to be like Paul who says in Philippians 4:12 “…I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty of in want.” We have experienced much more “well fed” and much more “plenty” on the race than hunger and want but whatever circumstance we are in we aim to praise God who is greater than any circumstance.
Thank you for taking time to read this blog, God Bless.
-Brady
